On Thursday, August 29, the captain of Kyoto Sanga FC Sota Kawasaki (Class of 2024, College of Social Sciences) visited Suzaku Campus. He met with Chairperson of the Ritsumeikan Trust Tomomi Morishima, Vice President of the Ritsumeikan University Alumni Association Sachiko Hirabayashi, and Takehiko Izumo, President of Hououkai (Ritsumeikan Uji Junior High School and High School Alumni Association). Kozo Hosokawa, managing director of Kyoto Purple Sanga Co. Ltd., Noriko Ochi, principal of Ritsumeikan Uji Junior and Senior High School, and Kiyoyuki Yamamoto, a teacher from the school, also attended the meeting.

In 2017, Kawasaki enrolled at Ritsumeikan Uji High School upon joining the Kyoto Sanga FC U-18 squad as a player eligible for the Scholar Athlete Project, a joint initiative of Kyocera, Kyoto Sanga FC, and the Ritsumeikan Trust. Since the 2023 season, when he was a fourth-year student in the College of Social Sciences at Ritsumeikan University, he has led Kyoto Sanga's J1 team as the captain, and he was selected for the Japan national team in recognition of his efforts. He played an active role on the national soccer team at this year’s Paris Olympics and contributed greatly to Japan advancing to the final eight.

During the discussion, Kawasaki recalled, "As we advanced through the Asian qualifying rounds, a sense of unity was generated, and my desire to win with this team became even stronger. It was a highly invaluable experience to be part of a great team that played at the Olympics and to compete against the world's top athletes.”

Chairperson Morishima ended the meeting with some words of encouragement for Kawasaki, saying, "Sports is something that invigorates the Academy, and we at Ritsumeikan will continue to wholeheartedly root for your success. As captain, I hope you will lead Kyoto Sanga FC to the championship this season.”