Saburo Kawabuchi (川淵 三郎, Kawabuchi Saburō, born December 3, 1936) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for and managed the Japan national team. He is the founder and honorary chairman of the J.League. Between 2002 and 2008, he served as president of the Japan Football Association.

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Saburo Kawabuchi
川淵 三郎

Kawabuchi in 1964
Personal information
Full name	Saburo Kawabuchi
Date of birth	(1936-12-03) December 3, 1936 (age 87)
Place of birth	Takaishi, Osaka, Japan
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1952–1954	Mikunigaoka High School
1957–1960	Waseda University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961–1970	Furukawa Electric	68	(10)
Total		68	(10)
International career
1958–1965	Japan	26	(8)
Managerial career
1973–1975	Furukawa Electric
1980–1981	Japan
Medal record Furukawa Electric Runner-up Japan Soccer League 1967 Winner Emperor's Cup 1961 Winner Emperor's Cup 1964 Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1962
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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Kawabuchi was born in Takaishi on December 3, 1936.^[1] At first, when he was in Takaishi elementary school and Takaishi Junior high school, he played baseball. He was on to Mikunigaoka High School, Osaka and became a member of football team at the high school. He graduated from Mikunigaoka High School, Osaka in 1955. He went on to Waseda University School of commerce in 1957. He played for the Waseda University football team. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in commerce from Waseda University.

After graduating from Waseda University, Kawabuchi played for Furukawa Electric, in the early days of the Japan Soccer League. In the initial league season, he was the first player to score a hat-trick, against Nagoya Mutual Bank.^[2] He retired in 1970, having played 68 games and scored 10 goals in the league.

On December 25, 1958, when Kawabuchi was a Waseda University student, he debuted and scored 2 goals for Japan national team against Hong Kong. In 1962, he played at 1962 Asian Games. In 1964, he was selected Japan for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[1] At 1964 Summer Olympics, he scored a goal in first match against Argentina. He also played at 1962 Asian Games. He played 26 games and scored 8 goals for Japan until 1965.^[3]

After retirement, Kawabuchi became a coach for Furukawa Electric in 1970. In 1973, he became a manager and managed until 1975. Just before 1982 World Cup qualification in December 1980, he was named manager for the Japan national team and replaced Masashi Watanabe, who suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Kawabuchi managed Japan at the 1982 World Cup qualification and managed until March 1981.

In 1991, he was named the inaugural chairman of the J.League, as the first professional league in Japan. In 1991, he also became the first chairman of the J.League. In 2002, he resigned as chairman of the J.League and became the 10th president of the Japan Football Association as Shunichiro Okano's successor. Kawabuchi served until 2008. He also served as president of the Japan Basketball Association from May 2015 to June 2016.

In 2006, he received the FIFA Order of Merit. In 2008, he was also selected for the Japan Football Hall of Fame.

Kawabuchi serves as a councilor on the organizing committee for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. He had been requested by former Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori to succeed him as committee chairperson in February 2021, but Kawabuchi later said that he would not accept the request.^[4]

^[3]

• Japan Soccer League Silver Ball (Assist Leader): 1966
• Japan Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2008^[5]
• Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star: 2009^[5]
• Person of Cultural Merit: 2015^[6]
• Order of Culture: 2023^[7]

• J's career – With Japan football, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Shuppan, 2009