Figured I’d provide something different from the regular discourse that usually happens on this subreddit.

With the NEL approaching it’s climax and the U-20 World Cup following shortly after I wanted to touch on this piece of dialogue between Ego and the JFU president following the social media traffic the Manshine and Bastard game brought about.

The JFU has invested a lot into Blue Lock and for good reason as well, the entire world is now encapsulated by the Japanese under 20s soccer scene and we have the 5 master strikers and next gen 11 like Kaiser and Lorenzo that only add to the spectacle and in a way legitimise BLTV. This goes without mentioning the lucrative bidding system that international clubs are buying into.

So obviously there’s a lot of money to be made. But what’s the condition the JFU implemented to secure this kind of funding for Ego?

My first thought would be the equivalent of a flat rate finders fee for every bid a BL player gets. For example 10% on each player — meaning the JFU would get 10 million on Barou and 5 million on Isagi for example. But narratively speaking it wouldn’t make much sense to hide a reveal like that in this sort of dialogue.

The JFU’s goal is to make money and a key aspect of commercial success is exposure. To create exposure you need household names , we’ve already seen this in the NEL from Japan’s perspective.

Isagi was introduced into the Barcha game despite what he lacked in accordance was Noa’s metrics due to contractual obligations. This kind of nepotism would typically go against Blue Lock’s selection criteria but it is one that absolutely suits the JFU. Raichi says it himself “just because he got the spotlight in the U-20 match” and he’s exactly right it’s “fan service”.

Isagi is the second biggest name in Japan’s U-20 football scene and the JFU is using him to give Japan more exposure in the NEL; as a result he’s given the most chances, has interviews following his MOTM performance and is consistently pushed as Blue Lock’s ace by external forces in commentary. He is undoubtedly the face of Blue Lock.

But there is a step above Isagi and that is the next phase of the JFU’s plan. There is another person above Isagi who’s notably absent from the NEL and has already provided a great deal of exposure to Blue Lock by simply playing against them. Itoshi Sae is the JFU’s next step in creating exposure to Japanese football. They’ll achieve this by incorporating him into the Blue Lock squad for the U-20 World Cup. That is the deal Ego made with them to secure funding.

So anyone who’s making a Japan starting 11 — include Sae.