Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010

Photos: Tokyo Metropolis League

While Tokyo’s foreign golfers have Grant Prentice of Golfjin to do all the legwork in organizing tournaments, the go-to guy for soccer is Englishman Sid Lloyd, president of Footy Japan and co-organizer—along with colleague Peter Swinney—of the Tokyo Metropolis League, which just finished its seventh season.

From late August to early June, the TML hosted over 300 matches, with fixtures spanning darkest Saitama to the depths of Chiba, across to the windswept dirt pitches of Kanagawa and down to the tranquil surroundings of Yamate and the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club. Along the way, Yokohama SCC won the sweltering Summer 7s tournament, while FC International took the decidedly cooler winter version.

Before long, spring was heralding the annual Footy Japan Charity Tournament, held at YC&AC. This year’s event—supporting Refugees International Japan and Jeannine and Billy’s Children’s Foundation—was won by YC&AC “X,” and substantial sums were raised for both charities.

In the main league, Tokyo Hibernian FC overcame their demons—namely YC&AC—to claim the Division 1 title for the third time. A punishing 4-1 victory over British FC in the Footy Japan Cup final saw the men in green hoard the TML’s top honors and secure a place in the league’s short history.

Hibs central defender Dave Callaghan summed up his team’s season: “After a stuttering start and lots of ‘handbags’ [i.e., pathetic fighting], a change of personnel brought much-needed goals and the season just got better and better.”

One rung below in Division 2, the IFG Panthers’ dramatic rise to the top continued with a blistering season. Sweeping aside all contenders—barring one shock result against the Albion Old Boys in March—the Pink Panthers dominated in style. Their promotion mirrored the earlier achievements of FC International, who, like the Panthers, took just two seasons to reach the top division after forming.

“This was our best season in the TML: Champions of Division 2 and promotion to the top flight!” said victorious captain Romen Barua. “The league is improving every year in terms of the quality of football and organization. We are looking forward to Division 1!”  

Division 3 saw the boys from King George FC fight with Saitama Jets 2nds and the predominantly Omiya-based Shane FC for the top spot and the unofficial “Kings of Saitama” crown. Team captain James Bates knew it would be a struggle.

“After a slow start, we suddenly found ourselves second at Christmas,” he says. “We had some great team performances in the second half of the season, knocking the leaders [Jets 2nds] off the top spot.” King George will be joined by the Kanagawa-based Stoneds FC in Division 2 next season.

Alas, where there’s glory there’s also failure, and with heated competition at the bottom of each division as well as at the top, some teams experienced the inevitable heartache of relegation. Zion, new to Division 1 this season, slid back down with only three wins to their name. They were joined by Saitama Jets, who couldn’t cope with the rigors of the top division and suffered a forgettable season, finishing at the foot of the table with just a single win.

Despite a valiant resurgence in the spring, Albion Old Boys were condemned to Division 3 by a hideous start to the season, and the scrap between Jetro FC, Dutch FC and Tokyo Barbarians ended with the Barbarians also going down.

“I have to thank my hardworking colleague Peter, Metropolis and sponsors IFG Asia for another successful season,” Lloyd said. “Finding pitches, referees and, at times, our sanity makes it all hard work, but I’d like to think we bring a bit of sporting happiness into the lives of all the players and everyone else involved.”

For more info about the Tokyo Metropolis League, see www.footyjapan.com/tm. Anyone interested in playing, refereeing or supplying a pitch can contact Sid Lloyd at info@footyjapan.com.