A peaceful world where everyone can enjoy sports, transcending borders, language barriers, and disabilities. With the goal of realizing this vision, JICA is working to promote sports. To mark the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, a global celebration of soccer, we spoke with Go Kitazawa, a former member of the Japanese national soccer team, and Atsuko Arai, a former JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer specializing in sports, about the potential of international cooperation through sports. (The content of this article is also available in video format. Please be sure to watch the video, which is linked at the end of the article.)
Tsuyoshi Kitazawa
Born in Tokyo. He played for the Yomiuri Club (now Tokyo Verdy) and was a member of the Japanese national team. After retiring from professional soccer in 2004, he became an official supporter of JICA. He has worked to promote soccer both domestically and internationally, including in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and currently serves as president of the Japan Football Association for the Disabled.
JICA Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Secretariat, Ryutaro Kobayashi (hereinafter referred to as Kobayashi): The FIFA World Cup, held every four years, has kicked off. Mr. Kitazawa, what aspects of this tournament are you focusing on?
Go Kitazawa, former Japanese national soccer team player (hereinafter referred to as Kitazawa): “With more countries participating and the tournament growing in scale, I think excitement will be higher than ever in many nations. The Japanese national team has developed the ability to compete for the title, so I really hope people will cheer them on. I also hope this will serve as an opportunity for many people to deepen their understanding of the international community through soccer.”
Go Kitazawa coaching children in soccer in Jordan (Photo courtesy of Mr. Kitazawa)
Kobayashi: Actually, among the 48 countries and regions participating this time, there are some where JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers specializing in sports have been dispatched.
Kitazawa: It’s fun to watch the game knowing that, isn’t it? I was in Cambodia during a previous Asian qualifier. I used to coach kids there with JICA, and one of the kids who was in elementary school back then ended up making the national team and playing against Japan in the qualifiers. I couldn’t help but root for Cambodia.
Kobayashi: Is the level of soccer in Asia improving?
Kitazawa: Yes. Since hosting the 2002 World Cup jointly with South Korea, the Japan Football Association and the J.League have been working to strengthen soccer across Asia. But if we take a condescending approach, people won’t listen to us. So, we seek advice from JICA offices in each country and tailor our guidance to suit their specific needs. These efforts are part of the backdrop to the growth of Asian soccer. In fact, countries that go on to win the World Cup tend to view cooperation with other nations as a matter of course. That’s why I hope the Japanese soccer community will step up its efforts even further.
The challenging sports environment in developing countries
Kobayashi: By the way, how old were you two when you started playing soccer?
Atsuko Arai (formerly a JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer in the Sports Corps; hereinafter referred to as Arai): I started playing soccer in third grade, inspired by my older brother, and used to watch Ms. Kitazawa’s matches on TV. I joined a team in a neighboring town in Gunma Prefecture and usually practiced alongside the boys’ team.
Atsuko Arai
She is from Gunma Prefecture. She started playing soccer in elementary school and was a member of the Waseda University women’s soccer team. After teaching soccer at an orphanage in Cambodia, she decided to join the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and taught soccer in Uganda as a sports volunteer from 2019 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2023. She is currently a teacher at an elementary school in Gunma Prefecture.
Kitazawa: I started out playing baseball, but switched to soccer in first grade. Machida City in Tokyo is a hotbed for sports, and since the local soccer team had won the national championship, I naturally felt motivated to aim for the top spot in Japan.
Arai: As a teacher, I’ve come to realize that Japanese children have many opportunities to participate in sports, whether through physical education classes, school clubs, or extracurricular lessons. When I was dispatched to Uganda as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, I was struck by just how harsh the local environment was.
Kobayashi: There are still many children around the world who are unable to participate in sports due to poverty and other factors. In contrast, Japan has a history of everyone being able to enjoy sports in peace. Leveraging this strength, JICA has been engaged in international cooperation through sports for over 60 years.
More than 5,000 Sports Volunteers in 90 countries
The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) marked their 60th anniversary in 2025, and the Sports Volunteers are one of the longest-standing volunteer categories; to date, more than 5,000 volunteers have served in 90 countries.
Kitazawa: 5,000 people!
In addition to me, the Arai Volunteer Corps included other sports volunteers who taught baseball, judo, basketball, and other sports, and even though our disciplines differed, we shared a common vision. That was our desire to teach behaviors rooted in uniquely Japanese values—such as greetings before practice and games, taking good care of one’s belongings, being punctual, and approaching practice with a serious attitude—and this helped build trust in Japan among the local people.
