INAC Kobe 2017 Home Shirt

INAC KOBE - HOME SHIRT 2017

INAC Kobe Leonessa were founded in April 2001 in Kobe, taking their name from the club's parent, the International Athletic Club, with Leonessa the Italian word for "lioness". They play at Noevir Stadium Kobe. Through the early 2010s INAC were the undisputed powerhouse of Japanese women's football, winning three straight league titles from 2011 to 2013 with a dressing room stacked with World Cup winners including Homare Sawa, Saki Kumagai, and Nahomi Kawasumi.

The 2017 season saw the Lionesses back in the title race and chasing the dominant NTV Beleza all the way. They finished runners-up in Nadeshiko League Division 1, taking 39 points from 18 matches (12 wins, 3 draws, 3 defeats) and conceding just 12 goals, the second-tightest defence in the division. This is the club's home shirt from that second-placed campaign.

The cups delivered the season's biggest shock, and not the good kind. INAC went into the Empress's Cup as defending champions, only to be dumped out in the Round of 32 by university side Waseda, beaten on penalties by a team from outside the top flight. For a club of INAC's pedigree it was a chastening afternoon.

On the pitch the standout was Emi Nakajima, the club's leading league scorer with 8 goals, who was rewarded with a place in the Nadeshiko League Best Eleven and the season's Fighting-spirit Award. Defender Aya Sameshima joined her in the Best Eleven, teenager Yui Fukuta was named Best Young Player, and forward Megumi Takase chipped in with 5 league goals.