ENG2025 | TAYLOR ANDERSON CUP IN ONAGAWA

2025

Sawa Co., Ltd. Presents:
Taylor Anderson Cup 2025 in Onagawa

A match against Sendai University.
The day before, we received a talk from the mother of one of Ms. Taylor's former students.

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From Taylor's family

Jeanne and I would like to wish all the players and coaches good luck in the tournament and thank you for playing in the Taylor’s Cup. Thank you to Mihoko Terada and volunteers for once again organizing a great competition in the area Taylor loved. It is a wonderful way to remember her and the area so affected by the Great East japan Eqrthquake and Tsunami.

Andy Anderson
Jean Anderson

TEAM TAYLOR

Midori Yoshimura

Cacereño Femenino

Relation to the disaster area

Seiwa Gakuen High School (Miyagi)

(C)Cacereño Femenino

Every year, when March 11th comes around, I am reminded to be grateful for being able to keep playing football like this and for every ordinary day, and to live each moment with care. I am truly happy to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup again this year! I look forward to returning once more to Miyagi, a place I love so much, to seeing everyone in Onagawa, and to playing in Japan! I want to become one with everyone gathered in Onagawa and, in order to create a space overflowing with smiles, enjoy every single moment myself!

Mamiko Matsumoto

1.FSV Mainz 05

Relation to the disaster area

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am Mamiko Matsumoto of Mainz 05 Frauen, and I will be taking part in the Taylor Anderson Cup. Thank you very much for arranging this opportunity. I look forward to playing another match in Miyagi, the place that helped me grow as a football player. I would be happy for the supporters and fans in Sendai to see me play once again. What I can do is small, but I would be glad if, through football, I could become a source of energy for someone.

Kana Osafune

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

Relation to the disaster area

TEPCO Women's Football Club Mareeze

(C)Cacereño Femenino

Hello, everyone. I have been given the chance to take part in this year's Taylor Anderson Cup! I am happy that, in the tournament's third year, I have finally been able to take part. Fourteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and I want to once again feel the joy of being able to play football and fully enjoy it together with my teammates. I look forward to meeting everyone in Onagawa!

Yume Endo

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

Relation to the disaster area

From Miyagi Prefecture; Meisei High School; Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth

(C)Cacereño Femenino

Fourteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. I feel every day that being able to play football is never something to take for granted. I will enjoy football and give it my all so that I can bring smiles to the people of Miyagi, Tohoku, and Japan.

Mai Hirata

FC Basel

Relation to the disaster area

JFA Academy Fukushima

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am very happy to be able to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup again this year. Through this tournament, I will play in a way that helps pass the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake to future generations, brings a little energy to the people of the affected areas through football, and lets those watching enjoy themselves. I would also be happy if everyone could come to know that many women footballers are working hard overseas as well. I look forward to meeting everyone at Onagawa Stadium on the day.

Yurina Imai

1.FSV Mainz 05

Relation to the disaster area

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am very happy to be able to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup for the first time this year. Now, fourteen years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, I am grateful for this precious opportunity and want to truly enjoy playing in Japan again after so long. I would be happy if, through football, I could be of even a little help to someone. Everyone, let's meet in Onagawa!

Mayu Sasaki

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

Relation to the disaster area

Seiwa Gakuen High School (Miyagi) / Vegalta Sendai Ladies

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am very happy to have the chance to take part again this year. Standing alongside Taylor's memory and together with players working hard overseas and players connected to Tohoku, I want to truly enjoy this — my last match on the pitch as an active player.

Rina Funaki

Omiya Ardija Ventus

Relation to the disaster area

Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School / Sendai University / Vegalta Sendai Ladies

(C)Cacereño Femenino

Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. I am Rina Funaki, and I will be taking part in the Taylor Anderson Cup this time. I am very happy to have the chance to take part in an event like this. Thank you. To me, the Tohoku region and Miyagi Prefecture are like a second hometown. I will prepare myself in good condition so that the fans and supporters coming to the stadium, and the people of Miyagi and Tohoku, can enjoy my play. Though our time together is limited, let's all get fired up and enjoy it together! Thank you for your support!

Mai Kadowaki

RB Leipzig

Relation to the disaster area

JFA Academy Fukushima

(C)Cacereño Femenino

Through the football I love, I want to enjoy the game so that it becomes a wonderful day that brings smiles, energy, and dreams to everyone watching! I look forward to meeting everyone! Thank you for your support!

Keiwa Hieda

Western United FC

Relation to the disaster area

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am happy to be able to take part in such a wonderful opportunity. Having experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake myself, I learned that being alive, and having an environment where I can practice and play football as if it were ordinary, is never something to take for granted. What I believe I can do as a football player is to play hoping that I can bring smiles and courage to as many people as possible through my performance! This time too, I hope to bring smiles to as many people as possible! Grateful to be able to play football, I will enjoy it with everything I have!

Miwa Sasaki

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

Relation to the disaster area

Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Miyagi)/ Vegalta Sendai Ladies

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am very happy to have the chance to take part again this year. Last year, I was reminded once again of precious, wonderful things — "carrying feelings forward," "valuing connections with others," and "how a single ball can bring more friends." This year too, I sincerely hope this tournament becomes one that everyone involved can enjoy. I will enjoy it with everything I have! Thank you for your support!

Yuki Sakai

AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies

Relation to the disaster area

Vegalta Sendai Ladies

(C)Cacereño Femenino

I am happy to have the chance to take part in this charity match for the Great East Japan Earthquake. I would be glad if I could be of even a little help toward recovery. Thank you for your support.

