Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, but it is now in danger of declining in popularity.

"The decline is due to issues facing the entire soccer world.""CRIACAO SHINJUKU" is in charge of training the academy (U-15 [junior high school age]).Yoshiteru Kanda.

Kanda, who studied human resource development and organizational development at Recruit Career, is using his knowledge to engage in career education for soccer players, organizational development for clubs, and consulting for general companies. He works on the axis of "people and organizations," crossing the boundaries between soccer and business.

We will ask Kanda about the challenges facing the soccer world and clues to their solutions, and explore the skills that will be necessary for business people in the future.

Criacao Co., Ltd.
Yoshiteru Kanda

After graduating from Saitama Prefectural Kawagoe High School, he went on to Waseda University, where he played in the Kanto University League as a member of the university's soccer team. After graduating, he gained experience in human resource development and recruitment at Recruit Co., Ltd. He then worked at the J.League in a career education program for J.League players and academy players at J.League clubs. He currently works as an employee of Criacao Co., Ltd., and is involved in club management while also overseeing the academy department as the Academy Director of Criacao Shinjuku. As a coach, he has held positions at the Waseda Club Soccer School Junior Team, Criacao Shinjuku Procriar (manager), and Shinjuku Ward Football Association Soccer School. He is a JFA certified C-class coach and has a level 1 GK coaching license. He is an outside director for J2 Mito Hollyhock.

"The important culture of soccer is being eroded."

── Please tell us how you first encountered soccer.

I was a soccer boy since I was a child. I was so into it that I joined a club in college, but I couldn't imagine myself working in a sports-related field, so I got a job at a regular company. After that, I moved to Recruit Career and worked in human resource development and organizational development.

The reason I got back into soccer was because Mitsuru Murai, who had been the CEO of Recruit Agent and was now the chairman of the J.League, suggested that I be seconded to the J.League. From there, I started planning educational programs and supporting players' second careers.

But gradually I began to feel a sense of crisis.

── What sense of crisis do you feel?

"The important culture of Japanese soccer is being eroded."This is the sense of crisis.

Athletes who have worked hard may not have a second career, or even if they do, they may not find it rewarding.The current soccer world is missing an important aspect: "education of people."I felt that.

It was Dettmar Cramer, the "father of Japanese soccer," who popularized the idea that the ultimate purpose of soccer is "education" in Japan. He said that soccer is a sport that "turns children into adults and turns adults into gentlemen (ladies)."

My high school coach was someone who followed in Kramer's footsteps, so I also viewed soccer in the same way, but the situation in the J.League when I first started getting involved was completely different.

── It is true that the short career spans of players and the lack of options for second careers are often seen as problems.

About 3% of J-League players quit within three years. The average length of stay is 3-6 years, and the average age is 7-26 years. If they work until they are 27 years old,After you retire, you have to do something else for 40 years..

Also, many professional soccer players have been praised for their soccer since they were young, so their identity and occupation are closely linked.The sense of loss when I quit soccer was enormousDespite this, the J.League at the time had almost no systems for educating players on humanity or supporting second careers.

The situation is similar around the world. According to a survey by the International Federation of Professional Footballers (*1),38% of active players experience symptoms of depressionIt has been pointed out that the number of cases increases even more after retirement. Although the causal relationship is unclear, there is no doubt that professional athletes, including soccer players, are prone to this type of occupation.

This impression is spreading to society. In a survey (2022) (*2) asking children about the occupation they would like to have in the future, for the first time since the survey began in 1999, "athlete" was overtaken by "police officer" in the boys' category, dropping to second place. Twenty years ago, 2% of boys were aiming to become athletes, but in the past 20 years, this number has dropped to 21.0%.

According to the number of soccer players published by the Japan Football Association (*3), the number has continued to decline since peaking at 2014 in 964,328, when the Brazil World Cup was held, and is now at 2021 in 826,906.

