On the 4th, with the start of the 2026 MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE just around the corner, representative Makoto Taguchi, Hometown Headquarters Director Satoshi Horinouchi and Takuro Kaneko paid a courtesy visit to the Saitama Prefectural Government Office and the Saitama Prefectural Assembly.



At the Saitama Prefectural Office, Taguchi gave a speech saying, "MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE is a very important league held before the start of the season, and it is an important tournament in which winning will qualify us for the ACL. The support of the people of the prefecture is our greatest strength, so we would like to ask for your continued support."



Next, Saitama Governor Ohno Motohiro offered words of encouragement, saying, "This is a very important league before the new league is introduced, and I have high expectations for it. Under the new system, I hope that together with all the fans and supporters, the players will put up a fight that will allow us to see their brave figures in the lead-up to the ACL. I wish you all the best in the future, and Saitama Prefecture will continue to support you."



Afterwards, they presented Governor Ohno with an Urawa Reds uniform, who in turn gave him a stuffed toy of Saitama Prefecture's mascot, Kobaton.Finally, they all took a commemorative photo together, and the courtesy visit to the Saitama Prefectural Government Office came to an end.



During the prefectural assembly visit on the same day, the team met with Chairman Shirato Yukihito and Vice Chairman Iizuka Toshihiko. Chairman Shirato offered words of encouragement, saying, "I'm really looking forward to the opening match on the 7th, as it's a match between two original 10 players. I'll be cheering hard even in the home opening match." He continued, "This year we have the World Cup, so I hope the league matches will be even more exciting after the World Cup. I also hope that players from Urawa Reds will be selected to play in the World Cup." Vice Chairman Iizuka also offered encouragement, saying, "There are many people in our local area who support Urawa Reds, so I hope you will do your best this season."







During the conversation that followed, the topic turned to the weather during the transitional period, with Kaneko saying, "I feel that Trial in the cold season suits me better than playing in the hot season," and continuing, "I can maintain my condition easily and I don't get injured very often, so I want to perform well throughout the season." The conversation continued in a relaxed atmosphere, and at the end, Kaneko presented a commemorative gift and everyone took a commemorative photo, bringing the courtesy visit to a close.






[Takuro Kaneko]
The entire team has been doing a great job of preparing well since the training camp in preparation for the opening game. Now we just need to show that on the pitch in the opening game, so we will give it our all and take home three points.
This season is different from previous years and is shorter, so I feel that a good start will be more important than ever. First of all, I want to focus on the opening race and fight hard in each and every race.
Also, if we win MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE, we will have a chance to play in the ACL, so we will approach the season with that goal in mind.



[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]