Nearly every corporate body in Japan has a mascot or 2D spokesperson. FC Ganju Iwate has Nao Washihina. Nao is a popular girls' name in Japan, but it is also the brandname of a Spanish manufacturer of porcelain figurines, and the name of a French robot, so the connotations line up if not the copyrights. Washihina suggests "paper doll".
Today Grulla Morioka take on FC Ganju Iwate for the Iwate Prefecture championship and a place in the Emperor's Cup Round One. Ganju are currently top of the Tohoku League Division 1, and to go by their motto, "Dream of the J!!" they plan to be Grulla's crosstown rivals in J3 before too long.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Allan Moore, former Greenock Morton manager, has been hired by Arbroath FC.
[Grulla win 3 - 0.]
Comments