Saas Fee, Switzerland in the winter.

The Japanese national football team has announced it will train at high altitude in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, ahead of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

The Japanese team will be in the Swiss resort from May 25th to June 6th, with 50 members of the squad in resort, most of them players.

For the Japanese National Football Team, training in Saas-Fee means the adaptation of the body for the games taking place at altitude. Some games in South Africa this summer will be conducted at high altitude in Johannesburg (1,700m), Bloemfontein (1,400m) and Rustenburg (1,500m). The air is notably thinner at these heights and the oxygen content per cubic metre of air is reduced thanks to the lower air pressure. This means that the body, in particular the muscles, can no longer be supplied with sufficient levels of oxygen.

“Initially we were not optimistic about having a national team training here,” said Simon Bumann, Director of Saas-Fee/Saastal Tourism. “Although Swiss Tourism said we could be a World Cup training centre, our lack of any natural turf and of a flat area of sufficient size for an official football field did not look good. But we weren’t going to give up that quickly.”

“There were site inspections, discussions and talks with all the participants and partners including the body representing the Japanese National Football team. Eventually we worked out a solution that makes all the partners happy. The existing football field at the Kalbermatten sports site is well-suited as a training field of the size that was officially required (109 x 72m). Additionally, a natural turf will be laid after the winter ski season.”

Being at a height of 1,800m above sea level, Saas-Fee is a location that is optimally suited for high-altitude training and has excellent existing sports and accommodation facilities.

The Russian football team trained in Leogang near Saalbach for the Euro 2008 competition and the French team football trains regularly at Tignes in France.

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