ATSUGI, Japan (AP) — Women’s World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato is joining Japanese men’s club Hayabusa Eleven on loan from the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL.
The men’s team plays in an amateur regional league that is several levels below the country’s top pro soccer league, the J-League.
Nagasato, who won the Women’s World Cup with Japan in 2011, joined Chicago in 2017 after playing in several other leagues. The Red Stars said in a statement that Nagasato’s loan will end prior to the 2021 NWSL preseason.
“I want to get the message out to the girls who are playing soccer with the boys that women can join the men’s team and challenge themselves,” Nagasato said Thursday.