sport club

The BBC has recently started to promote its coverage of the European Football Championships to be held in June in Austria and Switzerland. The competition kicks off with a riveting clash of the titans - Switzerland versus the Czech Republic in Basel.

All the major European foot-balling powers will be there, competing to be Champions of Europe, with the exception of course of any single representative from the four Home Nations, all of which failed - some miserably - to qualify for the finals.

What the impact upon the TV ratings will be because neither, England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland managed to qualify, is open to debate. I would lay money that the ratings will be considerably lower for Euro 2008 without any home representation, than would be the case if any of the four home teams had managed to qualify.

Euro 2008 is very likely to be 'non-event' for a great majority of the public in the UK - except for the 'football purist' of course, very likely to get excited watching anything on TV that involves kicking a ball!

During previous World or European Championships, when any of the home nations have been represented in the finals, pubs and clubs are filled to capacity when a match is on, with football fans getting carried away, drinking too much beer and waving the flag for their national team, regardless of whether they have ever attended a game of football featuring their National team or not.

When your national team is playing on the big stage, you don't need to know about 4-4-2, 'diamond formations' or holding mid-field players. You just want to see your country play well and win.

Some of the 'politically correct lot' may argue that celebrating your national team winning is jingoistic, but quite frankly who cares what they think. If your national team performs well, with style, skill and spirit, it lifts your heart, as demonstrated in 1966 when a rise in Gross Domestic Output following England winning the World Cup, was attributed directly to the victory over the Germans on that glorious June day 42 years ago.

Following England's timid exit from the Euro 2008 competition after their ignominious defeat to Croatia, and Scotland's better than expected performance, which almost led to the Scots emerging victorious from the "group of death", a period of national navel gazing took place in an attempt to rationalise where we went wrong!

In England the furore over the witless, and to be honest gutless failure to overcome Croatia at Wembley, has soon faded into distant memory. The outcry from the press and the broadcasting sports media has been forgot, after the team Manager paid the price of failure, with a replacement quickly lined up to take over at the helm as guardian of the country's foot-balling hopes for World Cup in 2010.

It may be that qualification for the next World Cup is all about 'hope' rather than any degree of certainty.

There has been much said about the state of football in the UK, particularly since the advent of the Premier League and its domination by 'non-British' born talent. The blame for national failure to qualify for Euro 2008 has been laid by some at the door of the Premier League and the droves of imported talent outnumbering British born players in the top flight.

The UEFA president and football great Michel Platini has claimed that there are not enough home-grown players and coaches in the English top flight. Platini added that England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 was damaging the "soul" of the national game.

English foot-balling heroes such as Steven Gerrard have been quoted as calling for "quota system" to regulate the number foreigners playing for Premier League clubs. Tony Adams has blamed the coaching structure in the national game. Steve Coppell as also called for immediate action to make improvements in the structure of the Football Association, who have themselves declared an intention to conduct a "root and branch" review to put right what went so drastically wrong.

Many hypotheses have been postulated as to why England struggle so badly at international level, ranging from the grass roots in football being uncomfortable with flair and coaching it out of kids, to failure to embed an ethos of intelligence and technique into our young players, rather than current approach based upon fitness and strength being continually applied to try and wear down the opposition.

If anything in the national game changes to encourage more kids to play football based on technique and skill, with some thought applied, then by the time it has an effect it will be far too late for 2010.

It may be that for those of us that find it hard to get excited about a tournament without any home nation representation will need to findother things to occupy us during forthcoming international football events for many years to come!

Bill Bailey is freelance writer, journalist and football fan. More of Bill's articles on cars, finance, travel, computers, shopping and sports can be found at http://www.schnafflehound.com

Watching and participating in various sports are popular activities in Japan enjoyed by people of all ages and walks of life. The origin of sports in Japan dates back to the twelfth century, when military nobility known as samurai introduced events such as kendo, (Japanese stick fencing) kyudo, (archery) and jujustu, ( judo) to the populous. These athletic games were eventually established as martial arts in the Edo period (1600-1868), with the focus on mastering the mental aspects of each activity in hopes of elevating the participant to a nobler, more transcendent level. These sports have been passed down from generation to generation, and still continue to flourish today. Sumo, which also maintains a long history as a traditional martial art, originated approximately 2,000 years ago from a ceremonial dance used to entertain the Shinto gods, and is considered Japan's national sport. Even today the event includes ritualistic elements derived from the Shinto religion, such as tossing salt to the ground at the start of each match as a means of symbolic purification. The rules of sumo are quite basic. Two wrestlers called rikishi face off in a circular ring called a dohyo, and the wrestler who first touches the floor with any body part other than the soles of his feet, or is pushed out of the ring by his opponent loses. The fight itself is usually over within seconds, but on rare occasions can last up to a minute or longer. Six tournaments are held throughout the year, each one lasting 15 days.

Western sports were eventually introduced to Japan with the arrival of the Meiji Restoration, including baseball in 1872. Baseball has since evolved into one of the country's most popular spectator sports, with thousands of enthusiastic fans attending professional games held each season in stadiums found in all major cities throughout the country. Games are also broadcast live on television several times a week, featuring teams from both leagues, (the Central and Pacific), which consist of six teams each. The last few years has also seen a rise in the number of Japanese players who are currently playing successfully in the American Major Leagues, and whose games are covered extensively through the media in Japan. University and high school teams are also numerous, and the All Japan High School Baseball Championship held each summer and televised nationwide is viewed by millions. Competing with baseball as the nations most popular sport is soccer, which made it's debut in 1993 with the introduction of J-League, a professional soccer league consisting of two divisions, J1 and J2. Soccer had been played by amateurs for many years in Japan, but it's appeal gained momentum after Japan's national soccer team participated in the world cup in France for the first time in 1998.

Following closely behind soccer in regard to popularity in Japan is Golf. The bubble economy boom of the 80's and the affluence which followed brought golf quickly into the forefront as one of the most popular games in the country. Enjoyed in the past by only a privileged few, it soon grew in favor among the average “salary man”, who used it as a means of extending his business network by playing a round or two on Sunday with potential clients. Memberships in prestigious clubs at the time were in such demand that they cost anywhere from 100 to 400 million yen, and were sought after by large companies who were hoping to establish themselves in the ranks of those who were often closing more deals on the golf course than in the conference room. Because of the increase in the number of players and limited space available, the prospect of playing golf for the average person in Japan is still an expensive one, the price averaging between 20,000 yen and up for 18 holes, with caddy fees and lunch usually not included. Another consideration when figuring the cost of playing golf in Japan is that of “hole in one insurance”. Those who are fortunate (or unfortunate enough) to sink the elusive “hole in one” celebrate the event by paying for all fellow member's fees that day, as well as bestowing expensive gifts on those present. Consequently insurance was made available to purchase to cover the residual expense for those skillful enough to make this difficult shot.

As well as enjoying golf, baseball, and soccer, the Japanese due to an increase in free time available in recent years are now participating more than ever before in an array of sport related activities including jogging, weight training, long distant running, calisthenics, aerobics, jazz dancing, softball, swimming, badminton, volleyball, cycling, tennis, table tennis, billiards, and bowling. High risk sports such as scuba diving, hang gliding, and horseback riding are also gaining popularity.


Jim Sherard is the author of "Land of the Rising Sun, A Guide to Living and Working in Japan", which can be found at: http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Living_and_Working_in_Japan/Living_and_Working_in_Japan.html