O o o Village, a subsidiary of O o o Co po atio Inc. (head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Ryusuke Ono), announced that it will sponsor YUKI FOOTBALL ACADEMY, founded and operated by former professional football player Takeshi Okubo. YUKI FOOTBALL ACADEMY is a football academy established by former professional player Takeshi Okubo in Bangkok, Thailand, in August 2020. In April 2023, it opened a Japanese school in the Sennan area of Miyagi Prefecture and began full-scale coaching for local children. The academy was launched in a town nearly one hour from Sendai that faces depopulation and a declining birthrate, where local football teams have been shutting down, with the aim of keeping football alive in the community. The academy focuses not only on football skills but also on developing character traits needed to thrive in society, including manners, greetings, independence, and etiquette. After practice, it provides a food education program centered on its independently developed “YUKI Ball,” a meal containing the minimum nutrients needed for a day, as well as medical support from a former Sony Sendai FC trainer. Active J.League players also regularly visit the school to provide direct coaching, creating a serious development environment rooted in the local community. Active J.League players from the Sennan area of Miyagi, including Keita Saito of J2 club Tochigi City and Yudai Tanaka of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, have also endorsed the initiative, helping expand a community-wide support system for children’s growth. Official website: https://yukifootball.jp/ O o o’s corporate theme, “Bringing back the passion of those days,” contains many meanings. It refers to the era of Japan’s high economic growth, when predecessors worked tirelessly and built the foundation of the country; to student days spent absorbed in club activities or other pursuits; and to the time when people first entered society with hope in their hearts. Everyone has had a time when t