TAYLOR ANDERSON CUP
夢を生きる
2026
Sawa Co., Ltd. Presents:
Taylor Anderson Cup 2026 in Onagawa
A second match against Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth.
The day before, we received a talk from a friend of Ms. Taylor's.
From Taylor's family
From Taylor's friends
Taylor’s family 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. And thank you to the fans who support this tournament! It is a wonderful way to remember her and the area so affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Andy Anderson
Jean Anderson
Steve Corbett
former Assistant Language Teacher, Ishinomaki City (2009–2012)
I feel joy in being able to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup, and in seeing so many people come out every year to support this wonderful tournament. I am deeply grateful to the committee chair and everyone involved who makes this event possible. I sincerely hope this tournament, carrying on the spirit of my friend Taylor, continues to be a fun and kind event.
Nao Takahashi
Taylor Anderson Cup Executive Committee Member and Taylor's friend/student
I was one of Ms. Taylor's students when I was in junior high school. Ms. Taylor's spirit of "living your dream" has become an important guidepost in my life. I am very happy to be able to help players who are "living their dream" this time.
Chiho Shimura
Kokoro Smile Project
Fifteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. As memories of the disaster continue to fade, thank you for using the Taylor Anderson Cup to share the story of the disaster and the appeal of Tohoku. Even now, fifteen years on, those who lost precious loved ones still need time for their hearts to heal. We offer our heartfelt thanks to all the players who come from Japan and abroad, and to the committee members who work so hard to hold this tournament.
チームテイラー2026
TEAM TAYLOR
Mai Hirata
FC Basel
Relation to the disaster area
JFA Academy Fukushima
(c) FC Basel 1893 Frauen
I am very happy to take part in the Taylor Cup for the fourth consecutive year. Fifteen years have passed since the disaster, and I always keep in mind that ordinary days are never something to take for granted, and I am grateful to be able to play the football I love.
Through this tournament, I will play in a way that helps everyone discover the joy of women's football and take an interest in women's football overseas too! I look forward to meeting everyone at the venue on the day.
Yurina Imai
1.FSV Mainz 05
Relation to the disaster area
©1.FSV Mainz 05
I am very happy to be able to take part in the Taylor Cup again this year. Grateful that I can still play football fifteen years after the disaster, I will enjoy this opportunity with everything I have. To everyone who always supports me — please come and see how I've grown playing in Germany.
Marin Hamamoto
Kaohsiung Attackers FC
Relation to the disaster area
(c) Kaohsiung Attackers FC
I am Marin Hamamoto, and this is my first time taking part. Learning about the place that is Onagawa and the feelings poured into this tournament, I have once again felt the importance of "connecting" through football. Grateful for the chance to take part, I will do my best to deliver something, however small, through the play that is within my ability!! I look forward to meeting everyone!!
Yume Endo
Mynavi Sendai Ladies
Relation to the disaster area
From Miyagi Prefecture; Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth
(c) mynavisendai
I am Yume Endo, and I have the chance to take part again this year. I will do my best to embody, through my play, the joy and gratitude of being able to play football, and to bring smiles and energy to everyone. I am also really looking forward to playing football with the children at the football clinic! Thank you for your support!
Minami Munakata
RB Omiya Ardija WOMEN
Relation to the disaster area
From Sendai; Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth
© 2024 RB OMIYA Inc.
I am Minami Munakata, and I have the chance to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup this time. It's deeply moving to think that I played as an opponent in this match four years ago. I am very happy to be given this opportunity once again. As someone from Miyagi Prefecture and a professional football player who wishes for the recovery from the disaster, I will do my best to bring energy to many people!
