Okinawa is getting more popular by the year as a location for professional sports teams’ winter training camps.

17 top soccer teams of men’s professional J-League are scheduled to have their annual winter training camps on Okinawa starting Jan. 18th. The camps are scheduled to continue through mid March.

In addition to men’s teams, two teams from women’s Nadeshiko League are also scheduled to hold their training camps on the island.

This year, seven teams including Urawa Red Diamonds and Gamba Osaka that placed the second and third in the league last season, will have their camps for the first time on Okinawa.

The number of professional soccer teams that hold their winter training camps on Okinawa has increased year by year since 2012. Prefecture officials calculate the economic impact of the camps in 2016 to exceed the previous year’s ¥972 million.

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