Fuka Nagano's New Challenge Towards the 2027 World Cup: Launching a Performance Improvement Project Utilizing Genetic Testing

We are entering an era where top athletes strive to improve their competitive performance by understanding their genetic traits, rather than relying solely on experience and intuition.

Research has shown that sports abilities, such as muscle-building capacity and explosiveness, are related to genetics. When world-class athletes learn their "own genetic traits," how does their training and nutritional design change?

KEAN Health Co., Ltd. has launched a new project, "Fuka's Road to 2027", to support Fuka Nagano, who plays for Liverpool FC Women.

In this project, over 30 gene types related to soccer are analyzed to grasp individual traits such as muscle type, reaction speed, and recovery. The results of the genetic test are utilized as reference information for conditioning, training, and nutritional design, supporting the performance enhancement of Nagano, who continues to challenge herself to participate in the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In May 2026, a special website was launched, publishing video content of Nagano taking on an agility training challenge and a dialogue project where she discusses the results of her genetic test with former Japan national football team representative Keisuke Tsuboi.

Key points of this release

- Launched the "Fuka's Road to 2027" project, which supports Fuka Nagano's challenge towards the 2027 World Cup by utilizing genetic testing.
- Analyzes over 30 gene types related to soccer, including muscle type, reaction speed, and recovery.
- The test results are utilized not as a "judgment of talent," but as reference information for the athlete and support team to understand individual traits and consider training, nutrition, and conditioning.
- The special website releases Nagano's agility project and a "Soccer x Genetics" dialogue with Keisuke Tsuboi.

Athlete's individual traits revealed by genetic testing

Competitive performance is not determined by genetics alone. It is formed by the overlapping of multiple factors, including training, nutrition, sleep, tactical understanding, mental state, and team environment.

On the other hand, it has been reported that innate genetic individual differences can influence some physical characteristics, such as the ease of building muscle, tendencies towards explosiveness or endurance, motor learning, recovery, and reaction to nutrients.

By utilizing this information as an "auxiliary line to understand oneself more deeply," new perspectives can be added to the conditioning and training design of each athlete.

Since June 2025, KEAN Health has been analyzing multiple genes related to various sports to support the understanding of athletes' individual traits. The analysis results are used as reference information when athletes and their support teams consider the following perspectives:

- What abilities should be focused on improving
- What kind of training design can be considered
- What nutrients should be supplemented

Examples of genes related to soccer: involved in muscle type, reaction speed, recovery, etc.

Soccer requires a variety of abilities, such as the momentary speed to shake off an opponent, the judgment to react to the movements of the ball and opponents, and the recovery power to fight through 90 minutes. KEAN Health analyzes over 30 gene types related to soccer and utilizes them to understand individual traits.

■ ACTN3 Gene: Muscle Type
A gene whose relationship with muscle function and explosive performance has been studied. It serves as reference information when considering the quality of muscle that influences momentary dashes to shake off opponents, exertion of force in contests, and power output during changes of direction.

■ BDNF Gene: Reaction Speed
A gene whose relationship with motor learning and nervous system adaptation has been studied. It serves as reference information when considering training designs that improve accuracy in situations requiring reaction to the ball and opponents, skill acquisition, and plays involving judgment.

■ SOD2 Gene: Recovery
A gene whose relationship with the removal of reactive oxygen species generated by strenuous exercise has been studied. It serves as reference information when considering recovery and conditioning after high-intensity plays or long matches.

Fuka Nagano and former Japan representative Keisuke Tsuboi discuss based on real test results

On the special website launched in May 2026, a dialogue project is published where Nagano, who actually took the genetic test, sits face-to-face with former Japan national football team representative Keisuke Tsuboi with the test result sheet in hand, and they candidly discuss questions like "How are our muscle types different?" and "What kind of training is suitable?"

In addition, a video is also currently available showing Nagano actually taking on a project testing her explosiveness and judgment, focusing on the enhancement theme of "agility" that emerged from the genetic test.