Stirring up the Rice Fields and the Community? Wakayama Development Firm to Host 'Rice Field Soccer Kinokawa Cup' on June 20

The 'Rice Field Soccer Kinokawa Cup,' which transforms idle farmland into a 'community interaction field,' will be held for the first time on June 20. Companies, children, and soccer players will get covered in mud in 5-on-5 matches, bridging the gap between farmland issues and modern organizational barriers. Kinokawa Basin Company and FC KISHU, an adult soccer club based in Arida City, Wakayama, will host the inaugural event on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in a rice field in Kitagata, Kinokawa City. The backup date is June 21 (Sun). The venue is a reclaimed rice field near the Kinokawa Basin Company headquarters, originally idle farmland, with the event scheduled from 10:00 to 16:00. This event is more than just a sports tournament. It addresses issues such as the declining agricultural population, the increase in abandoned farmland, the lack of opportunities for the general public to engage with agriculture, and the difficulty of building sustainable relationships with local communities. By opening the reclaimed rice field as a 'stage for play and interaction' for one day before rice planting, it creates an entry point for people to connect with local farmland and residents. On the day, 5-on-5 soccer will be played in mud-filled rice fields. Participants will enter the field immediately after the opening ceremony and start by touching the mud during warm-ups. By getting stuck, falling, and laughing, participants can shed their corporate titles, ages, and soccer experience levels, fostering conversations that rarely occur in typical meeting rooms or workplaces. Players from FC KISHU will also participate and assist in operations, allowing children and adults to play seriously on the same mud. The event has three main features. First, it changes farmland from a 'landscape to look at' into a 'place to enter and play.' It transforms idle farmland, often viewed as a negative issue, into a field where people from inside and outside the region gather and laugh. Second, it creates a flat environment where anyone can be the protagonist, not just those who win or are skilled, by encouraging everyone to dive into the mud, fall, shout, and liven up the atmosphere. Third, it is being built together with local businesses and organizations. Through free invitation slots for children's teams, local sponsorships, and medical support from Nate Hospital, it is being developed as a place where the whole community can enjoy safely, rather than just an event hosted by the organizers. Between matches, there will be food and rest areas, mud and water play for children, and a finale mochi-throwing event. By creating 'margins' where people can naturally mingle with other teams and local residents even after losing or during waiting times, the event fosters corporate team building, nature experiences for parents and children, and interaction with local residents. To hold this event, a crowdfunding campaign will be launched on May 29. We are seeking broad support from individuals and companies who agree with the purpose of the Rice Field Soccer Kinokawa Cup. The funds received will be used for public relations, building a safe operating system, and creating future opportunities to engage with local agriculture. Rewards include participation rights for the day, corporate sponsorship plans, return gifts related to Kinokawa City's agricultural products, and participation tickets for future agricultural experience events. On May 29, prior to the event, we will pay a courtesy visit to the Mayor of Kinokawa to report on the purpose of the event and our regional cooperation efforts. Kinokawa Basin Company will continue to connect people to the next opportunity to enjoy agriculture, such as the corn harvesting experience planned for the summer. Through the small action of diving into the mud, we will increase the number of people interested in local farmland and work on creating a new 'relational population' that crosses agriculture, tourism, and education in Kinokawa City.