Tokyo Goannas
The Tokyo Goannas Football Club was formed in 1991 and is the strongest and best known Australian sporting team in Japan. The Goannas are the premier team in the Japan AFL (JAFL) Competition – having won the Championship trophy a record ten times "(7 times in the Japan AFL Top League format)". The Tokyo Goannas F.C. is a non-profit organization created to advance Australian Football and Australian sporting culture in Japan. The Tokyo Goannas are continually contributing to the expansion of AFL in Japan and this is reflected in the JAFL’s Top League making considerable steps towards a consolidated and sustainable national competition for 2010 and beyond.
Japan at the AFC Asian Cup
Although having such an impressive records, Japan was not a continental football power until 1988, and outside 1968 Summer Olympics shock, Japan had been regarded as a weak team in the continent. It was just after qualified for the 1988 edition and being awarded as host for the 1992 AFC Asian Cup that saw resurgence and rise of football in Japan. Overall, Japan missed eight first editions before 1988. In response, Japanese football grew rapidly and soon replaced traditional powerhouses like South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia as new emerging and eventually, dominant football power in Asia, although recent rise of Australia has posed challenge for Japan's dominant position.