EMPOWERING GIRLS THROUGH FOOTBALL IN JAPAN
Football has the power to build confidence, create connections, and unlock potential. Yet in Japan, one in five girls stops playing football by the age of 13, often because there are limited opportunities to continue the sport during their junior high school years.
To help change that, adidas Japan and the Japan Football Association (JFA) launched Her Team - an initiative dedicated to creating more opportunities for girls to play, grow, and belong in football.
Creating opportunities to playAt the heart of Her Team is a commitment to helping more girls stay connected to the game they love.
The initiative's core objective is to support the establishment and growth of girls' football teams across Japan, helping U-15 players continue playing during a critical stage when many leave the game due to limited opportunities at the junior high school level.
To achieve this, Her Team provides practical resources, including team kits, recruitment support, and access to football development opportunities. By helping new teams get off the ground and existing teams thrive, Her Team is working to remove barriers that prevent girls from continuing their football journey.
Building a community through footballHer Team is about more than just teams - it's about belonging.
In addition to supporting girls' teams, Her Team provides community activations and football clinics designed to make football more accessible, welcoming, and inclusive for girls across Japan.
Through these experiences, and through the annual Her Team Cup, girls from across the country come together to play, learn, and connect. As a participation-focused football event, the Her Team Cup helps girls build confidence, develop friendships, and continue their football journey in a supportive environment.
Together, these initiatives create a welcoming space where participants can experience the joy of the game while becoming part of a wider football community.
Inspiring the next generationRepresentation matters.
Through the Her Team Cup, participants have the opportunity to meet former Japan Women's National Team players and other role models from the women's game. By sharing their stories, experiences, and challenges, these football pioneers help inspire the next generation to dream bigger and see new possibilities for their future in the sport.
For many girls, these interactions provide a rare chance to learn directly from women who have successfully paved their own path in football.
Driving long-term impactSince launching in 2020, Her Team has helped establish and support 102 girls' football teams across Japan, creating more opportunities for girls to play, develop their skills, and stay involved in football within their local communities.
Together with JFA, adidas is helping ensure that more girls have the opportunity to stay in the game, build confidence through sport, and shape their future through football.
Improving access to sport and education
LET’S EXERCISE, SEOULIn the semi-arid region of Passagem do Juazeiro, daily life is shaped by extreme heat and limited rainwater. To support the community, love.fútbol and adidas partnered to introduce a multi-sport pitch designed for play and connection. Alongside this, essential infrastructure was built to help strengthen local resilience and support the community long term.
THE CHALLENGEPassagem do Juazeiro’s semi-arid climate makes everyday activities far more difficult. Limited rainfall and extreme heat impact both farming and access to sport and recreation. The community relies on seasonal agriculture that is heavily affected by drought. Public infrastructure is minimal, with few safe or structured spaces for sport or community activities.
As a result, young people have limited opportunities to take part in sports and social activities, even though there is a strong local need for safe, inclusive spaces protected from the extreme heat. That’s why adidas and Common Goal joined forces with Love.Fútbol through Move For The Planet — to create a shaded, safe space where kids can come together, play, grow, and chase their dreams.
A CLIMATE-RESILIENT HUBAt the heart of the project is a covered, multi-purpose pitch designed to withstand the extreme conditions of Passagem do Juazeiro. Equipped with solar-powered lighting, shaded areas, and rainwater harvesting systems, the space enables year-round use while responding to heat and water scarcity. It provides the first dedicated sports and recreation facility for over 2,000 residents across six villages.
Alongside the pitch, a 16,000-litre rainwater cistern was installed to collect and store water to support vegetable and fish production for community meals. This helps improve water security, reduce reliance on external supply, and expand food provision for families in need.
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORTFrom local partnerships to employee volunteering, explore how we're breaking down barriers through sport. Read the stories of the people and organizations helping us on our journey.Learn More EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENTThe project also delivers a structured programme combining sport with environmental education and social development. Children and young people take part in regular sessions focused on sustainability, water conservation, and protection of the local Caatinga biome, alongside values such as inclusion, gender equity, and mental wellbeing.
