The Prince Takamado Cup , since 2018, is divided in two age-restricted tournaments, being them the "Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football League " (Japanese : 高円宮杯 JFA U-18サッカーリーグ ) and "Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-15 Japan Football Championship " (Japanese : 高円宮杯 JFA U-15サッカー選手権大会 ). Both tournaments are annually-contested and run by the Japan Football Association for the under–18 and under-15 sides. The name of the tournament is named after Norihito, Prince Takamado , a long time patron of football in Japan .[1]
Under-18 [ edit ] Football tournament
League structure [ edit ] From 2003 to 2010, the championship was realized as a short-term tournament, where the Prince Leagues (equivalent to the Japanese Regional Leagues ) served as a qualification to it. [2] Since 2011, the championship is played as a year-round league tournament.
Currently, in the Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, 24 teams are split into 2 groups with 12 teams in each, which are called Premier League East, and Premier League West, with each team's geographical positions being the determining factor to decide whether the club should be on the East group, or on the West group. The winners of each group face each other in a one-legged final at a neutral venue to decide the tournament's winners.[3]
For a few years, the 11th and 12th-placed teams of each group are automatically relegated to the Prince League (The tournament's 2nd division), while to keep their stay at the elite, the 10th-placed teams of each group needs to join other 16 teams from the Prince League on a play-off tournament, with the teams being divided by 6 groups with 3 teams in each. The winners of each group were qualified for/remains in the Premier League. [4] Since 2023, however, the 10th-placed team is automatically relegated, with the play-offs restricted to 16 teams from the Prince Leagues.
All the players under the Type 2 registration (Players with the age of 18 or below) are eligible to compete in the leagues.
U-18 League System Level Leagues/Divisions I Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 24 teams (2024 season) East (12 teams) | West (12 teams)
II Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Prince League 126 teams (2024 season) Hokkaido (8 teams) Tohoku (10 teams) Kanto (20 teams; 2 divisions) Tokai (10 teams) Hokushin'etsu (18 teams; 2 divisions) Kansai (20 teams; 2 divisions) Chugoku (10 teams) Shikoku (10 teams) Kyushu (20 teams; 2 divisions)
IV & below 46 Prefectural Leagues & 5 Block Leagues of Hokkaido 478 teams (1st division only; 2024 season) Hokkaido: Sapporo block | Dōhoku block (north) | Dōtō block (east) | Dōō block (central) | Dōnan block (south) Tohoku: Aomori | Iwate | Miyagi | Akita | Yamagata | Fukushima Kanto: Ibaraki | Tochigi | Gunma | Saitama | Chiba | Tokyo | Kanagawa | Yamanashi Tokai: Gifu | Shizuoka | Aichi | Mie Hokushin'etsu: Niigata | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui | Nagano Kansai: Shiga | Kyoto | Osaka | Hyogo | Nara | Wakayama Chugoku: Tottori | Shimane | Okayama | Hiroshima | Yamaguchi Shikoku: Tokushima | Kagawa | Ehime | Kochi Kyushu: Fukuoka | Saga | Nagasaki | Kumamoto | Ōita | Miyazaki | Kagoshima | Okinawa
Premier League teams (2011–) [ edit ] This list includes all teams that played in the Premier League since its inception on 2011, when it became the top U-18 league in Japan. Teams in bold are playing in the 2023 Prince Takamado JFA U-18 Premier League. Gold boxes indicates the team was the season's champions, green boxes indicates the season's runner-up, and red boxes indicates the season's relegated teams.
Team Prefecture Seasons 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 Asahikawa Jitsugyo HS Hokkaido 2 – 10th – – – – – – – – – 12th Consadole Sapporo Hokkaido 5 1st 2nd 5th 8th 9th – – – – – – – Aomori Yamada HS Aomori 12 6th 4th 6th 7th 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 4th 1st JFA Academy Fukushima Fukushima 4 – – 3rd 5th 10th – – – – – 11th – Shoshi HS Fukushima 3 10th – – – – – – – 10th – – 2nd Kashima Antlers Ibaraki 8 – 7th 8th 3rd 1st 8th 4th 1st 9th – – – Maebashi Ikuei HS Gunma 2 – – – – – – – – – – 6th 8th Kiryu Daiichi HS Gunma 1 – – – – – – – – – – 12th – Mitsubishi Yowa Saitama 4 8th 8th 7th 10th – – – – – – – – Omiya Ardija