Football is among the most popular sports in Japan, together with baseball, tennis, golf, sumo, and combat sports. Its nationwide organization, the Japan Football Association, administers the professional football leagues, including J.League, which is considered by many the most successful football league in Asia. Japan is also the country with the most comprehensively developed football in Asia in both men and women as well as in both futsal and beach soccer.
The Japan national football team, also known by the nickname Samurai Blue, represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selected locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were initially applications for both. Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup included England, Russia, a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, and a joint bid from Portugal and Spain. Bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified due to lack of governmental support, and Mexico withdrew its bid for financial reasons.
The Japan women's national football team, commonly known as Nadeshiko Japan (なでしこジャパン), represents Japan in women's association football and is run by the Japan Football Association (JFA). The only country to win every FIFA competition and the most successful women's national team in the Asian Football Confederation, its highest ranking in the FIFA Women's World Rankings is 3rd, achieved in December 2011.
Eighteen countries have been FIFA World Cup hosts in the competition's twenty-two tournaments since the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The organization at first awarded hosting to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location was controversial in the earliest tournaments, given the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centers of strength in football at the time.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994. Argentina is the defending champion.
The football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 21 July to 7 August 2021 in Japan.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding process resulted in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selecting the joint United States / Canada / Mexico bid as the location for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
United 2026, also known as the North American 2026 bid, was a successful joint bid led by the United States Soccer Federation, together with the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation, to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Eight countries have been chosen FIFA Women's World Cup hosts in the competition's nine editions from the inaugural tournament in 1991 until the tournament played in 2023.
The bidding process for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the process by which the location for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup would be chosen as the hosts.
The Australia–New Zealand bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, also known as the AsOne bid, was the successful bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup made by Football Federation Australia (FFA) and New Zealand Football (NZF). The joint bid was announced on 12 December 2019, combining an already launched effort from Australia that began on 29 October 2018. The bid entailed 13 venues in 12 host cities, with a final played in Sydney at Stadium Australia.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup bidding process was the process used by FIFA to select the host for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. There were two bids from three countries that sought to host the 2023 FIFA's Women's World Cup. The final bids submitted were from Australia–New Zealand and Colombia. On 25 June 2020, the combined Australia and New Zealand bid officially won the bid to host the Women's World Cup.
The 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will involve 32 national teams, including that of the host nation, after FIFA announced the expansion of the tournament in July 2019. Spain are the defending champions, having won their first title in 2023.
The 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup was to be the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It was scheduled to be hosted by Indonesia between 21 May and 12 June 2021, which would have been the first FIFA tournament hosted by the country. It would have been also only the second U-20 World Cup to be held in Southeast Asia, first since 1997, and the first FIFA tournament in the region since the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
The Colombia bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was a unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup by Colombian Football Federation. The single bid was announced on 12 December 2019. The bid entailed playing at 10 venues in 10 host cities, with the final held at the Estadio El Campín in Bogotá.
The WE League (WEリーグ), officially the Japan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League, also known as the Yogibo WE League for sponsorship reasons, is the top flight of women's association football in Japan, starting from the 2021–22 season. It is the first fully-professional women's soccer league in Japan.
The 2024 UEFA Champions League final will be the final match of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 32nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It will be held at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 1 June 2024. Due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with London instead hosting the 2024 final.
The Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid was a successful bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The bid was first announced by the football federations of Portugal and Spain on 7 October 2020, with Morocco joining on 14 March 2023. On 4 October 2023, Morocco, Portugal and Spain were chosen as the host countries for the 2030 FIFA World Cup over the South American bid, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay being selected to host three inaugural matches on the occasion of the centenary of the 1930 World Cup. It will be ratified by the FIFA Congress in Late 2024.
The South Africa bid for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup was a bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup by South African Football Association (SAFA). The single bid was announced on 20 September 2022. The bid entailed 10 venues in 9 host cities. On November 24, 2023, SAFA announced that they have withdrawn their bid and will instead focus on submitting a bid for the 2031 tournament.
