After a youth career in Yokohama and Kyoto followed by four years as a professional midfielder in Singapore and Thailand, Komori came to central Taiwan’s Taichung City in 2015 at the age of 27 to run his family’s food business. He was subsequently invited to teach football at the city’s Japanese school and joined Taichung-based National Taiwan University of Sport’s Taiwan Football Premier League team.
In 2016, Komori set up Futuro Taichung Football Academy for local kids before going on to found TFPL team Taichung Futuro two years later.
Futuro players warming up for this year’s TFPL season
Reorganized in 2017 from the country’s highest-level men’s contests, the semiprofessional TFPL is administered by the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration-funded Chinese Taipei Football Association. In last year’s season, Futuro—which currently boasts five members from Japan and one from Haiti—took third place.
Futuro members pose at Taiyuan Football Field in Taichung.
Komori, who grew up in an Asian football powerhouse, feels there is great potential in Taiwan for the sport, especially given the number of children across the country learning it.
Last year, the player was thrilled to join Taiwan’s national team to play at the International Federation of Association Football’s games in Kuwait after obtaining his ROC citizenship. By playing in high-profile championships, he hopes to inspire more Taiwan schoolchildren to take up the sport.
“Individual players have a high level of competence.” Komori said. “If kids see local professional players, they’re more likely to persist in a career.”
Komori supports the growth of his beloved sport by splitting his time between raising the game’s profile and running his company.
According to SA Deputy Director-General Lin Che-hung, overseas training and experience like that of Komori and his teammates can be a great model for local athletes to emulate and help nurture their competence. “The skill levels attained in other countries are important factors in raising Taiwan’s sports competitiveness,” he said. (E) (By Pat Gao)
Foreign talent is helping raise the profile of football in Taiwan.
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
(This article is adapted from “Passion Play” in the May/June issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)