Soccer uniform presentation to Japanese children in Holland

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) (HCME) presented soccer uniforms to Japanese children who are currently residing in the Netherlands and the members of the J-Dream football club. J-Dream participated in an international football tournament for children held in Denmark, called the Tivoli Cup, from July 7 to July 12. HCME became a sponsor of the club and presented the uniforms for the tournament.

The uniforms is orange because this is the corporate color of Hitachi Construction Machinery as well as the color of the Dutch national team, and is printed with "HITACHI" and the Hitachi Construction Machinery logo. The children in the tournament ran full of spirit on the pitch in their taxi-yellow uniforms.

The 18th Tivoli Cup held this year attracted 72 teams of boys and girls from 16 countries. J-Dream participated in the B13 category (birth on or after January 1, 1995), which had nine amateur top-class, powerhouse club teams from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland. The nine teams competed very impressively over five days - just like the World Cup.

Although J-Dream occasionally won in a tournament sponsored by a professional football club in the Netherlands, the children were unable to win a single victory on the stage of this first international competition partly because they became very nervous about a great opportunity of international competition. However, matches against very strong overseas teams, international mingling, and, above all, weekly community life away from parents are wonderful experiences for them. I was impressed that the children became more confident after the tour. I am looking forward to their further development.

Please send us your opinions and impressions concerning this article.