FCS 
Futsal Champions Series
United States Futsal League
Cultural Crossroads: Ginga Brings Japanese Flair To Cincinnati
Futsal is a sport that knows no borders. From it's birthplace in the halls of Uruguay, across Europe, all the way to the Eastern hemisphere, futsal is a truly a global language. Head coach of Ginga FS, Satoru Matsushima, believes that it's a language that can speak louder in Cincinnati and the United States.
"I want to give back more [to Ginga] because I'm taking a lot from them. To meet Ginga was a gift for me, and I want to gift back to them"
"I really want to make futsal grow in the USA. In Asian countries, it's a bigger sport in general there."
There is no doubt that Matsushima's Japanese roots have had an impact influencing the growth of futsal in the Cincinnati community, particularly by bringing in reinforcements. Ginga's roster has several Japanese players in it's company, but one that may bring the most interesting back story is goalkeeper Kosuke Tomisawa.
"Tomi" and Satoru met in the third tier of Japanese futsal, playing for a team called Black Shorts nearly fifteen years ago. Now a goalkeeper coach within the club Pescadola Machida in Japan's top tier F-League, Tomi has enjoyed a career through coaching at the prestigious club. When Satoru provided a unique opportunity to play again Tomi found himself in Cincinnati, Ohio. With only one regular season game left on the schedule and semifinal spot on the line, Tomisawa has displayed several highlight worthy saves. His saves are only a single factor of his impact, as he has utilized his ability to distribute the length of the court quickly to create chances for a team that loves to counter attack.
As Tomi has joined the league, he's had to adapt quickly to how Americans play the game. In previous FCS league interviews, Matsushima has also discussed the difference in game play here in the United States. The aggressive offense and high shot count in the United States was a big change for Tomi. The demands on a goalkeeper to keep their focus and agility at all times was a demanding pace he wasn't used to.
In a recent live stream interview with Futsal News, Tomi and Satoru talked about the US experience, and how it compares to futsal in Japan. Satoru helped American fans get to know Tomisawa better through interpretation in the interview, where fans were most interested in his favorite experiences so far.
"One of the biggest experiences for [Tomi] was playing in Lansing City Arena, because he knew about that arena before even coming to the USA. It's a great facility with great fans and a professional place. From hearing and standing for the National Anthem to hearing the music and seeing the big screen, he was so happy"
Tomi underlined the importance in the interview saying: "It was a great memory for me"
Even with the allure of the United States most premiere futsal specific facility, there are challenges compared to the demands of league play back home.
"The furthest [in Japan] using airplane is three hours, but most of the teams are in the Tokyo Kanto region, so only about an hour's distance. What was surprising was away games to Michigan. With kickoff times at six or seven at night, sometimes I was not getting home until five or six in the morning."
"But it's a good bonding experience" he added.
Even the fan interaction has created a stir, seeing a group of twenty five fans travel to Lansing for their away match against City. Something that is seen often in the F-League, particularly with teams being in a closer vicinity. An exciting footnote to a league season full of exciting crowds and online interactions.
Besides the player impact, they also discussed the league structure and competition compared to their home country. The top tier F-League is a truly professional futsal league which has much higher obligations for facilities and budget, among other obligations compared to what the current US clubs can sustain.
"To be an F-League team, they have certain standards. The facility needs capacity for over one thousand people, and of course meet a budget to run the team, since they have to travel all over Japan"
Another big difference was in the infrastructure for the sport as a whole. Satoru and Kosuke explained the amount of teams in each city compared to the cities of Japan.
"If Cincinnati were in Japan, there'd be a minimum of twenty teams [in the city], so we have a lot of games and a lot of competitive players there in Japan"
The support doesn't change there, as most F-League teams have academy teams from age thirteen up to through to the first team. Prior to that, futsal is available in schools across the country. Not only is there a strong academy presence, but the players play year round.
That's not to say that he hasn't enjoyed his time in FCS playing futsal. Satoru couldn't help but smile with him while translating: "He's feeling so happy watching the live streams back on YouTube, all the time commentators saying 'GREAT SAVE from Kosuke Tomisawa'. It's something he loves to hear."
When asked about a potential return to the United States after this season, Tomi jokingly turned to his long time friend and said it was up to him.
"He says only I know, but really only God knows. We also have the issue of visas, so I'll have to talk with the US government" Satoru said with a chuckle.
Tomi did later admit he'd enjoy an opportunity to do more to share his knowledge in the United States with others, take what he's learned and extend similar opportunities back home. He hopes to encourage others to find a path to the USA, and having a friendly face in Cincinnati surely makes Ohio a destination.
There is certainly much to be learned from our counterparts in Japan, and Ginga has shown us what is possible with their influence from the culture. It would seem that the common thread of futsal has been a learning experience for both the Japanese players at Ginga, as for the rest of the league. There's no denying the impact they've had to Ginga's return to league action, showing encouraging signs that they will be speaking the global language of futsal for a long time.