Mamiko Matsumoto
1.FSV Mainz 05
Relation to the disaster area
Former Mynavi Sendai Ladies
©1.FSV Mainz 05
I am Mamiko Matsumoto of Mainz 05 Frauen. I am very happy to be able to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup again this year. I also look forward to playing again, after a year, in front of everyone in Japan who supports me every day! I would be glad if, through my play, I could become a source of energy for everyone. I look forward to meeting everyone on the day! Please do come visit Onagawa! I'll be waiting for you ♪
Suguri Hashitani
1.FSV Mainz 05
Relation to the disaster area
©1.FSV Mainz 05
I am Suguri Hashitani, and I will be taking part in the Taylor Anderson Cup. I am very happy to have this opportunity! Fifteen years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Grateful to be able to play football today, I want to enjoy it to the fullest!
Thank you for your support!
Yuki Sakai
Mynavi Sendai Ladies
Relation to the disaster area
Vegalta Sendai Ladies (2012–)
(c)mynavisendai
I am Yuki Sakai, and I recently retired. I am happy to have the chance to take part again this year. I hope that through football, I can help people feel something and bring them smiles. Grateful for and mindful that what feels ordinary is never truly ordinary, I want to make this a day overflowing with smiles, never forgetting to enjoy it. Thank you for your support!
Yuuki Mizutani
Relation to the disaster area
JFA Academy Fukushima
I am happy to be able to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup. Since I wasn't able to play last year, this year I will enjoy showing everyone a lively, energetic performance. I look forward to meeting so many people at the venue!
Minori Takahashi
RB Omiya Ardija WOMEN
Relation to the disaster area
© 2024 RB OMIYA Inc.
I am Minori Takahashi, and I have the chance to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup this time. I am very happy to have been given such a precious opportunity. Grateful to be able to play football, I want to enjoy it with everything I have!
Akari Kurishima
1.FSV Mainz 05
Relation to the disaster area
©1.FSV Mainz 05
I'm returning to Japan after a year away! Grateful to be able to play in front of everyone and to play the football I love in Japan, I will give it my all! Holding this precious opportunity close to my heart, I look forward to sharing this time together with everyone.
Yumi Uetsuji
Kaohsiung Attackers FC
Relation to the disaster area
TEPCO Women's Football Club Mareeze(Fukushima)
(c) Kaohsiung Attackers FC
I have the chance to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup this time. I would be happy if, through football, I could connect with the local community and bring even a little smile and energy to people. I look forward to spending a wonderful time together.
Saki Ishisaka
Mynavi Sendai Ladies
Relation to the disaster area
From Sendai; Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth
©mynavisendai
I have the chance to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup this time. As someone from Miyagi Prefecture, I want to play in a way that delivers something, however small, to others. Never forgetting my gratitude for living a daily life that is never truly ordinary, and for being able to play football, I will enjoy every moment on the pitch.
Reina Shirowa
Albirex Niigata Ladies
Relation to the disaster area
JFA Academy Fukushima
©ALBIREX NIIGATA LADIES
I have the chance to take part in the Taylor Anderson Cup for the first time in two years. I am very happy to have the chance to take part in an opportunity like this. Grateful for being able to play football as a matter of course, I want to play in a way that brings courage and energy to the people of Tohoku. Thank you for your support! See you in Onagawa!!
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach
Hirofumi Masaki
Mynavi Sendai Ladies Academy Director and Youth Head Coach
Relation to the disaster area
TEPCO Women's Football Club Marieeze (Fukushima)
©mynavisendai
I am Masaki, and I will serve as head coach again this year. Fifteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. · Keeping the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake alive · Helping people get to know Onagawa · Helping people get to know women's football This year too, centered on these three pillars, I want to enjoy everything together with the players — from the day-before recovery-support event to the match itself. I hope the recovery-support event, the football clinic, and the match itself can become some kind of spark, however small, for everyone. Please do come and see us at the stadium.
