Champions League can put Asian women's football on map, say players

TOKYO – Women's football in Asia can close the gap on Europe and North America with this week's launch of the AFC Women's Champions League, say players from top Japanese side Urawa Reds Ladies.

The women's game has exploded in popularity in Europe in recent years, with clubs in England, Spain and Germany enjoying record attendances and investment.

Women's football in North America is also in rude health but Asia has fallen behind since Japan became the continent's first and only World Cup winners in 2011.

Asian football chiefs are aiming to give the women's club game a shot in the arm when the Champions League kicks off on Thursday.

Urawa won an invitational continental competition that served as a test event last season, and defender Yu Endo has her sights set on this year's title.

"Compared to Europe, women's football in Asia isn't as established yet and compared to the US, there are less players," she told AFP.

"I think having a big tournament like this will mean more people coming out to watch games and helping to establish women's football.

"If Urawa Reds win the Asian title, I think people around the world will take more interest in women's football in Japan," she added.

The competition features 12 teams from across the Asian Football Confederation region, although East Asia is more heavily represented.

Organizers say the winning team "can expect at least $1.3 million in prize money".

Endo says financial incentives give "motivation" to players whose salaries are dwarfed by those of their male counterparts.

But she also wants to make history as the tournament's first champions.

"I want Urawa Reds to be the team that takes on the rest of the world representing Asia," she said.

On-off final

Last season's invitational competition saw Urawa beat South Korea's Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels 2-1 in May, in a final which almost did not take place.

The AFC informed the teams in March that the final would be scrapped, with no official reason made public.

The game eventually went ahead after a late U-turn but Urawa's Rion Ishikawa said it was a difficult experience for the players.

"We played the group stage and we were aiming to win the title, so we had nowhere to get rid of that frustration," said Ishikawa, a Japan international who has played at the World Cup and Olympics.

"Eventually we were able to host the match and we felt we really had to win it."

The AFC say the Champions League will usher in "a new dawn for the women's game in Asia".

The tournament starts with three groups of four teams playing in centralized locations, before moving to a knockout competition from the quarter-finals.

The final is set to take place in late May next year.

Ishikawa says that, for Urawa, "the goal is to become champions of Asia".

"The Champions League group stage comes when we're still in our domestic league season but we want to show what a strong team we are," she said.

"We want to become a bigger team on the world stage and winning the Asian Champions League would help that."