FEATURE: Taiwan’s soccer roots start in colonial Tainan
BUILDING A LEGACY: More than 100 years ago, missionary Edward Band formed what is considered the nation’s first soccer club, which quickly dominated the south
By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
When Taiwan Steel in November last year won the Taiwan Football Premier League title, they brought the game home to Tainan, where it was first introduced to the nation by an Englishman during the Japanese colonial period.
The win was the first time since the start of top-flight competition in the early 1980s that a Tainan-based club has won a soccer championship. However, Tainan and the surrounding area were previously renowned hotbeds for soccer talent, and the game has deep roots in the region’s schools and communities.