On August 30, the Japan American Football Association announced that five members of Kansei Gakuin University team had committed serious breaches of discipline during the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, where the U20 national team competed in June. One of them is believed to have smoked cannabis-containing drugs. The name of the individual and other details are not disclosed.
One of the five players was indefinitely suspended from eligibility to be selected for the national team for using a substance that contained cannabis.
Four other players were found to have committed other disciplinary offenses and were therefore suspended from the national team selection for a definite period (one or two years) and given a severe reprimand, and one of them was recommended to be suspended from external competition for six months.
In addition, it was announced that Kiyoyuki Mori, the association’s managing director, who was in charge of the expedition, was given a severe warning.
The Kansei Gakuin University football team is one of the strongest in Japan and won the Koshien Bowl for six consecutive titles for the first time ever. The team won the tournament a record 34 times and the Kansai Division 60 times.