Kitazawa: But wasn’t it really hard for you all to get to where you wanted to be?
Arai: It was really tough at first. Even when I said we were going to practice, no one showed up. The field was bumpy and covered in cow dung. Even the balls we received as donations would go flat right away.
The girls’ soccer team coached by Atsuko Arai in Uganda. The field was in poor condition, and some players were barefoot because they had no shoes (Photo courtesy of Ms. Arai)
Kobayashi: People say you can play soccer with just one ball, but there are challenges, aren’t there?
Kitazawa: I was surprised when I delivered the balls I’d collected in Japan to Paraguay. A team of about 100 people had only one ball, so everyone was practicing by dribbling in the air.
Learn the Rules, Apply Them in Society
Kobayashi: When I was working at the JICA office in Palau, there was a baseball volunteer. The local people appreciated how he taught them proper etiquette and how to approach games with a sincere attitude. These values were embraced as the “Way of Baseball.”
Ryutaro Kobayashi
Joined JICA in 2002. After serving in the Forestry and Natural Environment Cooperation Department, the Rural Development Department, the Hokuriku Branch, the Philippines Office, a secondment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Southeast Asia and Oceania Department, the Vietnam Office, and the Palau Office, he is currently working at the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Secretariat.
Kitazawa: Baseball? You mean it’s not “baseball”?
Kobayashi: Yes. In Palau, which was once under Japanese rule, the Palauan word “Yakyu” is still in use today.
Arai: In Uganda, there were some kids who would hit their opponents or handle the ball with their hands at first. I coached them with the hope that, even after they entered society, following the rules would become second nature to them.
Kitazawa: Through sports, children naturally come to understand the importance of rules. But to teach them that, you really have to be there for them and build a relationship of trust.
Ms. Kobayashi Kitazawa became a JICA Official Supporter in 2004 and was involved in activities to observe the work of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and share their stories within Japan, wasn’t she?
Kitazawa: In Syria, we organized a soccer tournament called the JICA Cup for Palestinian refugee children together with our team members. As soon as the children started preparing for the matches, adults began offering their help—saying things like, “We’ll provide a bus to the venue” or “We’ll supply the uniforms”—and the whole thing took on the atmosphere of a community-building event. The children who lost their matches actually cried. It was their first taste of that kind of frustration. That’s when the volunteers would speak to them: “You tried your best, but you lost. Let’s try a little harder next time.” This kind of thoughtful interaction is crucial for a child’s growth. Sports are something we enjoy together. We give our all for the people cheering us on. We must learn to be good losers, even when we lose. That’s what they’re learning.
Go Kitazawa coaching children in soccer in the Palestinian territories (Photo courtesy of Mr. Kitazawa)
Kobayashi: You were also involved in JICA’s efforts to promote HIV/AIDS testing in Africa, weren’t you?
Kitazawa: At first, no matter how much we encouraged people to get screened, hardly anyone showed up. But when we held a soccer clinic and told them, “If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to enjoy playing soccer,” a huge number of people came in for a checkup after their game. Sports can be a powerful tool for achieving goals. That’s the potential I sensed.
In Africa, organizations such as JICA have used soccer as a way to encourage people to get tested for HIV (Photo courtesy of Mr. Kitazawa)
Refugee Girl: “I Won’t Give Up; I Want to Forge a Future”
I’ve heard that in Uganda, where Mr. Kobayashi Arai was sent on assignment, there is a strong perception that “sports are for men.”
Arai: “People used to be surprised and ask, ‘Can girls really play soccer?’ It’s very sad that girls have to give up on the things they want to do just because they’re girls. At the first school I was assigned to, I started a girls’ team. At first, there weren’t enough players, so we practiced with the boys, but gradually, girls started gathering because they heard, ‘A female teacher is coaching!’ Eventually, we had a full team of 11 players and were able to compete in matches.”
I hear you were also involved in the TICAD Cup organized by JICA.
Arai: Yes. The TICAD Cup is a women’s soccer tournament in which refugees and local residents participate; it began in 2022, the year I was there. Uganda is by no means a wealthy country, but it is very welcoming to refugees and has taken in nearly 2 million from neighboring countries. However, differences in living conditions and other factors had led to conflicts with the host communities. So, this was an initiative to help them get to know each other through playing soccer together and use that to resolve these issues.
