Churaumi Soccer Camp

The spring camp season in Okinawa has come. If you say “spring training camps in Okinawa” professional baseball camps are famous, however 11 top teams of soccer both international and domestic come for “Churashima Soccer Camp” which is held on places all over Okinawa.

Only in Okinawa you could see both professional baseball players and soccer players in great numbers. I went to look at the training of Yokohama FC.

 After arriving at the venue, the players started practicing.
 
The fans rushed to watch them. You get to see the players training right in front of you, which is normally something you can only see on TV. Even though it is practice, you get to see impressive plays on the same level as a real match.  
 
Both children and adults were elated to watch live play.

Children cheering on players reverberated throughout the venue.

Boys with serious looks in their under the pretense of being ball boys learn by observation. There are not many chances, so they watch the playing with great concentration. The player who faces are serious when play take a 180 when the whistle is blown.

You get to see them smiling or without tension which is not something you see on TV often. Seeing their casual expressions and taking a photo at a privilege of going to the camp!
 
 It is a moment that fans wait for. One of the good points of the camp is the distance between the fans and the players.
 
After the morning practice the fan ask for autographs and the players with smiles on their faces happily oblige. After getting the autograph of the players that they like, everyone is overcome with delight.
There are also people who have casual conversations and give letters.  
 

You can only see “Churashima Soccer Camp 2014” during this period. Whether you follow your favorite player or visit camps all over Okinawa, it is a way to enjoy Okinawa during this period.  


Churashima Soccer Camp 2014 Homepage
There are some camps that have already finished, so please the homepage for details.

 Okinawa Clip Photowriter Taiki Gushiken