[Event Report] JFA Uniqlo Multi-Sports Kids: Kids are thrilled! Expanding horizons through four sports

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I participated in the "Japan National Stadium" event held on Saturday, June 21, 2025, called "JFA Uniqlo Multi-Sports Kids". I will write about my impressions.

▼ Reference) "JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids" I participated in last year

▶︎ Conclusion

The children (and parents) were extremely satisfied with the event! This was mainly due to: 1) being able to experience four sports, including rugby, not just soccer; 2) the solid operational structure; 3) thorough heatstroke prevention measures; and 4) the fact that it was free. I really hope this is an event that will continue to be held in the future!

▶︎ Event Overview

This is a sports event held for 400 first to third graders in elementary school at the Japan National Stadium for one day only (participation is free).

Participants can experience four sports, and top athletes are also on the field at all times to provide support.

• Soccer: Atsuto Uchida, Aya Miyama

• Baseball: Ryota Igarashi

• Track and Field: Nobuharu Asahara

• Rugby: Fumiaki Tanaka

In addition, Sadaharu Oh, the Uniqlo Women's Track and Field Team, and others also participated.

▶︎ How to Participate

Participation is by advance lottery. Applications were accepted through dedicated sites for JFA and Asoview. I applied through JFA.

▶︎ Flow of the Day

The event flow was: reception → opening ceremony → experience 4 types of sports (no closing ceremony). The event time was around 9:45–12:30.

At the reception, participants were divided into four teams (A–D), and then color-coded by grade level, such as pink for first graders. For example, within group A, they were further divided into first graders (A-1), second graders (A-2), third graders (A-3), and so on.

During each sports experience, three teams performed different activities simultaneously. For example, the sequence was A-1 throwing a ball, A-2 playing catch, and A-3 tee-ball. This operational system was smooth.

Each of the four sports lasted about 30 minutes, allowing plenty of time for the experience (shortened by 5 minutes midway due to the heat).

I believe that if children are exposed to various worlds (including sports), they can increase their options based on that knowledge and eventually make the best choices for themselves. Therefore, I thought that experiencing multiple sports in one day was a very good opportunity. Also, for children, there are sports they are good at and sports they are not.

Above all, it was great to be able to experience rugby . This is because there are not many opportunities to learn about or experience rugby in daily life. I felt that just knowing "Oh, there is a sport like this" made the event well worth it.

✔️ Opening Ceremony

First, the opening ceremony. Each representative and participant gave a short speech. After that, there was a simple warm-up exercise.

Sadaharu Oh also rushed over to this event. Despite the heat, he delivered his opening remarks fluently. Since I had recently read a book about Sadaharu Oh, I was listening while flashing back to its contents.

✔️ Baseball Experience

My team experienced baseball first. The planned activities were 'throwing into a net,' 'catch,' and 'tee batting' (which we couldn't do because we ran out of time).

A press scrum interview with Sadaharu Oh was also held.The 85-year-old and the elementary school studentsmake for a picturesque contrast.

I felt that this was an easy event for the media to write about because the purpose is clear. Unlike trivial affair articles, the content is peaceful. Multiple articles were published on the same day.

The maximum temperature on the day wasover 30 degrees Celsius. They were making sure to stay hydrated. Inside the venue, there were strong announcements telling coaches, 'Even if the children aren't thirsty, make sure they hydrate.'

✔️ Soccer Experience

In soccer, they did things like throwing the ball with their hands and playing mini-games. Atsuto Uchida didn't just stick to soccer; he also made appearances at the track and field and rugby areas to liven things up. That's our captain for you ⚽️

✔️ Track and Field Experience

In the track and field experience, in addition to Nobuharu Asahara, the Uniqlo Women's Track and Field Team provided support.

The program followed the order of "running with legs lifted forward," "running from a crawling position," "mini-hurdles," "running from mini-hurdles," and "running."

✔️ Rugby Experience

In the rugby experience, we were able to try tackling and passing the ball.

✔️ Experience finished

When the rugby session ended, there was no closing ceremony, and everyone dispersed as they finished.

According to my child, "It was more fun than last year (JFA Soccer Kids)! The 'boom!' in rugby was fun. The jumping thing (mini-hurdles) was interesting. Uchida and Cinderace were there again this year."

✔️ Suggestions

Overall, we were very satisfied (both the child and the parents). With that said, I would like to list some suggestions that came to mind for further improvement.

I believe that enjoying sports is important (there was a similar argument in "Coaching by Praise"). I thought it would be better if the announcements repeated the message "Let's have fun!" persistently, rather than saying "Listen to the coach. Don't do this, don't do that."

A photo spot could not be found. During the activities, parents could only take pictures of their children from a distance from the stands. It would have been nice to have a commemorative panel (even a simple one) that serves as proof of participation in this event.

The distributed T-shirts only had a front print. I thought it would be better for the organizing body and sponsoring companies to include a back print so that it serves as an advertisement even when viewed from behind. Also, for parents who upload to social media, some do not want to show their child's face. For them, I thought that if there was a back print, they could upload photos showing the back.

It was extremely hot on the day, and I could feel the UV rays. Therefore, I thought it would be effective for sales promotion to exhibit Uniqlo's UV-cut products inside the venue or to play short commercials during the competitions.

Also, regarding what is distributed at the reception (Uniqlo flyers are interesting, but), how about distributing the "Power of Clothing" booklet that is distributed inside Uniqlo stores? This is because I saw some parents looking bored, playing with their phones while their children were working hard on the pitch.

It would have been helpful if there was an announcement after the fourth activity ended, such as "Parents, please return to the seats where you sat for the opening ceremony to meet your children." Because there was no announcement, I was confused, wondering, "How do I join up with my child now?"

▶︎ Summary

Overall, it was a very satisfying event. This is because 400 children were able to have the Japan National Stadium pitch all to themselves, and through interactions with professionals, they were able to learn the joy of sports. Moreover, the idea that they could enjoy four sports was a great idea and positive for the children. I truly hope that this will be continued for the sake of the future of children in Japan. The heat countermeasures were also implemented thoroughly, which was very helpful.

▶︎ Bonus (About special sponsor Uniqlo)

Uniqlo is a company that continues to grow with its business and sustainability integrated. Among its initiatives, "JFA Soccer Kids" has been continued since 2003, when the word "sustainability" had not yet permeated society. It is entering its 22nd year this year.

In addition to the fact that they are a special sponsor, the fact that it has continued for many years is rare among other companies. I thought Uniqlo could communicate more about this initiative to customers through their stores and other channels.