is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) and the Japan national team. She previously played for

Nippon TV Beleza is a women's professional football team that plays in Japan's WE League. It is based in the Kita, Itabashi, Inagi, Hino, Tama, and Tachikawa wards of Tokyo. They have won 52 major Asian and national titles, the most of any team in the W ...

of the Japanese

Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respectively. Teams are pro ...

and won the 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship.

Early life

Endo was born in

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

on 24 May 2000. Endo is the youngest of four children. Her father is a football coach, and her mother is a teacher, and her family lived next door to her grandparents in her hometown of Shirakawa in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The

April 2011 Fukushima earthquake April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...

struck while Endo, then 10 years old, was in class and heavily damaged her school. Her family and their homes survived, and they were not required to evacuate from the subsequent release of radiation at the

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma, Fukushima, Ōkuma and Futaba, Fukushima, Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, suffered major damage from the 201 ...

; as she wasn't allowed to go outside, she continued to practice football inside her home, which contributed to her ability to handle the ball in confined spaces. In a 2023 interview, Endo said that at the time she had been bullied by youth players who would often act like players from Fukushima were "contaminated" by radioactivity. Despite this, the subsequent Japanese victory at the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

inspired Endo to continue her football career.

Club career

Tokyo Verdy Beleza, 2018–2021

In 2018, she joined L.League club

from JFA Academy Fukushima LSC. In 2019, Endo won the 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship with Nippon TV Beleza.

Angel City FC, 2022–

On 20 December 2021, Endo signed with NWSL club

for the club's inaugural season. On 29 April 2022, she assisted the first goal and scored the second in Angel City's first-ever regular season game, a win over

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

, and was awarded

Player of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. In her first season with Angel City, Endo played 22 games and racked up 1,925 minutes. The club finished their first season in eighth place with a record. Endo returned to Angel City for the 2023 season and started in 10 of the 18 games she played in addition to playing in the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

. She notched her first goal and assist of the season in a 3-2 win over

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

in May. During a 2-2 draw against

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

on 17 September, she scored the club's second goal. She scored Angel City's last goal in a 5-1 rout against

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

on 15 October. Angel City finished in fifth place during the regular season and advanced to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the first time where they were eliminated by

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

in the quarter final match. On 29 November 2023, Angel City announced they would exercise their one-year option to extend Endo's contract through 2024. In February 2024, Endo suffered a season-ending ACL injury to her left-knee during a preseason training camp in Melbourne, Florida. On 5 September 2024, Angel City announced Endo would be signing a new contract with Angel City beginning in 2025, keeping her at the club through 2027.

International career

Youth

In 2016, Endo was selected for the Japan U-17 national team for the 2016 U-17 World Cup. She played in four matches and scored three goals, helping Japan win second place. In 2018, Endo was selected for the Japan U-20 national team for the 2018 U-20 World Cup. She played in all six matches and scored two goals, and Japan won the championship.

Senior

In February 2019, Endo was selected for the Japan national team for the

SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's association football, women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by t ...

. She earned her first cap for the senior nation al team on 27 February during the match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2019, Endo was the youngest member of the 2019 Japanese World Cup team and played in three of Japan's four games. On 18 June 2021, she was included in the Japan squad for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. On 7 January 2022, Endo was called up to the

2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international women's football tournament in Asia competed by the national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). India was selected as ...

squad. In February 2023, Endo was selected for the Japan national team for the SheBelieves Cup. She scored in Japan's 3-0 win over Canada. On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament, which took place from 2 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Endo goal.''

Honours

Tokyo Verdy Beleza *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" () or The JFA Empress's Cup (from 2024 onwards), is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be considered the female counterpart to t ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Nadeshiko League Cup The Nadeshiko League Cup (Japanese: なでしこリーグカップ) is a cup competition for women's football clubs in Japan. The competition began as the L.League Cup in 1996 and it was abolished after the 1999 edition. It reappeared on the occa ...

, 2019 *

AFC Women's Club Championship The AFC Women's Club Championship was the women's football club competition in Asia. It involved the top clubs from countries affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was designed as a pilot competition for the AFC Women's Cha ...

Japan U20 *

AFC U-19 Women's Championship The AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup is an association football tournament for women's national teams under the age of 20, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is organised by the Asian Football Confederation every two years, and serve ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...

Japan *

EAFF E-1 Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international association football, football competition in East Asia for memb ...

References

External links

*
Jun Endo
at

Jun Endo
at the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Endo, Jun 2000 births Living people Association football people from Fukushima Prefecture Japanese women's footballers Japan women's international footballers Nadeshiko League players Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza players Women's association football forwards 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Japan Japanese expatriate women's footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Angel City FC players National Women's Soccer League players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players People from Shirakawa, Fukushima 21st-century Japanese sportswomen