On Saturday, March 5th, we held the Shin-Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Presents Matchday Festival powered by Nissin Foods at Bokuden-no-Sato Sports Park, coinciding with the home opener against Sagan Tosu. The Matchday Festival is a 5-a-side mini-soccer tournament. Participating children received Nissin Chicken Ramen. Additionally, the winning teams received certificates signed by Antlers players.
【Tournament Rules】
・5-a-side (can be changed depending on the number of registered players)
・Kick-in method
・No direct goals from kick-off or kick-in
・Goalkeeper throws the ball after catching it
・Free player substitutions
As it was the home opener and the first Matchday Festival of the year, fierce battles were fought with teams aiming for victory.
Vamos Fukushima White River FC from Fukushima Prefecture and Haraichi Eleven from Saitama Prefecture participated. One of the appeals of the Matchday Festival is the opportunity to play against teams from outside Ibaraki Prefecture and teams from various regions within Ibaraki Prefecture, with whom there is usually little interaction.
☆Winning Teams☆1st and 2nd Grade Division: GANAR3rd Grade Division: Kobato Antlers4th Grade Division: Hirai Boys Team A5th and 6th Grade Division: Thunder's FCThe Kashima High School soccer team players supported the operation of this Matchday Festival.
Representative Comment from Kashima High School Soccer Team"The children today have more skill and play more thoughtfully than we did when we were in elementary school; they were incredibly good. There were many instances where we gained insights from their play. We were happy to be involved in the work of Kashima Antlers. Thank you very much."
The next Matchday Festival is scheduled for Saturday, March 19th, before the FC Tokyo match (kick-off at 3:00 PM), at Bokuden-no-Sato Sports Park (next to Kashima Soccer Stadium), with reception starting at 10:00 AM. We look forward to your participation.
