J.League chairman Mitsuru Murai offered his congratulations to Japan’s Under-19 team for their AFC U-19 Championship win at the weekend.

The Samurai Blue on Sunday won their first-ever tournament with a 5-3 penalty kick win over Saudi Arabia.

The achievement in Bahrain sees the squad of players who could represent Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualify for next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea, the first time in 10 years that Japan have reached that tournament.

And Murai was thrilled with the youngsters’ success, saying: “Congratulations to Japan on their first AFC U-19 title, a tremendous achievement. 

“This result reflects the hard work of the national team and players, as well as the efforts J.League clubs expend regularly in order to develop their academy players.

“I look forward to seeing our Tokyo 2020 generation flourish at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup. More than half of Japan’s 23-player squad in this tournament have appeared in one of the J.League’s three divisions.

“We will continue to create development opportunities for our young players and work with the Japan Football Association to strengthen this generation.”