Confident in physical strength. A person who hates to lose. Mentally tough.

Professional soccer players are those who sign a contract with a soccer club and are rewarded for their success. Japanese professional soccer leagues are divided into J1, J2, and J3, with the aim of winning the championship in each class; if a player finishes lower in the J1 or J2 league, he or she is relegated to J2 or J3, and his or her income and other benefits may vary. They can also play for clubs in other countries, not only in Japan. Speaking of soccer, the FIFA World Cup (the world championship for national teams) is well known. Many soccer players aim to participate in this big event, which attracts the attention of soccer fans around the world.

There are two ways to become a professional soccer player: either play on a high school or college team and be scouted by a professional club, or join a youth team of a professional soccer club (a training organization run by a professional soccer club), play an active role, and be accepted by the club. Athletes are capitalized on their bodies. Athletes need to have a strong body, mental strength, good judgment, and the ambition to "get better! and "I want to get better!

The Japan Professional Football Association is working on the "J-League Centennial Plan" to increase the number of places where people can more easily play the sport in their own neighborhoods, and one of the results of these activities is that the J-League, which started with 10 clubs, has grown to 57 clubs by 2021. Since soccer is a popular sport worldwide, the number of environments where soccer can be played will increase, and more opportunities will be given to those who want to become professionals.

There are three levels of player contracts in the J-League: A, B, and C, and annual salaries are also set. The Pro A contract has no upper limit, while the Pro B and Pro C contracts have a maximum annual salary of 4.6 million yen. Star players can earn hundreds of millions of yen, but some players in smaller teams continue to play soccer while working for sponsor companies.

The official J-League season runs from the end of February to early December. The rest of the season is off. During this period, the players treat injuries and otherwise stay in good physical condition while building up their strength for the next season and developing stamina to get through the season.

Training grounds of your team, stadiums where matches are played, etc.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as a soccer player!