When squabbling neighbors become World Cup co-hosts

When Tsuneyasu Miyamoto took the field as captain of Japan’s “Samurai Blue” team in the 2002 World Cup, he did not fully appreciate the extent to which he had also become a player in a geopolitical drama.

The tournament, held jointly in Japan and South Korea, was the first World Cup that organizer FIFA decided to host across national borders. Staging the tournament together improved fraught relations between the two Asian nations, and helped lay the groundwork for a more ambitious experiment now underway in North America.

As president of the Japanese Football Association, Miyamoto will come to Washington on December 5 to learn his team’s assignment at next summer’s World Cup. He will arrive as an unexpected expert on one test now facing the United States: how to coordinate the world’s largest sporting event with countries that are not currently natural political partners.

Last year, Miyamoto ran unopposed for a two-year term as the association’s president. At 47 he is the youngest in history and first to have played for Japan in a World Cup. He captained Japan through both the 2002 and 2006 tournaments, and after retiring as a player, rejoined his boyhood club Gamba Osaka as a coach and manager. Miyamoto, who earned an economics degree at Doshisha University during his playing career, began moving up the ranks of the Japan Football Association, which has broad oversight of the sport and the national team.

Miyamoto inherited responsibility for implementing a 2005 strategy entitled “Japan’s Way”, that lays out twin goals for Japanese men’s soccer. By 2050, the document projects, Japan should both win its first World Cup and host another. While the Samurai Blue hope to make on-field progress next summer toward the former, Miyamoto has already set his path toward the latter: he declared to POLITICO that Japan will mount a bid for the 2046 tournament.

Miyamoto will represent Japan at the Kennedy Center for next week’s draw at which qualifying teams for the largest tournament ever learn their schedules as well as the location of their training base camps across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Japan’s co-hosting experience with South Korea — a compromise imposed by international soccer officials — required substantial coordination between governments in Tokyo and Seoul and contributed to “establishing friendly relations,” according to Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs press secretary Toshihiro Kitamura.

His past experience gives Miyamoto a unique perspective on the challenge facing American organizers — whose partnership with Canada and Mexico was designed as a joint bid from the outset — and some particular misgivings about the impact that the Trump administration’s border policies could have on pulling it off.

Our interview, conducted this month at the Japan Football Association office in Tokyo, has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How did you go from being a player to association president?

The view from the pitch at the 2002 World Cup was unforgettable, seeing everyone shouting, chanting, and supporting Japan. In that moment, I thought: I want to see this kind of passion every day. That’s when I started wondering what I could do to make football even bigger in Japan.

As a player, I played for the fans. As a manager, I can work to make it happen. And now, as president, I can take broader action: developing the sport, strengthening our national teams, and building infrastructure. For me, that moment in 2002 was the start of everything.

What can the United States, Canada and Mexico learn from Japan’s co-hosting experience with South Korea?

As you know in 2002, I was just a player so I didn’t think about much apart from the pitch. But communication is key to success of course between these three countries to make this World Cup successful. What I’m concerned about is the traveling and jet lag, and weather conditions. Smooth immigration procedures will also be key. If fans, players, and officials can cross borders easily, it will make for a much better experience.

The Trump administration has made that much more complicated. Are you concerned about how U.S. immigration policies might affect Japanese fans traveling for the World Cup?

Yes, I am concerned. I heard of one case where a Japanese woman was deported for no clear reason; she was simply traveling alone. From our point of view, Japanese people should be protected, even abroad. That’s the reason why that would be my concern, deportations happening unnecessarily. I believe it will not happen, but I am not sure.

Do you have special precautions for players and their families traveling to the U.S. to compete?

For Japanese players and their families, the Japan Football Association will work closely with FIFA and the Local Organizing Committee to provide comprehensive support. Our goal is to ensure that everyone can focus entirely on the competition without any concerns.

What would you say to Japanese fans or businesspeople who might be hesitant to attend because of American immigration policy?

The U.S. has a long and successful history of hosting major international events, including the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. One of our clubs, Urawa Red Diamonds, participated in the tournament, and we saw many passionate supporters from Urawa cheering for the team in the U.S. We are confident that FIFA, and the Local Organizing Committee will ensure smooth entry and a safe environment for all participants and fans.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino became ubiquitous in the United States during the Club World Cup. What’s your view of the job he’s doing?

He’s doing great. I never imagined a World Cup with 48 teams. Thirty-two teams was already a good number but the expansion gives more countries a chance to compete at the highest level, which leads to the development of our sport globally. Many member associations that have never played for the World Cup now have opened their eyes to the opportunity to qualify. That’s good for the game and for its future.

You’ve said Japan hopes to again host a World Cup before 2050. What would it take to make that happen?

It’s very challenging to host a 48-team tournament in one country. Japan doesn’t currently have an 80,000-seat stadium, which FIFA requires for the opening match and final. Building a new stadium is possible, but difficult. Even without an 80,000-seat stadium we need to have six stadiums that have 40,000 seats. We plan to raise our hand to host the 2046 World Cup.

We might pursue a joint bid with another country that has good facilities and political influence.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a co-host versus submitting your bid alone?

A co-hosted bid offers significant advantages, including shared resources, infrastructure and financial responsibility. It can also serve as a powerful symbol of regional unity. However, coordinating multiple governments and associations can be challenging, particularly when it comes to logistics, regulations and operational consistency.

That said, co-hosting has become a global trend for major events, and we are confident that the participating countries can achieve strong alignment. On the other hand, a single-country bid provides a more centralised approach with clearer lines of responsibility, but it demands a higher level of investment and commitment from one nation.

Do you have countries in mind as potential co-hosts?

I do, but I can’t say yet.

We’ll all learn shortly what kind of challenge awaits Japan at next summer’s World Cup. What’s your goal?

There is a clear target for players, which is to be the champions of the tournament. Of course, I think it sounds very ambitious but our players are now playing in Europe, competing against top players and top clubs so they know the level required. When we played against Brazil last month, we somehow beat them, which in my prime, I couldn’t even imagine beating Brazil. We came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, which is super. I think that victory gave the team huge confidence. So I hope the confidence will help the team as well during the next tournament competition. As an organization, the aim is to get to the quarter-final round, meaning the last eight teams. Japan has never been there before, so realistically that is our aim.

There’s one long-range challenge to Japan’s declared goal of winning the tournament before 2050: a declining national birth rate, which means fewer young athletes. How is the Japanese Football Association responding?

We’re encouraging kids to play multiple sports, not just football. For example, they might play football on Mondays, baseball on Tuesdays and another sport midweek. It’s one way to keep children active and engaged. Otherwise, too many spend all their time in after-school tutoring programs.