Japan village awaits adopted team

NAKATSUE, Japan (AP) -- Mayor Yasumu Sakamoto has never played a game of soccer in his life. And, no, he doesn't have any particular ambition to leave this village hidden in the mountains of southern Japan and start anew in Africa.

But you'd never guess that from a visit to his office.

Sakamoto has a regulation soccer ball beside his desk and another one made of wood on the coffee table. Displayed prominently around the room are Cameroon's red, green and yellow flag, a jersey worn by its national soccer team and a framed autograph of star striker Patrick Mboma.

World Cup fever has come to Nakatsue. And so, soon, will Mboma himself.

Thanks to an intense, nearly two-year lobbying effort by Sakamoto, this village of 1,370 people -- nearly half of them over the age of 65 -- will from next month be Cameroon's base camp.

"We never imagined we would be chosen," Sakamoto said.

Nakatsue is one of about two dozen sites around Japan that will serve as pre-competition training camps for teams in the World Cup finals. Japan and South Korea are co-hosts of the May 31-June 30 tournament.

Most of the teams opted to warm up in urban settings.

Germany and Sweden will also be training in southern Japan, but in the city of Miyazaki, population 300,000. Russia chose centrally located Suzuka city, famous among racing fans as the site of an annual Formula One grand prix. African rival team Nigeria, though in a smaller city, will train by a lake at the foot of Mount Fuji.

The United States will train and play in South Korea.

Sakamoto, 71, confessed he didn't have any special affection for Cameroon when he first decided to invite a team to the village; any team would have been fine. In fact, he courted Jamaica as well.

And though most of the villagers here would probably be hard-pressed to locate Cameroon on a map, they seem almost giddy to have a supporting role in the World Cup.

"This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to our village," said housewife Shinobu Yano, who heads a volunteer welcome wagon that is busily making souvenir coasters, postcards and other knickknacks for the team.

Nakatsue, located on the island of Kyushu, wasn't exactly a no-brainer.

Hotel-style lodging is pretty limited -- rumor has it that there's a small inn somewhere in town. There are no convenience stores, no fast food joints. The post office closes at four.

One of the 10 stadiums where Japan's half of the 64 World Cup games are to be played is located on Kyushu, about a two-hour drive from Nakatsue. But Cameroon isn't scheduled to play there.

Nakatsue had two things the Cameroonians couldn't resist, however.

"It's quiet here," Sakamoto said. "And they liked the grass."

That grass is on three soccer fields behind a sprawling sports center on the outskirts of town. The center, built with tax money 12 years ago, is the village's only real landmark, and about the only place big enough to accommodate the 45 team members who are to arrive May 19.

"The training center is surrounded by hills, so they won't be disturbed," said Yumi Katagiri, spokeswoman for the village's Cameroon Base Camp Promotion Team. "There isn't anywhere to go at night. It's just pitch black."

The privilege of having Cameroon isn't cheap.

Along with putting up the team for 10 days, the village is also paying for a first-class chef, and footing the bill for a 20-member group of Cameroon supporters.

The total cost comes out to more than $292,000.

"That's a lot of money for a small village like ours," Sakamoto said.

Of course, there could be some economic payoffs.

The village has gotten a good deal of media attention in the past few months, and operators of a nearby gold mine, which closed long ago but still is a minor tourist attraction, are hoping to see a boost in visitors.

A cafeteria at the mine has already started selling Cameroon lunches, which feature rice covered in toppings the colors of the Cameroon flag.

But, according to Sakamoto, that's all a side issue.

"This isn't about economic gain," he said. "It's about being able to make a plan and bring it to fruition. This will be something that will be part of our history, something for us to be proud of."

 

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