Pre-match practice for the TICAD Cup. On the far right is Atsuko Arai, who served as a JICA volunteer (Photo courtesy of Ms. Arai)
What kind of environment do the children participating in the Kobayashi TICAD Cup live in?
Arai: I was deeply moved by a young girl living in a refugee camp. She hadn’t been able to attend school in South Sudan, so when she came to Uganda, she was attending elementary school at the age of 15. When I visited her home, I found that her parents were absent, and she was taking care of her younger siblings all by herself. She did all the housework, went to school, and practiced soccer in her spare time. Even as we enjoyed playing soccer together, it made me realize that there are many children living in harsh conditions that we know nothing about.
Kitazawa: Maybe it’s precisely because the environment is so harsh that I want to play sports with everyone.
Arai: I think he joined because he enjoyed connecting with friends and felt that meeting us could open up new possibilities for him. He realized the added value of soccer beyond just the game itself and wanted to use that to carve out his own future.
A refugee girl (right) who started playing soccer while attending elementary school and caring for her siblings in a refugee settlement (Photo courtesy of Ms. Arai)
I heard that the uniforms for the Kobayashi TICAD Cup were provided by the WE League, Japan’s women’s professional soccer league.
Arai: Since many of the girls didn’t have sportswear or sneakers and were playing in T-shirts, shorts, and bare feet, they were all so happy to wear the uniforms donated by Albirex Niigata Ladies. Their backs as they headed to the game looked so dignified. It really shows that a uniform is a source of pride for the players.
Kitazawa: Isn’t it wonderful that a single uniform can boost your motivation?
“That looks great on you.” Atsuko Arai speaks to a female refugee athlete (left) wearing a uniform provided by Albirex Niigata Ladies (Photo courtesy of Ms. Arai)
Regardless of whether or not one has a disability
Mr. Kobayashi Kitazawa has been involved in supporting sports for people with disabilities for a long time, hasn’t he?
Kitazawa: I’ve long been thinking about how I could contribute to JICA’s goal of “making sports accessible to everyone.” My experiences in developing countries eventually led me to get involved in disability soccer here in Japan. It all started when I observed the activities of JICA volunteers supporting sports for people with disabilities in Jordan. Although discrimination against people with disabilities was still deeply rooted in the Middle East, I was surprised to find that there was virtually no distinction based on disability in that region. I realized that this was the true essence of fairness in sports—the result of Japanese volunteers broadening understanding of an inclusive society.
Kobayashi: Some volunteers aren’t just supporting people with disabilities in their sports activities; they’re also promoting initiatives that bring people with and without disabilities together to play sports.
Kitazawa: My goal is also to realize an inclusive society through sports. The women’s team won the 2023 Deaf Futsal World Cup, and this was made possible because the F-League has welcomed players with hearing impairments and worked to strengthen the sport. There are also sports, such as blind soccer, where people with and without disabilities play together. I am involved in these activities because I believe we can gain insights into building an inclusive society from these initiatives and sports.
Arai: There really are so many things that sports can do, aren’t there?
Go Kitazawa (left) interviewing a wheelchair swimmer (Photo courtesy of Mr. Kitazawa)
Trust in what only Japan can do
Kitazawa: When you visit other countries, you sometimes get a sense of the trust people have in Japan, don’t you?
Arai: Even in Uganda, when people asked me, “Where are you from?” and I answered, “Japan,” they’d say, “Oh, my friend!” “Japan is wonderful,” and “I respect you.” It made me realize just how amazing the Japanese people are, having built up such trust through their efforts over the years.
Kobayashi: Building that trust by sharing Japanese culture and ways of thinking with the world is also a major achievement of international cooperation through sports.
Kitazawa: In Palestine, I had the opportunity to play soccer with local people and Israelis. After a fierce match, everyone said, “That was fun,” and shook hands. Watching that, I thought it would be wonderful if chasing the ball together could lead to peace. Through the spread of sports, building people leads to building communities, and ultimately to building a nation. In the long run, I believe that sports will contribute to both national development and peace.
Kobayashi: To foster these connections, JICA is working to promote sports and build peace through sports. We look forward to continuing to work together with all of you toward a society where everyone can enjoy sports and understand one another. Thank you very much for your time today.
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