Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium to host first American Football game

The X-League, Japan’s top-level professional gridiron football league, has announced that Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium will host an American Football game for the first time on Friday 29 August.

Tokyo's iconic rugby venue, which will host Japan XV against the Maori All Blacks on Saturday, will stage the opening fixture of the league’s X1 Autumn season.

Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, which first opened in 1947 as Tokyo Rugby Stadium, is owned by Japan Sport Council and has a capacity of 27,188 fans.  

Picture courtesy of JRFU

The history-making game will mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Japan Amateur American Football Association (JAFA) and the 30th anniversary of the X-League.

Kawasaki-based Fujitsu Frontiers will face Kanagawa rivals Fuji Xerox Minerva AFC in the showpiece fixture.

Sports journalist and Inside Sport Japan founder John Gunning told RugbyJP.com: “This is a very interesting move.

“The college teams have played at Hanazono (Rugby Stadium) but this is the first ever at Chichibu,” added the American who has covered the X-League full-time since 2016.  

Tickets will go on sale online from 17:00 on Friday 11 July. The game will kick off at 19.00

For more information on the X-League visit https://xleague.jp/