A lacrosse boss in Japan believe Hong Kong has developed a reputation for hosting the best tournaments in the region, but said the city needed to follow their example if it wanted to keep developing on the pitch.
With a men’s team ranked fifth in the world, Japan has consistently been Asia’s best performer at the World Championships, and an official at the game’s governing body in the country said it was all down to their work at university and club level.
Japan will be one of six teams taking part in the World Lacrosse Super Sixes in Hong Kong later this month, where they have been placed alongside China and Germany in Group A, with the hosts in Group B with the Philippines and Great Britain.
“I’d say Hong Kong is one of the more developed countries even throughout the world,” Chris Jinno, general manager of Fogo Japan, said. “But in Japan, the sport is developed at the university level with over 15,000 players that play all over the country.
“So, one piece of advice would be to keep developing the game like Japan because senior players tend to play longer and help develop the sport after they graduate.
“I think what makes Japan really good is the discipline of the top players, and the extensive domestic national championships that have over 200 participating teams each year.”
That large number of players has in turn provide Japan with a sufficient pool to pick from a national side that finished fifth at the men’s World Championship in San Diego in July, while also taking bronze at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2022.
A former national team member who played at the 2014 and 2018 World Championships, Jinno is also an executive director at the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union.
The Keio University graduate, who has been involved with lacrosse in Hong Kong for the past seven years, also praised the city’s ability to host tournaments.
“I saw exceptional improvement in the players’ skills and the number of domestic competitions available,” he said. “They have been promoting the sport well, not only in the city, but also in neighbouring regions such as mainland China and Southeast Asia.
“The tournaments [in Hong Kong] are the best in the region and have been the most exciting to participate. I think HKLA [Hong Kong Lacrosse Association] should keep developing its capacity for the Hong Kong Open and the Super Sixes because the bigger the tournament, the more we can attract teams from Asia and the world.”
FOGO Japan and Hong Kong had been familiar foes in recent years, with the Japanese side outperforming the hosts in back-to-back Hong Kong Open finals in 2019 and 2023, winning by a goal on both occasions.
Jinno said they planned to bring a competitive team to this month’s Super Sixes, which will be held on the artificial football pitches in Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang from December 29 to 31.
