Children’s Smiles Inspire the Next Child’s Experience
The 4th Maruhan × STVV Cup Supported by Gachagacha Market & RESPECT YOU, KAKUICHI
Hosted by Maruhan East Japan Company Ltd.
On June 6, 2026, the 4th Maruhan × STVV Cup was held at Yachiyo City General Ground.
Although the weather forecast had predicted cloudy skies, by the time the Molten team arrived at the venue to begin preparations, the clouds had completely cleared, leaving us with beautiful blue skies and perfect weather for the event.
Once again, hundreds of children gathered to take part in the tournament, filling the venue with excitement from the very beginning of the day.
During the opening ceremony, the children’s eager and excited expressions made a lasting impression. It was a wonderful start to a tournament made possible through the passion and dedication of the organizers and sponsoring companies.
As the matches kicked off, every player chased the ball until the final whistle without giving up, putting their hearts into every play. We witnessed the joy of scoring goals, teammates celebrating together, and even the determination shown by children after difficult defeats. These emotional moments reminded us of the unique power of sport to inspire growth and resilience.
One of the tournament’s annual highlights, the “Adults’ Penalty Kick Challenge,” once again brought great excitement to the venue. Watching both children and adults enjoy the event together created a wonderful atmosphere, reinforcing how this tournament is built through the collective efforts of everyone involved.
The capsule toy machines installed at the venue were also extremely popular with the children.
Many special guests, including Shinji Okazaki, as well as representatives from sponsoring companies, visited throughout the day, making the venue lively from start to finish. We also had the opportunity to meet many visitors and introduce them to MY FOOTBALL KIT.
During an interview, Okazaki spoke about the importance of Sint-Truidense V.V.’s long-standing commitment to its local community and youth development. His message—that football is about creating value not only through competition but also by investing in people, communities, and future generations—strongly resonated with the mission of MY FOOTBALL KIT.
This year marked the fourth consecutive MY FOOTBALL KIT assembly workshop at the tournament. We delivered 1,000 specially designed MY FOOTBALL KITs to participating children.
The assembly activity has become one of the tournament’s signature attractions. Some children told us they had been looking forward to building their football again this year, while several parents shared that they had returned specifically because their children had enjoyed the experience in previous years.
Hearing these comments is especially rewarding because they reflect the value of continuing this initiative year after year.
Throughout the venue, we once again saw children completely absorbed in assembling their footballs before proudly playing with the finished balls.
A portion of the MY FOOTBALL KITs purchased through this initiative will be donated to children who have limited opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. The smiles, excitement, and willingness to take on challenges that filled the venue on this day will continue by creating new opportunities for other children in the future.
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Message from Mr. Masaru Akao
Chief, Sports Business CSO, Corporate Planning Department, Maruhan East Japan Company Ltd.
“On behalf of Maruhan East Japan Company, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our tournament sponsors and supporting organizations for their tremendous support in making the 4th Maruhan × STVV Cup Supported by Gachagacha Market & RESPECT YOU, KAKUICHI possible.
Thanks to everyone’s generous support, we were blessed with beautiful weather and welcomed a total of 1,705 visitors. Most importantly, the tournament concluded safely without any accidents or serious injuries, making it a truly successful event.
Watching the children run across the pitch with complete determination, seeing their smiles as they scored goals and embraced their teammates, and hearing the warm encouragement from parents throughout the venue created an unforgettable atmosphere. This shared excitement could only have been achieved through the support of our sponsors, partner organizations, and every single person who joined us on the day.
We are also honored to have continued delivering Molten’s MY FOOTBALL KIT, an assembly football designed to inspire children’s growth, to so many participants each year.
Going forward, we hope to further strengthen our partnership with Molten and actively participate in its social contribution initiative, ‘The World’s Kindest Pass,’ as part of our sports business activities. Together, we aspire to create even more smiles through the power of sport.
At Maruhan East Japan Company, our corporate purpose is ‘Creating the joy of living in the 100-year life era through the power of human connection.’ The smiles and excitement we experienced together during this tournament perfectly embodied the connections that sport can create and reminded us of the joy that those connections bring.
It is our greatest honor as the organizer to have shared this meaningful experience with all of you. We sincerely hope that the memories created on this day will encourage children as they pursue their dreams while also becoming treasured memories for everyone who attended.
We will continue cherishing every connection we make and remain committed to supporting children’s bright futures by bringing the joy of sport to local communities.”
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Thanks to Mr. Akao’s introduction, we also had the opportunity to speak with Michikazu Kobayashi, a director of the TOCAR Football Association, who is actively supporting children’s homes throughout Chiba Prefecture. We hope there will be opportunities to collaborate with the association in the future.
This event once again reminded us that sport is about much more than winning or losing. It has the power to nurture children, strengthen communities, and create lasting value for future generations.
Together with our many partners, MY FOOTBALL KIT will continue delivering the joy of creating something with your own hands and the confidence to take on new challenges. By doing so, we hope to build a lasting cycle in which one child’s experience inspires opportunities for the next.
HP：https://maruhan-stvvcup-lp.net/yachiyo/
https://www.maruhan.co.jp/east/