Eintracht Frankfurt will use the World Cup break in November to organize a multi-day tour of Japan.
Eintracht Frankfurt travels to his home country of Makoto Hasebe (right) and Daiichi Kamada in November.
Imago/Sven Simon
The trip is planned from November 13 to November 20, 2022, the day of the 15th straight Bundesliga match, the last in the calendar year. The reason is the Winter World Cup in Qatar, due to which the Bundesliga is on hold from mid-November to the end of January. In Japan, current Europa League winners Urawa are looking to play friendly matches against the Red Diamonds (November 16) and Gamba Osaka (November 19).
“Eintracht brand ambassadors with the Urawa Reds are in the personalities of Uwe Bein, Naohiro Takahara, Uwe Rahn and Makoto Hasebe, who are also DFL brand ambassadors, some of the Eagle Bearers who were under contract with the current Japanese Emperors Cup and Super Cup winners, The Bundesliga club said on its close ties to the Far East.
These also go back to the 19th century in the Rhine-Main region. According to the club, approximately 5,000 Japanese live in and around Frankfurt alone today, and the country’s 200 companies are based in the region. “Sufficient reason to extend the existing bridges under the eagle roof,” the statement continues.
In addition to Test matches, the club plans “further cultural and local events and fan events as well as media activation measures and cross-market B2B network events”. Brand ambassador and world champion Bein (active in Japan from 1994 to 1997) also “plays a central role during the campaign”, as do many Japanese internationals Hasebe and Daiichi Kamada.
It remains to be seen whether Kamada is actually able to participate in the yatra or not. Theoretically, he could be on Japan’s World Cup squad – and meet Germany in the opening game of Group E on 23 November.
