On October 2nd, a soccer ball presentation ceremony commemorating the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2022 victory was held at the Saitama City Board of Education, with Shusaku Nishikawa and Home Town Headquarters Headquarters Director Daisuke in attendance.

Since winning the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (now the YBC Levain Cup) in 2003, the club's first ever title, Urawa Reds has continued to work as a professional soccer club with deep roots in the local community by giving back to the local community the prize money it receives from winning titles.
This activity is positioned as part of the hometown social contribution activities recommended by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) using part of the winning prize money, and a total of 2,000 soccer balls will be donated to 54 public elementary schools in Saitama City (Urawa Ward, Midori Ward, Minami Ward, Sakura Ward, and Chuo Ward) and 36 youth soccer clubs in the former Urawa area.



Speaking on behalf of the club, Hometown Headquarters General Manager Maruyama gave the opening speech, saying, "Urawa Reds' hometown is a soccer city with a 100-year history, and we continue our activities with the desire to continue to be a presence that gives dreams to the children who will carry the future, in order to pass on this history and tradition to future generations. We would like to move forward together with the people of our hometown, as well as our fans and supporters, so that we can connect the history and tradition of our soccer city to the future, and so that we can continue to create opportunities like this for the children of our hometown. As a club, we are very pleased to be able to report on these activities, and we would like to express our gratitude to all those who support the club."



Next, Nishikawa said, "I believe that our ACL victory was not only the result of our own efforts, but also thanks to the power we received from the city of Urawa, our fans and supporters, and the children. I would be very happy if this ball reaches many children and they get to play with the ball a lot through soccer." He then handed the soccer ball to Superintendent Takei Hideko, who then received a letter of appreciation.





During the conversation that followed, Superintendent Takei said, "For children, Urawa Reds are dreams and hopes. When children interact with the players, their faces and eyes shine. I hope that the traditions of the town will be passed down as children have more opportunities to interact with players using the ball. The Board of Education promotes lifelong learning, and adults' eyes shine like children's when they interact with fans and supporters. I hope that you will continue to give dreams and hope to people of all ages and genders." After that, Deputy Superintendent Kurihara Akihiro and Director of School Education Nozu Yoshihiro, who were also in attendance, continued to talk in a friendly atmosphere, and the presentation ceremony came to an end.



[Shusaku Nishikawa]
"I think that professional soccer players like us are something that children look up to. I believe that we were able to win the ACL thanks to the support and encouragement of so many people, so I want to tell the children that we were able to become champions thanks to everyone's support, and I want them to have lots of fun using this ball. I also hope that this will be an opportunity for children who don't play soccer to learn that they can connect with many friends and have fun with just one ball.
Being able to take part in this kind of social contribution activity as a member of Urawa Reds is a great opportunity to show the existence of Urawa Reds to all the J.League teams, and I believe it is our mission to continue to achieve results and deliver bright, positive news to children and all those who support us, so we will continue to do our best to make everyone's lives better through soccer."



[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]