JAPAN EYES WOMEN'S WORLD CUP BOOST

Football chief hopes successful 2031 bid can give ailing WE League a shot in the arm

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TOKYO - Japan wants to host the Women's World Cup in 2031 to ignite the domestic game and cut the gap on Europe and North America, the country's football chief told AFP.

In 2011, Japan won the competition but they have since been overtaken, with women's football booming instead in Europe in recent years.

"We would like to raise the value of women's football here," Japan Football Association (JFA) president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said at the JFA headquarters in Tokyo, in front of a giant photo of Japan's World Cup-winning team.

Miyamoto was captain of the Japan men's team when they co-hosted the World Cup with South Korea in 2002, a tournament that helped spark huge interest in football among the Japanese public.

Now 47, he took over as JFA chief in 2024 and has similar hopes for the 2031 Women's World Cup. The Asian country has never hosted the event.

But Japan is likely to face stiff competition for hosting rights with a joint bid from the United States and Mexico expected. England and China are also reportedly interested.

"We have the WE League, and it has been struggling to gather an audience," Miyamoto added.