(*1) FIFPRO World Players' Union
https://fifpro.org/en/supporting-players/health-and-performance/mental-health
38% of active professional soccer players suffer from mental illness | footballista
https://www.footballista.jp/special/87334
(*2) Jobs you want to have in the future, jobs you want your child to have in 2022 | kuraray
https://www.kuraray.co.jp/enquete/2022
(*3) Number of registered soccer players by year | Japan Football Association (JFA)
https://www.jfa.jp/about_jfa/organization/databox/player.html

"Non-cognitive skills" may save athletes, teams and the industry

── What kind of "education" do you think is needed in the soccer world?

"Developing non-cognitive skills" is the keyI think so. Although definitions vary from person to person, non-cognitive abilities do not refer to soccer skills, but to "invisible powers" that can be divided into a dozen categories, such as sincerity, tenacity, goal achievement ability, and mindfulness.

Even after you can't become a professional athlete or you retire,A skill essential for living in societyRecently, it has also been pointed out that it may improve performance on the pitch (while playing soccer).

── Does this mean that high non-cognitive abilities lead to improved performance?

There are no accurate research results, but I think this is empirical. When I was involved with the J.League, I asked the then head of the training department (in charge of player contracts) about the characteristics of players who can play long-term for more than 10 years, "Which of mind, technique, and body is the most important?"

The answer is surprisingly“Mind (non-cognitive ability)”He said that while technique and physical strength are important, it is what is on the inside that makes the difference between top players. He also divided "mind (non-cognitive ability)" into about 45 categories and asked club officials to choose the most important ones,The first place was "listening skills," and the second place was "assertiveness."Many people realized the importance of "communication skills," which is one of the non-cognitive abilities.

The importance of non-cognitive skills is also shown by the performance of Japanese athletes overseas. Keisuke Honda and Makoto Hasebe, who were not technically considered "geniuses" when they were young, are doing great things overseas.Non-cognitive skills like leadership and humanity make the differenceI think it is.

In particular, Hasebe is someone who is able to bring together the assertive overseas players and lead them towards their goals. This is just a guess, but it may be that his ability was recognized by the club, leading to the unusual contract (*4) that allowed him to remain as a coach even after retirement.

── Indeed, Keisuke Honda is also active as an investor.

For Japanese athletes, who are physically inferior to foreign athletes, non-cognitive skills may be necessary to win. The same can be said about the team."To improve the quality of your team's output, you first need to improve the quality of your relationships."If the "Success Cycle Model" by Daniel Kim of MIT can be applied to the world of soccer,It should be easier to achieve results if you bring together people with strong non-cognitive skills and the ability to build high-quality relationships.

Capabilities such as technique and running ability are important for short-term results, but if we think about the growth of players and teams over the next 10 or 20 years, the lives of players after retirement, and the growth of the soccer world as a whole, I think it is necessary to strengthen non-cognitive abilities.

(*4) Frankfurt's Hasebe Makoto retires in 23, turns to coaching and extends contract until 27 | Nikkei Sports
https://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/world/news/202202180001162.html

Aiming to be the best in the world from Shinjuku: Clearson Shinjuku's challenge

── At Clearson Shinjuku, you are in charge of training the academy. Why do you provide education to young people?

One reason is that when soccer becomes a sport that only aims for short-term victory, it is the younger generation that suffers the most. When club teams become obsessed with sales and winning, they prioritize paying money to get good players over nurturing children. In order to properly preserve the culture and system of nurturing local children, we decided to do it ourselves.

Another reason is that the return on investment in human resource development for younger generations is higher. This is true for capabilities, but I think the impact on non-cognitive ability development is particularly large. Learning skills that will be useful in society from a young age should lead to personal happiness.

Unfortunately, according to a UNICEF study,Japan's mental well-being is the lowest among developed countriesFurthermore, despite their high academic ability, it has been found that they also have low non-cognitive abilities such as motivation, self-confidence, perseverance, independence, self-control, and emphasis (*5).

We want to do something about this situation.I want to use soccer as a tool to develop children's non-cognitive abilities and raise them to be people who can feel happy and fulfilled.That's what I think.

── What specifically are you working on?

