Source: http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=21651

nazuma 11, Level 5's hugely popular Japanese football RPG, will be released in the UK.

As revealed on Nintendo's Swedish website, the DS game will be released in Sweden on 28 January 2011 but ONM understands that it won't come to the UK until after the animated TV show based on the game is aired over here. 

The release date of the Inazuma 11 cartoon in the UK has yet to be confirmed but the animated series has already been on telly in Spain, Brazil and Mexico.

In Inazuma 11 you take on the role of Endou Mamoru, a very talented young goalkeeper and the grandson of one of the best goalkeepers in Japan. Unfortuanately his school doesn't have a team and his classmates aren't interested in training. 

But when a mysterious forward called Gouenji moves to Endou's town, the young goalkeeper sets out to find and recruit members for his football team. There are nearly 1000 playable characters with varying skills that will determine the success of the team.

As for the matches, Endou and his team have to explore in order to get new items and they will face several other players in short casual battles. Then you're into the match itself where the result of any of your player's actions are determined by seven skills, the player's affinity, and the total number of players participating in an action. Special abilities can only be stopped with other abilities.

Here are the first English-language screenshots. Are you looking forward to the release of Inazuma 11.

Myself, I really hope this does well.   DS, Level-5 and football should make one great selling game!

YES! YES! YES! Now if only nintendo would make another handheld mario tennis game like the other handheld ones I would be set for life with sports game.

Better late than never.  Hopefully Nintendo picks up IE2-3, Ninokuni and Layton 4 as well.

I'll purchase 2 copies! I want the sequels as well!!

Honestly, I hope Nintendo pushes marketing for this title in Europe. Football is very popular in Europe and this title has what it takes to really get in the market.

I remember hearing a while back that Level-5 were opening a Western publishing studio.  I think they are using Nintendo to sort of 'test the waters' with IE, if the franchise picks up popularity in the West then Level-5 will publish future instalments.

In theory, a football RPG developed by Level-5 released on the DS with a marketing push by Nintendo, at least here in Europe, should sell crap loads.  But one can never be sure.

As for Ninokuni, I'm really not sure.  If Nintendo publish it in the West, they might demand full or timed exclusivity for the title.

Level-5 did just open a US branch, and they've said they'll also be setting up shop in Europe next year, but I kinda think they'll be focusing on their 3DS/Wii/PS3 games with that (their only announced game is actually Layton 5 for 3DS).  For the rest of their DS stuff, I really think it'll be partnering with Nintendo, or not releasing anything at all. And if SCEA/SCEE don't pick up LBX, I doubt Level-5 will bother with that in the west either... DS and PSP just have too many piracy problems here (which actually makes Ninokuni DS more attractive in weird way, with the giant tome that's necessary to play the game) plus the systems are just naturally winding down at this point.

Speaking of Ninokuni, the game's getting an exclusivity window on DS anyway, I don't think it'd be a problem for Nintendo to publish the DS version next year and then have Level-5 self-publish the PS3 version in 2012.  Nintendo published Samurai Warriors 3 in NA/EU, yet I've no doubt we'll see the PS3 version (and maybe even a 360 version) come over in 2011.