Comments from participating OBs here
Many people who donated to the 30,000 yen, 40,000 yen, 50,000 yen, and 150,000 yen courses (which included a group photo with OBs) came to the sacred Kashima Stadium.
Those who donated to the 150,000 yen course, which included the right to be a ball person, served as ball persons on the side of the pitch on the day.
Before the special match, President Koizumi gave an address.
The special match kicked off at 1 p.m.
The referees for the day were club OBs Ichiro Inukai (pictured), Kazuyo Miyajima, Kenji Tsuruta, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Ryo Sakuma.
The first match was between the U-13 Academy Training Center and the OB team, and the second match was between the U-14 Academy Training Center and the OB team.
This time, those who donated to the course that included the right to participate in the special match also joined the OB team and played.
The match was commentated by Taro Kawamura, a familiar announcer from "Kashima Live," and OBs.
The third match was between the U-15 Academy Training Center and the OB team, the fourth match was between the U-16 Youth team and the OB team, and the fifth match was between the U-17 Youth team and the OB team. In the fourth match, Takayuki Suzuki and Yuma Soyeno scored goals.
After the special match, T.A. Ogasawara presented a bouquet to Aoki, who retired at the end of the 2021 season.
After the bouquet presentation, Yanagisawa, the Youth Director and initiator of the crowdfunding project "Antlers' Future Together," addressed the donors.
Finally, the OBs took a lap around the pitch. Aoki was also tossed in the air by his teammates.
A banner for Endo, whose permanent transfer to Vegalta Sendai was announced the day before, was also displayed in the stands.
We received a truly overwhelming amount of donations for this crowdfunding project, "Antlers' Future Together." And to everyone who participated in the "Academy x OB Special Match," thank you very much. We sincerely appreciate your support once again.