Japan withdraws from Copa America

If we were still wondering whether or not soccer and politics were one and the same, Japan's withdrawal from Copa America this summer is a harsh reminder that the beautiful game is only as fruitful as the soil upon which it is played.

Currently, Japanese futbol is radioactive.

Today CONMEBOL announced that Japan will not travel to Argentina to participate in the 43rd edition of the Copa America.  They were invited to compete with the South American teams for the second time in the tournament's history along traditional invitees Mexico.  

With J-League fixtures suspended until April 23rd, Japanese officials are rightfully focusing on rebuilding a nation damaged by the tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis following the earthquake on March 11, 2011.  Japanese Soccer Association president Junji Ogura stated, "we want to restart our season, but the priority is to save lives and rebuild cities".  

This move comes as no shock to CONMEBOL nor should it come as a shock to the avid fan.  It was expected that the Asian Cup champions were going to use the summer tournament as an opportunity for younger players to gain valuable international experience.  European stars like Kagawa, Honda and Uchida would be available, however J-League standouts would be more likely to feature.

Now that Japan's national league will run well into the summer months, Copa America participation would interfere with the "business end" of the season.

The tournament, scheduled to run July 1-July 24, is now missing one team and CONMEBOL is searching for a replacement team.

Spain officials have claimed that La Roja has already been invited.  The World Champions would join hosts Argentina along with Colombia and Bolivia in group A.

Spain has played both Argentina and Colombia in recent international friendly matches.  They were demolished 4-1 in Buenos Aires on September 7th while it took the Iberians 89 minutes to break the deadlock against the Cafeteros in the Bernabeu back in February.

While Spain's introduction into the tournament could be tasty, it is unfortunate that Japan will be unable to participate.  They are a team that has risen to the occasion of big tournaments as of late (World Cup, Asian Cup) and have a strong league that produces more AFC Champions League teams than any other nation.  

When the league began in 1993, tremendous resources were poured in to ensure success, the most important being managers.  World-class managers such as Arsene Wenger, Carlos Queiroz and Big Phil (Luiz Felipe Scolari) have all been at the helm of J-League squads.

With billions of dollars lost to damage, soccer will be way down on the list of necessary repairs.  Basic necessities like buildings, food and water need to be ensured before Japanese can begin to think about sport.  And yet, the beautiful game has a way of bringing people together.

Perhaps the J-League will not be able to bring in Wengers and Scolaris, but there could be an upside to the situation.  Japan will be required to rebuild from the ground up.  Focusing inward on training nationals to coach and develop youth as opposed to hiring expensive internationals could pay dividends in the long run.

But before we think of that, let us hope that the people of Japan recover and return to health and safety.