Young people are encouraged to take active roles in supporting activities, helping to build leadership skills and strengthen community involvement. The initiative supports improved access to sport, education, and life skills while contributing to greater community cohesion and resilience.
LET’S EXERCISE, SEOULIn Korea, since 2017, adidas has partnered with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the ‘Let's Exercise, Seoul’ project to ensure safe and equitable access to sports for people of all genders, ages, and abilities. This initiative focuses on further improving sports facilities and creating better environments for Seoul residents to connect with each other. The Hwigyeong 2 futsal court was refurbished and celebrated through its unveiling in Nov 2025.
HWIGYEONG 2 FUTSAL COURTThe futsal court at Hwigyeong 2, located at the riverside park in Dongdaemun District, recently saw its operations temporarily suspended after heavy snowfall damaged the roof truss and supporting fences. The 2025 project focused on making the facility more resilient to severe weather conditions and flooding.
THE RE-OPENING CEREMONYTo celebrate the reopening, a special ceremony was held with the community. The event featured a futsal clinic with coaches from the long-time partner Cha Bum-kun Football Academy. Members of a local children’s futsal team also joined, along with adults from the Dongdaemun District Sports Council who have intellectual and developmental disabilities meaning they require support in sports activities.
adidas employee volunteers took part to support the participants and engage directly with the community.
I am also extremely proud to share my deepest and sincerest appreciation to our employee volunteers. You have really shown how to live our mindset of Through Sports We Have The Power To Change LivesMARKUS MORENT - Managing Director of adidas Korea
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORTFrom local partnerships to employee volunteering, explore how we're breaking down barriers through sport. Read the stories of the people and organizations helping us on our journey. Creating inclusive sport together
Since 1991, Special Olympics Germany has been advancing equal access to self-development, free choices, self-expression, and society: using sport as a catalyst for change for people with intellectual disabilities. As a recognized national federation within the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), it runs year‑round training, competitions, and education and health programs across the country. A core principle of its work is the active involvement of athletes in shaping the organization itself: athletes take on meaningful roles as speakers, advisors, vice presidents, and in many other functions, contributing to the organization just like any other colleague.
Since 2023, the year Germany hosted the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, adidas and Special Olympics Germany have been partners on equal footing. Together we outfit and support Team Germany at the World Games in Berlin 2023, Turin 2025, and Santiago de Chile in 2027 as well as invest in grassroots programs that promote access to sports and sports clubs to athletes across Germany. Our aim is that more than the current 8% of people with intellectual disabilities in Germany are motivated to participate in sports and have access to it. The shared ambition is straightforward: to make sport more inclusive at every level, on equal terms for every athlete.
Powered by Our PeopleAt the heart of this partnership is a cross functional project team of adidas employees who volunteer alongside their regular roles, working side by side with Special Olympics Germany and their athletes who shape every step.
Through training camps on our campus, athlete meetups, and brand moments like the Global Week of Inclusion, employees and Special Olympics athletes spend real time together training, sharing meals, and exchanging perspectives. For many of our colleagues, these encounters are genuinely eye-opening: the athletes bring energy, insight, and a way of showing up that changes how we think about sport, performance, and what inclusion really means.
The Power of Co-CreationThe creation of the shoe was inspired by the brand’s partnership with Chris Nikic and his relentless drive to break down barriers. By involving the community at every step, from product design through to testing, and partnering with advocates who connect us with a diverse range of runners, we're ensuring adaptive performance isn't treated as an afterthought, but as part of how we design. We believe that through sports, we have the power to change lives.
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORTFrom local partnerships to employee volunteering, explore how we're breaking down barriers through sport. Read the stories of the people and organizations helping us on our journey.Learn More More Than a PartnershipIt’s not just a partnership on paper. It’s driven by leadership, shaped by the project team, and brought to life by employees and athletes together. The experience is genuinely inclusive, because it is shaped on eye-level and results in both ways, celebrating every step of our journey hand in hand.
