World Lacrosse, the Japan Lacrosse Association and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have announced that Tokyo will host the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship in the summer of 2026.
The announcement was made on Thursday, January 16.
Sixteen national teams will earn qualifying berths to compete in Japan, with continental qualifying tournaments staged in 2024 and 2025.
The 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship will run from July 24 to August 2. Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward is scheduled to host most of the tournament's matches. Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in the city's Aoyama district will host the semifinals and medal matches.
Tokyo previously hosted the event in 1997, when it was known as the Women's Lacrosse World Cup.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike expressed excitement about lacrosse's top women's competition returning to Japan. "I am thrilled to welcome the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship to Tokyo," Koike said, according to World Lacrosse's official website.
Added Koike, "I highly anticipate that even more enthusiasm for this sport will be generated from Tokyo through this championship. Let's continue to use the power of sports to bring vibrancy to Japan and the world."
Securing Berths for the Worlds
At the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women's Lacrosse Championship, Japan's women captured the title with a 9-5 triumph over Australia in the final on January 11 in Queensland. Eight players scored for Japan in the final, with Megan Kitagawa leading the way with two goals. Nene Kawai, Nozomi Tanaka, Suzuno Hosoda, Negai Nakazawa, Mona Yamane, Atsuko Oda and Ayame Mizuno each chipped in with one goal apiece.
The tournament was a qualifying event for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship. In addition to Japan, silver medalist Australia, bronze medalist the Philippines and fourth-place finisher Taiwan also secured berths in the 2026 worlds.
Lacrosse Men in Japan in 2027
Lacrosse will remain in the spotlight in Japan after the women's tournament concludes.
Japan was also awarded hosting rights to the 2027 World Lacrosse Men's Championship. Additional details will be announced at a later date.
Following the completion of the 2026 and '27 world championships, lacrosse will return as a medal sport to the Olympics after 120 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Stay tuned for more lacrosse coverage on SportsLook and JAPAN Forward.
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Author: Hidemitsu Kaito
Hidemitsu Kaito is a staff writer at JAPAN Forward. In addition to his other duties, he has been covering the sport of lacrosse internationally and in Japan since 1989.
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