Masafumi Kawaguchi is an American Football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player from Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Born on February 19, 1973 in Kawanishi, Hyogo

Kawanishi, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the northwestern part of the Kansai Region of Japan, about 5 km north of Osaka Itami Airport. It is bordered on the west by Inagawa River.-History:...

,

Kawaguchi was introduced to football during his senior year at San Clemente High School http://www.iht.com/articles/1997/02/12/foot.t.php. He enrolled at Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan University has a growing reputation as one of the main private universities of Japan. It is part of a group of prestigious private universities in the Kansai area, called "Kan -Kan -Dou -Ritsu "...

 in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 as an international relations major. He played for seven years with the Amsterdam Admirals

Amsterdam Admirals

The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europe based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-History:The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to be based entirely in Europe...

 of NFL Europe

NFL Europe

NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...

 from 1997 to 2004. He was named to the All-NFL Europe Team in 1999 http://www.nfleurope.com/news/archive/04032003_masa.

In 1998 he was among the first four Japanese players to participate in an NFL training camp when he participated in the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 camp http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:TzmRBMpMQj0J:www.packers.com/news/releases/1998/07/07-21b.html+masafumi+kawaguchi+x-league&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=opera. In 2003, he was invited to the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 training camp in 2003, and participated in the American Bowl exhibition game in the Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 game between the 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

 http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/441/feature.asp. He made the practice squad, but was dropped from the roster before the season beganhttp://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/transactions?team=sfo.

Kawaguchi played a key role on the Japanese national team that won the International Federation of American Football

International Federation of American Football

International Federation of American Football is the international governing body of American football associations. Its headquarters are in La Courneuve, France, and its current president is Tommy Wiking...

 1999 World Cup

1999 IFAF World Cup

The 1999 IFAF World Championship was the inaugural IFAF World Championship, an international American football championship run by the International Federation of American Football . It was played in Palermo, Italy from 24 June - 4 July 1999...

http://www.nfleurope.com/news/archive/26072000_japs.

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