Eintracht Frankfurt will use the World Cup break in November tohost a multi-day tour of Japan.
The trip is planned from 13 to 20 November 2022, which means that it will directly follow the 15th Bundesliga match day, which is the last in the calendar year. The reason is the Winter World Cup in Qatar, due to which the Bundesliga will take a break from mid-November to the end of January. In Japan, the reigning Europa League winners will play test matches against the Urawa Red Diamonds (16 November) and Gamba Osaka (19 November).
“With the Urawa Reds, there are several Eagle bearers in the person of Eintracht brand ambassador Uwe Bein, Naohiro Takahara, Uwe Rahn and Makoto Hasebe, who is also a DFL brand ambassador, who were also under contract with the reigning Japanese Imperial Cup and Super Cup winners,” said the Bundesliga club, referring to the close ties to the Far East.
Moreover, these go back to the 19th century in the Rhine-Main region; according to the club, around 5,000 Japanese live in and around Frankfurt alone today, and 200 companies from the country are based in the region. “Reason enough to expand existing bridges under the eagle’s roof as well,” the statement continues.
In addition to the test matches, the club is therefore planning “further cultural and local events and fan events as well as media activation measures and cross-market B2B networking events”. Brand ambassador and world champion Bein (active in Japan from 1994 to 1997) will also have “a central role during the campaigns”, as will multiple Japanese internationals Hasebe and Daichi Kamada.
It remains to be seen whether Kamada will actually be able to take part in the trip. Theoretically, he could be in Japan’s World Cup squad – and face Germany in the opening Group E match on 23 November.
