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Supported by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Saitama Stadium Autumn Festival, was organised by the 2019 AFC Champions League runners-up Urawa Red Diamonds, at their home ground from October 8 to 10, 2022.
The AFC mandates that 5% of the prize money earned by the AFC Champions League winners and runners-up are to be allocated towards social responsibility projects.
Adhering to this, the Urawa Reds, as they are colloquially known, utilised a portion of the allocated fund, to organise the Saitama Stadium Autumn Festival which drew large numbers to the Saitama stadium to celebrate the beautiful game and foster community spirit in the region.
One of the most successful aspects of the event was the bread festival which saw the participation of several local bread-based businesses who were visited by more than 30,000 visitors over the three-day festival while bread was also distributed to 120 under-privileged children and their guardians, along with match tickets to the J-league clash between the Urawa Reds and Sagan Tosu.
The match, which was attended by over 25,000 spectators also recorded the highest number of women fans at a J-league match for the season.
The festival upheld the AFC’s Vision and Mission of leveraging on the power of football to promote inclusiveness, by conducting a range of events that enabled locals from all walks of life to join in the celebrations.
These activities included a mystery solving event, a penalty kick-off tournament, and a relay marathon which was particularly popular. With over 700 enthusiastic participants, the relay marathon included two formats- a pairs format for parents and children and another, for those who are wheelchair bound.
The success of the event was marked by the large number of families who came together in groups to take part in the activities, which in turn helped foster inter-personal relationships and encouraged more youngsters to play the beautiful game.