For example, we teach the basic concepts of "goal setting" and how to implement the "PDCA" cycle.The aim is to develop the ability to think about what is necessary to achieve one's goals through soccer training.

We also ask staff members who were able to balance their studies with sports activities during their student days, as well as people working in the business field, to serve as soccer coaches, and together we discuss how to interview players and set goals.

At the same time, I think that not only the method but also the values ​​and behavior of the coach who interacts with the children are important.Adults also need to continue developing their non-cognitive skillsIn the future, we would like to create an environment where coaches can continue to learn.

── What kind of training do you provide to your top athletes?

It conveys human resource development and organizational development perspectives, such as individual mentalities such as integrity and team collaboration.

We also provide many opportunities to develop non-cognitive skills outside of soccer, such as community activities and career support for students. We try to hire people who want to do such activities and contribute to the goals we are aiming for.

── This means that they are not a team that simply aims to win.

Beyond the team's victory,I want to create a world where everyone can feel rich.We are still a small team in Shinjuku, but by working with this philosophy, we hope to become a soccer club that can convey the true value of soccer and contribute to society and the world.

(*5) UNICEF report "Report Card 16" Ranking of children's happiness in developed countries Results for Japanese children | unicef
https://www.unicef.or.jp/report/20200902.html

Mature industries need diverse value indicators

── You have a very big vision. What do you think is the goal that the soccer world should aim for in the future?

Obtaining "children's support" is one of the KGIsI think so. Winning, sales, attendance numbers, etc. are just KPIs for that purpose. Even if we win games and make profits, if the children leave the industry, it will decline.

The great Konosuke Matsushita"Third-rate people leave money behind, second-rate people leave businesses behind, first-rate people leave people behind"As mentioned above, whether or not an industry is accepted by society depends on the type of talent it produces.

The same can be said about the business world. Fewer people are aspiring to be entrepreneurs who only think about going public and exiting.A variety of indicators of value are needed, rather than a single indicator such as win/lose or profit/loss.I think it is.

── In these times, what do you think business people should acquire?

The 1 one isLiberal arts. Learning about society and historyTo think long term, we need to see the connection between the past and the future.

The second is that within that connection,Knowing how you can and want to contributeI think it's important to face your inner self and think about what you value and how you want to express it.

We travel back and forth with curiosity about the past and the future, our inner world and the world outside of ourselves. In the course of this repetition, we will discover what we should do as people living in this era.

── So, is there anything that is needed from a team perspective rather than from an individual perspective?

This is a deep topic, but I think we need to focus more on the characteristics and traits of individuals.Be aware of your own tendencies and habits, i.e. unconscious biasesIt's important to know the people you'll be working with. Then, get to know them. Decide, "I'm this type of person, and they're this type of person. So if we're going to work together, let's do it like this."

In fact, such efforts are now becoming more common in the world of sports as well. People are trying to analyze how to interact with people so that they can perform at their best, based on whether they are big or small, which positions they are good or bad at, whether they have high or low intelligence or verbal skills, etc.

Currently, the focus tends to be on things like running ability and muscle strength, but in the future, I think we will enter an era where it will be easier to build better relationships when we are able to analyze inner and non-cognitive abilities based on neuroscience and other factors.

── In an age where diverse values ​​are being created, it may be important to get rid of stereotypes and have an attitude of trying to understand each other on a deeper level. Finally, please tell us about your enthusiasm for the future.

I want to give back to soccer. Because of soccer, I have been blessed with good people and have been able to live a relatively happy life. If I have been able to achieve some success in business, it is also thanks to what I learned from soccer.

Just like I had it done for me,Soccer has the power to enrich lives.Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the current situation where value is declining.

Shinjuku is a microcosm of the world. It is the city with the largest number of foreign nationals in the 23 wards and is full of diversity. If we want to contribute to the world, we need to produce results while being exposed to various values. That is why I want to create the world's best soccer club from here in Shinjuku.

[Interview and text] Fumiaki Sato　
[photograph]Daisuke Koike
[Planning and editing] Yuko Kawabata (XICA)