GK Coach
Takuya Ueno
Mynavi Sendai Ladies Goalkeeper Coach
Relation to the disaster area
Vegalta Sendai
©mynavisendai
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 Coach
Mayu Sasaki
Urawa Reds Heartful Club
Relation to the disaster area
Seiwa High School (Miyagi)
(c) Urawa Reds
I am very happy to still be able to be involved in this way even after retiring. Recently, I had the chance to hear a storyteller's account in Iwate. Fifteen years after the disaster, the town has been beautifully rebuilt, yet many traces of the disaster remain, along with efforts to carry its lessons into the future — and I learned so many things I hadn't known myself. I hope people will visit Onagawa themselves and feel, in that very place, all that it has to offer. And this time, as a coach with the Urawa Reds Heartful Club, I want to make this a day where I can be close to many people's hearts. To the players, and to everyone coming to the stadium — let's make it a wonderful day together!
OPPONENT
Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth
We approach this tournament with the desire to connect players active overseas with players in Japan, and to create new exchanges and challenges through women's football. Also, even now, years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Onagawa carries many feelings and much history.
Grateful to be able to play in this place, we want to convey, through sport, the value of "human connection" and "the importance of supporting one another."
We would be happy if this tournament could connect to the vitality of Onagawa and become a spark that delivers dreams and hope to many people.
And we hope that the encounters and experiences born here will connect to the future of women's football going forward.
With gratitude in our hearts for everyone who supports us, we will fight with everything we have until the very end.
We appreciate your warm support.
Ouka Uchida, Captain, Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth
SUPPORTERS
Commentator
Erina Yamane
Stadium Performance
Sakura Baton Club Miyagi, Ishinomaki Class
Broadcast Commentary
Kaori Moriguchi
Ball Persons
Sendai YMCA Junior members
Stadium DJ
Akihiro Oikawa
The Day Before the Match
 We visited to pay our respects at Ms. Taylor's memorial, inscribed with "Live your dream," at Ishinomaki Memorial Park. |  Captain Mai Hirata laid flowers for Ms. Taylor. |
|---|---|
 We visited the Tsunami Memorial Museum within Ishinomaki Memorial Park. |  Head Coach Hirofumi Masaki laid flowers at the plaque bearing Ms. Taylor's name. |
 We visited Ishinomaki Municipal Watanoha Elementary School, where we heard from the principal — who had worked in Onagawa at the time of the disaster — about that period. |  The "Taylor Bunko" (Taylor Library) has been donated to Watanoha Elementary School, where Ms. Taylor worked. |
 We enjoyed kicking the ball around with Watanoha Elementary School's fourth-graders. |  |
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For more details, please see our note article.
Match Day
On June 6, 2026, the "Taylor Anderson Cup" held in Onagawa began under calm skies — though rain the previous day had raised concerns, bright sky appeared by the morning, almost as if Ms. Taylor were watching over us. This year too, students from Ishinomaki Senshu University took part as volunteers, playing an active role from venue setup to match operations. People connected to Ms. Taylor also come every year, and their warm support never fails to move us. The morning featured a children's football clinic.
Mayu Sasaki, who retired last year, returned this year as a coach, instantly brightening the atmosphere at the venue. The afternoon match pitted Team Taylor against Mynavi Sendai Ladies Youth. Both sides attacked each other from the start, with cheers ringing out every time a goal was scored. The players' serious expressions, their dynamic play, and the young players taking the pitch one after another through substitutions — every moment seemed to carry, overlapping within it, the feelings of the people who have continued to support Tohoku.
At halftime, Sakura Baton Club Miyagi's Ishinomaki class gave a dazzling performance. The rain had completely cleared, and the venue was wrapped in an even brighter atmosphere.
The second half continued to be a fierce contest, and in the end, Team Taylor won 5–2. After the match, both teams took a commemorative photo together, followed by the now-annual retirement ceremony for departing players. The MC was MS. Erina Yamane.
Speaking of her connection to Onagawa, she wrapped the venue in warm words. As the players received their bouquets, their years of effort and gratitude toward their teammates were plain to see. Finally, supporters raised banners and everyone sang chants together, celebrating the players' new beginnings.
This year, too, it was a wonderful tournament filled with smiles, tears, and warm support. If you like what you see, please lend your support. Together with Ms. Taylor's spirit, we will keep spreading dreams from Onagawa into the future.
