The death of Footy Japan's founding partner and ex British Football Club captain Jonathan Day has sent shockwaves across the international footballing community in Tokyo, especially coming so soon after the loss of referee Kazu.

Jon was brought into the BFC at the turn of the millenium by me (Sid Lloyd) then BFC captain, in what was the start of a great friendship. Together with Jon's brother Rob & my wife Paco, we planned the overhaul of international amateur football in Tokyo with the formation of the Tokyo Metropolis League for adults and British Football Academy for children. As a footballer, Jon was a formidable striker feared by defenders across the league, scoring 32 goals for BFC in one season alone. In 2006 he took over the reigns of the BFC captaincy and led them to become TML Division 1 champions 2 years in a row, something they have not been able to replicate since.

Off the pitch, Jon's journalistic skills, marketing prowess and of course football knowledge were instrumental in the success of the fledgling British Football Academy. He produced the FJ Magazine, a very popular read amongst players, and went on to win journalistic awards in later years.

Jon could be quite shy and reserved at times but those who knew him well loved him for his wicked sense of humour, spontaneity, kindness, warmth and brotherly friendship. He was a great listener and his good looks didn't do him any harm, with a part time modelling career that helped to support him in the early days. A beautiful man, as my wife would like to describe him.

After the Lehman shock caused havoc with businesses in Tokyo, including Footy Japan, Jon went on to work as a journalist and although he'd passed on the captain's armband, continued to play for BFC. 

The football tours to Thailand with both Footy Japan and BFC were the highlights of the year for many of the 'old boys' who still meet up regularly after 25 years of friendship. As 1st division football became 3rd division due to age & fitness, Jon carried on firing in goals for teams like Pumas & K2 and more recently BFC old boys. A regular at FJs Monday night masters, Jon continued playing right up to & after his cancer diagnosis. Even after suffering a stroke due to his cancer treatment, Jon was determined to get back on the pitch and, as he would joke, 'Run it off'! His grim determination to not feel sorry for himself was an inspiration and the only complaints we heard from him were that his performances on the pitch weren't good enough.

Jon was diagnosed with cancer during COVID, making things all the more difficult and although he was not one to ask for help, his close friends (special thanks to Pablo) set up a crowd-funding page and fundraising night, to help cover the immense cost of treatment and we were all overwhelmed and truly thankful for the support given by friends and fellow players. Unfortunately though, it became apparent in the middle of last year that things were deteriorating rapidly, so Jon made a snap decision to return to the UK to be with his family.

It was another 8 months before this insidious disease ran its course and cut short our friend's life but it was of some comfort to know he was surrounded by love and warmth in his final time on this earth.

Jon meant so much to so many people over the years and he will be missed immensely. Over the last couple of weekends since his passing, tributes have been flooding in. Teams of the TML have observed a minute's silence before matches and the BFC old boys marked the latest TML Masters tournament by winning while wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to remember their teammate.  
Jon was cremated at North Wiltshire Crematorium near his Swindon home on Tuesday night, while many of his Tokyo friends attended remotely via video link from FootNiK Osaki.

So, farewell my friend, partner, team-mate, captain, brother. 
Rest in Peace JD10, you will be in our hearts forever.