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach

©mynavisendai

Hirofumi Masaki

Relation to the disaster area

TEPCO Women's Football Club / Vegalta Sendai Ladies coach

Mynavi Sendai Ladies Academy Director and Youth Head Coach

I am Masaki, and I will serve as head coach again this year. Through this tournament: ① passing on the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake to future generations, ② helping people get to know Onagawa, and ③ helping people get to know women's football. This year too, I want to firmly share these three pillars with the players as we approach the match. Players active in Japan and overseas will show everyone who visits Onagawa Stadium the wonderful side of women's football — the sight of fighting without giving up until the very end — so please come to the stadium. This year too, the players and staff will all work hard to make the stadium a day overflowing with smiles, and to become some kind of "spark" for everyone who comes.

GK Coach

©mynavisendai

Takuya Ueno

Relation to the disaster area

Vegalta Sendai

Mynavi Sendai Ladies Goalkeeper Coach

At this fifteen-year milestone since the Great East Japan Earthquake, I am very happy to once again take part in the "Taylor Anderson Cup" as goalkeeper coach. As the years pass and the town is beautifully rebuilt, I am reminded once again of the importance of carrying forward, into the future, the lessons we learned from the disaster and the memories of that time. Grateful for this day and for the ordinary life that lets me play the football I love, I want to create a wonderful time together with the players and everyone at the stadium. Let's make it a wonderful day together! I look forward to meeting everyone in Onagawa!

Assistant GK coach

(c) Fortuna Düsseldorf Frauen

Misaki Amano

Relation to the disaster area

Tokiwagi Gakuen High School / TEPCO Women's Football Club / Vegalta Sendai Ladies

Fortuna Düsseldorf U15 GK Coach

Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. In the third year since the Taylor Cup began, I am very happy to finally — perhaps — be able to take part. Fourteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. And although I have long lived away from Tohoku, I still think of Tohoku and Miyagi as my second hometown. That the Taylor Cup is being held again this year is thanks not only to our sponsors, but also to the supporters who take an interest — "Let's support Tohoku and women's football!" "What is women's football like?" — and come to the stadium. Though our time together is limited, I am looking forward with all my heart to spending an enjoyable time with everyone on this day! Let's meet in Tohoku!

OPPONENT

Sendai University Women's Football Club

It is wonderful that the Taylor Anderson Cup is being held again this year. Fourteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and we believe it is important that memories of it do not fade. We approach this tournament with a sense of mission — to energize Onagawa through women's football and to pass the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake on to future generations.

SUPPORTERS

Executive committee member

Yuki Togawa

Stadium Performance

Sakura Baton Club Miyagi, Ishinomaki Class

Broadcast Announcer

Kaori Moriguchi

Stadium DJ

Yoshimi Yamaguchi

The Day Before the Match

Team Taylor paid its respects to Ms. Taylor, visiting the Memorial Park in Ishinomaki.	Captain Midori Yoshimura offered flowers at Ms. Taylor's memorial.
Coach Misaki Amano laid flowers at the plaque bearing Ms. Taylor's name.	Mayu Sasaki laid flowers at the plaque bearing the names of Ishinomaki's disaster victims.
We moved on to Ishinomaki Municipal Inai Elementary School, where Ms. Taylor had worked, and heard from the mother of a former student about Ms. Taylor's character and stories from that time.	Inai Elementary School's "Taylor Bunko" (Taylor Library) is placed not only in front of the library but also at the exit of each classroom, designed so that children can easily pick up a book.
Ms. Taylor's story is even included in a junior high school third-year English textbook.
We enjoyed a football exchange with the third-graders.

For more details, please see our note article.

Match Day

June 7, 2025. Perhaps thanks to Ms. Taylor and the others cheering us on from the sky, we had clear skies again this year. It turned out to be a truly wonderful day.

We began with a children's football clinic. Boys and girls from kindergarten age through third grade had fun kicking the ball around with the players. Meanwhile, our operations volunteers were hard at work. Members of the Okano Tomoko Laboratory at Ishinomaki Senshu University, students from Tohoku Fukushi University, and the parent we had spoken with the day before. Lovely flowers also arrived from Hanatomo at Seapal-Pier Onagawa. This year's food stalls were as good as ever.

Adonis Coffee, produced by Mayu Sasaki. Protein-rich chicken jerky from Rikuzentakata was also a big hit. At halftime, once again, Sakura Baton Club's Ishinomaki class gave an adorable and cool performance. The rain had completely cleared, and the venue was wrapped in an even brighter atmosphere. There was also a stadium DJ experience for the children.

When Mai Hirata broke through to score off a chance created by Misaki Amano, the children let out adorable cheers. The stadium DJ was Sachimi Yamaguchi. Her assistant was Yuki Togawa, a Team Taylor mainstay through last year. We are so grateful that even after retiring as a player, she continues to be involved with the Taylor Cup in this way. The broadcast booth was again handled by Kaori Moriguchi. Beyond commentary, she made the YouTube livestream a delight by including conversations with local Ishinomaki residents, a volunteer leader, student volunteers from the Okano Tomoko Laboratory at Ishinomaki Senshu University, Misaki Amano, Mr. Seiichi Kunii, and friends of Miwa Sasaki. The livestream camera work was handled by Steve, a friend of Ms. Taylor's.