By David Gold
March 15 – Japan has been forced to postpone all J.League games during March, placing in doubt the country’s participation in the Copa America in July.
Alberto Zaccheroni’s side were scheduled to play in Group A alongside hosts Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia in the tournament, which runs from July 1 to July 24.
More than games were postponed in addition to last weekend’s matches in both the J1 and J2 Leagues following the earthquake last Friday (March 11) and subsequent tsunami, with dates yet to be confirmed for when they will finally take place, but the J.League chairman Kazumi Ohigashi said that they would be most likely to take place during July.
With the fallout continuing to cause problems as explosions at the country’s nuclear plants spreading fear of exposure to radiation, further problems could hamper efforts to rearrange the football calendar, Ohigashi confirmed.
“Things are very serious right now with the aftershocks continuing and [us being] unable to guarantee complete safety at all the stadiums,” he said.
“The J.League has made the decision to cancel all J1, J2 and Nabisco [League] Cup matches for the rest of March.
“The fixtures are tight as it is, we have no choice but to play games in July.
“The plan is to play the existing number of J.League and Nabisco Cup games, and to do that we have to play during the Copa America.”
The Japanese Football Association’s general secretary Kozo Tashima confirmed though that friendlies scheduled against Montenegro on March 25 at the Shizuoka Stadium and New Zealand in Tokyo on March 29 would go ahead as planned, “to send a message to the rest of the world.”
Should Japan, who recently won the Asian Cup, pull out of the Copa America, it is unknown who would replace them in Argentina, but there is speculation that Costa Rica, Honduras and the United States would be contenders.
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