Homare Sawa’s 2011 Japan Women’s National Team Shirt
When you think of the legends of Japanese football, who comes to mind?
Kunishige Kamamoto, Yasuhiko Okudera, Kazuyoshi Miura, Hidetoshi Nakata.
Japanese football has produced many great players throughout its history.
But when women’s football is included, there is one name that simply cannot be left out:
Homare Sawa.
She is a true legend of Japanese women’s football—and of Asian football as a whole.
Asia’s First Ballon d’Or Winner
For Homare Sawa, 2011 was a truly remarkable year.
That year, Sawa captained the Japan Women’s National Team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Japan went on to defeat the United States in the final, winning the Women’s World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
Sawa scored five goals during the tournament, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer and winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
Later that year, she was named FIFA World Player of the Year.
Under the award system that preceded the current Women’s Ballon d’Or, Sawa became the first Asian player to be named the world’s best player.
It was a landmark achievement not only for Japan, but for the history of football across Asia.
Standing Alongside Messi at the 2011 FIFA Awards
At the 2011 FIFA awards ceremony, Homare Sawa stood alongside Lionel Messi, who was named the men’s FIFA World Player of the Year.
For Japanese football fans, one particularly memorable detail was Sawa’s appearance at the ceremony in an elegant traditional Japanese furisode, a formal long-sleeved kimono.
A Japanese women’s footballer standing on the world stage alongside Messi and being honored as the best player in the world was an unforgettable moment.
It remains one of the most iconic images of Sawa’s career.
The Legendary 2011 Women’s World Cup
The defining moment of Homare Sawa’s career was undoubtedly the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Japan faced the United States in the final, with the Americans ranked No. 1 in the world at the time.
Japan fell behind twice, only to fight back each time.
Then, in the second half of extra time, with Japan on the brink of defeat, Aya Miyama delivered a corner into the box. Sawa met it at the near post and scored a dramatic equalizer.
The goal brought the score to 2–2 and kept Japan alive.
Japan eventually won the penalty shootout, defeating the United States to claim its first-ever Women’s World Cup title.
Sawa’s equalizer remains one of the most legendary goals in the history of Japanese women’s football.
And this is the 2011 Japan Women’s National Team shirt worn by Homare Sawa during that historic tournament.
The 2011 Japan Women’s National Team Shirt
The shirt features the distinctive blue associated with the Japan Women’s National Team in 2011.
The right sleeve carries the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany tournament logo patch.
On the left sleeve is the “LIVE YOUR GOALS” patch, part of FIFA’s campaign to promote and develop women’s football around the world.
These tournament patches make it clear just how closely this shirt is connected to Japan’s historic 2011 World Cup campaign.
The World Champions Patch
There is also another particularly special version of this shirt.
After Japan won the 2011 Women’s World Cup, Japan Women’s National Team shirts began carrying a World Champions patch.
The special patch on the right chest indicated that Japan were the reigning World Cup champions.
Even though it is based on the same 2011 design, a shirt carrying the World Champions patch represents the Japan Women’s National Team in the aftermath of its historic World Cup triumph, making it an especially significant piece for collectors.
The Legacy of Homare Sawa
Homare Sawa made her debut for the Japan Women’s National Team in 1993 and spent more than two decades at the heart of the team.
Her greatest achievement came in 2011, when she captained Japan to its first Women’s World Cup title and finished the tournament with five goals, winning both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball.
Later that year, she was named FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first Asian player to receive the honor.
A Shirt That Represents a Defining Moment in Japanese Football
Japan Women’s National Team shirts often tell the story of a particular era. Few, however, are connected to such a remarkable series of achievements as the 2011 shirt.
- Japan’s first Women’s World Cup title
- Sawa’s five goals
- The Golden Boot
- The Golden Ball
- FIFA World Player of the Year
Across both the men’s and women’s game, Sawa remains the only Japanese player to have been named FIFA World Player of the Year.
For collectors, this makes the 2011 shirt more than a piece of national team history. It is a tangible reminder of the year when Homare Sawa and the Japan Women’s National Team reached the very top of world football.
