VfB in Japan

For the first time since 1996, VfB Stuttgart are returning to Japan for part of their pre-season. From Thursday 25 July to Thursday 1 August, VfB will be involved in the third edition of the official ‘Bundesliga Japan Tour’, which will take Atakan Karazor, Angelo Stiller and Co to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima.

The Japan Tour is being supported by VfB’s exclusive partners Mercedes (Mercedes Me Store Osaka) and Porsche Japan (Porsche Dealership Kyoto) asll as by VfB club partners Kärcher and Advantest.

The VfB squad

Around 70 people will be part of the VfB travelling party. This is made up of first-team players, coaching staff, backroom staff, board members, legends, VfB employees, sponsors, partners, service providers and VfB mascot Fritzle.

Schedule and locations

The group will travel to Munich on the morning of Thursday 25 July. The Stuttgart squad will take different scheduled flights to the Japanese city of Osaka from midday. From there, they will fly to the first training centre in Kyoto. On 29 July, the squad will move on to Hiroshima.

VfB will train in front of the public on 27 and 31 July in Kyoto and Hiroshima to present themselves to the Japanese fans, as well as completing a wide-ranging supporting programme in cooperation with the Bundesliga and VfB partners. The focus of this will be on fan, media, cultural and CSR activities.

Friendly opponents and stadiums

VfB will play two friendlies during the Japan Tour. On 28 July, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side will take on Japanese top-flight club Kyoto Sanga F.C (kick-off 19:00 local time, 12:00 German time). Four days later, around 340 kilometres away, the Cannstatt boys face Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who finished fifth in the last J1 League season. The action will get under way at Sanfrecce’s home stadium of the EDION Peace Wing Hiroshima, which holds 28,529 spectators, from 18:30 local time (11:30 German time).

Information for fans

Japan Standard Time (JST) is used in Japan. The time difference between Japan and Germany is currently seven hours. VfB can expect high summer temperatures of up to 35 degrees during their stay in Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. In addition to the open training sessions, VfB supporters in Japan have the opportunity to meet their idols at a fan evening.

The Japan tour will also be accompanied by the digital collectibles platform collectibles.vfb.de. VfB fans can win further experiences and products from the VfB world through the collectible cards of Fritzle, Cacau and Guido Buchwald in limited Japan style and in several quiz rounds about Japanese (football) culture.

From Japan, for Cannstatt

The VfB squad in Japan will be accompanied by former legends of the club, most notably honorary captain Guido Buchwald, who spent six years of his career in Japan as a player, coach and sporting director (1994 to 1998 and 2003 to 2007), and VfB brand ambassador Cacau, who turned out for Cerezo Osaka from 2014 to 2015.

What’s more, several Japanese players have worn the ring across their chest in Hiroki Ito, Wataru Endo, Shinji Okazaki, Takuma Asano, Genki Haraguchi, Gotoku Sakai and Hajime Hosogai. Anrie Chase, Rinto Hanashiro and Yuka Hirano currently play for VfB.

Background to the Japan Tour 2024

Japan is one of VfB Stuttgart’s five international target markets, where the club and its partners – including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Kärcher – have built up a close network over the past decades. In addition, VfB have long been committed to building intercultural bridges in Japan in terms of football and sport in general, as an ambassador for Baden-Württemberg. The activities of the youth performance centre in Japan, the VfB football school and further training opportunities for Japanese coaches play a key role in this respect.