Kobe City: 6th Hyogo Prefecture Soccer Exchange Games for the Disabled and ’89 FESPIC

Press Release (September 12, 2023)
Welfare Bureau, Disability Welfare Division
Players from the physically challenged soccer teams will gather in Shiawase-no-mura for the first time in four years to compete in a heated competition after a hiatus due to a new type of coronavirus infection. Players and supporters from all over the world will gather in Kobe for the first time in four years after the suspension due to the new coronavirus infection.
We hope you will join us in cheering on the players as they play with passion and enthusiasm.

The 6th Hyogo Prefecture Soccer Exchange Games for the Disabled

One team from each of the following soccer teams in Hyogo Prefecture will gather to play soccer for the mentally challenged, amputees, blinds, CP, deaf, and intellectually challenged, along with able-bodied people in the areas called out in advance.

2. ’89 FESPIC Kobe Commemorative Japan Disabled Soccer Friendship Tournament

At the time of the 1989 FESPIC (now Asian Para Games) Kobe, there were no soccer teams for the physically challenged in Japan, but the FESPIC Kobe Organizing Committee, Hyogo Prefecture Soccer Association, Kobe City Sports Association for the Disabled (now the Sports Promotion Center for the Disabled), and others called for nationwide participation. As a result, more than 30 people gathered to form a team and participated in the FESPIC Kobe. This event began thanks to the efforts of the athletes and others involved, so that the encounter and excitement of that time would not be forgotten. Since then, the FESPIC has had to be suspended due to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the spread of the new coronavirus, but the circle of friendship has remained unbroken, and with the addition of new members, the FESPIC will now be held again.

3. Date and Time

(1) The 6th Hyogo Prefecture Soccer Exchange Games for the Disabled
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 13:00-17:00
(2) Japan Soccer Friendship Games for the Disabled
Sunday, September 17, 2023, 9:30-12:30

4. Location

Shiawase-no-mura Multipurpose Athletic Square (1-1, Shiawase-no-mura, Kita-ku, Kobe City)

5. Sponsor

Japan Professional Soccer League (J-League), Rakuten Vissel Kobe, Inc.
Hyogo Prefecture Soccer Association, Kobe City Council of Social Welfare Sports Promotion Center for the Disabled

6. Support (planned)

Molten Corporation, Kobe City Soccer Association

7. Inquiries:

Tanimizu, Kobe City Council of Social Welfare, Sports Promotion Center for Persons with Disabilities
TEL: 078-271-5330, FAX: 078-271-5367