Saitama 6 – – – – 3rd 4th 9th – 6th 4th 3rd 9th Shohei HS Saitama 1 – – – – – – – – – – – 7th Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama 6 4th 9th – – – – 8th 7th 3rd 10th – – Ichiritsu Funabashi HS Chiba 9 – – – 4th 4th 3rd 7th 6th 5th 9th 10th 5th Kashiwa Reysol Chiba 9 – – – 1st 8th 7th 5th 5th 2nd 5th 9th 4th Ryutsu Keizai Kashiwa HS Chiba 11 5th 3rd 1st 6th 7th 9th – 4th 7th 8th 8th 6th FC Tokyo Tokyo 8 9th – – – 5th 2nd 1st 9th – 6th 5th 10th Tokyo Verdy Tokyo 4 2nd 1st 4th 9th – – – – – – – – Kawasaki Frontale Kanagawa 2 – – – – – – – – – – 1st 3rd Toko Gakuen HS Kanagawa 1 – – 10th – – – – – – – – – Yokohama FC Kanagawa 3 – – – – – – – – – 7th 7th WEST Yokohama F. Marinos Kanagawa 5 – – – – – 5th 10th – – 3rd 2nd 11th Albirex Niigata Niigata 1 – – – – – 10th – – – – – – Toyama Daiichi HS Toyama 1 WEST WEST WEST WEST – – – 10th – – – – Júbilo Iwata Shizuoka 2 – – – – – – – 8th 8th WEST WEST WEST Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka 10 3rd 5th 2nd 2nd 6th 6th 2nd 3rd 4th 2nd WEST – Shizuoka Gakuen HS Shizuoka 4 7th 6th 9th – – – – – – – WEST WEST Kyoto Sanga Kyoto 1 – – – – – – 6th WEST WEST WEST – –
Team Prefecture Seasons 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 Yokohama FC Kanagawa 3 – – – – – – – – – EAST EAST 5th Toyama Daiichi HS Toyama 4 8th 6th 8th 9th – – – EAST – – – – Júbilo Iwata Shizuoka 3 – – – – – – – EAST EAST 8th 3rd 11th Shizuoka Gakuen HS Shizuoka 2 EAST EAST EAST – – – – – – – 4th 3rd Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka 1 EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST 11th – Nagoya Grampus Aichi 11 4th 3rd 6th 4th 8th 9th – 3rd 1st 2nd 5th 8th Kyoto Sanga Kyoto 9 2nd 5th 5th 5th 7th 6th – 4th 2nd 10th – – Kyoto Tachibana HS Kyoto 2 – – – 8th 10th – – – – – – – Cerezo Osaka Osaka 11 3rd 4th 4th 1st 4th 2nd 5th 6th 7th 6th 10th – Gamba Osaka Osaka 9 – – 7th 2nd 1st 5th 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 12th – Hannan Univ. HS Osaka 2 – – – – – – 6th 9th – – – – Riseisha HS Osaka 3 – – – – 9th – – – – 8th 12th Kobe Koryo Gakuen HS Hyogo 2 – – – – – 7th 9th – – – – – Vissel Kobe Hyogo 11 – 2nd 1st 3rd 6th 3rd 1st 7th 6th 7th 2nd 2nd Yonago Kita HS Tottori 3 – – – – – – 7th 10th – – – 7th Rissho Univ. Shonan HS Shimane 1 10th – – – – – – – – – – – Sakuyo HS Okayama 1 – 9th – – – – – – – – – – Hiroshima Minami HS Hiroshima 1 9th – – – – – – – – – – – Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima 12 1st 1st 3rd 6th 5th 1st 2nd 1st 5th 1st 7th 1st Ehime FC Ehime 1 – – – – – – – – 10th – – – Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka 6 6th 8th 9th – – – 8th 8th 9th – – – Higashi Fukuoka HS Fukuoka 12 5th 7th 2nd 7th 2nd 4th 4th 5th 8th 9th 9th 6th Sagan Tosu Saga 3 – – – – – – – – – 5th 1st 9th Ohzu HS Kumamoto 7 – – 10th – – 8th 10th – 4th 4th 6th 4th Oita Trinita Oita 2 – – – – 3rd 10th – – – – – Kamimura Gakuen HS Kagoshima 1 – – – – – – – – – – – 10th
Participating teams (2024 Prince League) [ edit ] Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2 [ edit ] Division 1 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Albirex Niigata Niigata Hokuetsu High School Niigata Nihon Bunri High School Niigata Niigata Meikun High School Niigata Teikyo Nagaoka High School 2nd Niigata Kataller Toyama Toyama Toyama Daiichi High School Toyama Zweigen Kanazawa Ishikawa Seiryo High School Ishikawa Otori Gakuen High School Ishikawa
Division 2 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Matsumoto Yamaga Nagano Matsumoto Kokusai High School Nagano Joetsu High School Niigata Teikyo Nagaoka High School 3rd Niigata Toyama Daiichi High School 2nd Toyama Yugakkan High School Ishikawa Seiryo High School 2nd Ishikawa Maruoka High School Fukui
Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Rissho Univ. Shonan High School Shimane Taisha High School Shimane Okayama Gakugeikan High School Okayama Shujitsu High School Okayama Tamano Konan High School Okayama Setouchi High School Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2nd Hiroshima Hiroshima Minami High School Hiroshima Renofa Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Takagawa Gakuen High School Yamaguchi
Team Prefecture Kamatamare Sanuki Kagawa Fujii Gakuen Sangawa High School Kagawa SGU Kagawa Nishi High School Kagawa Otemae Takamatsu High School Kagawa Tokushima Vortis Tokushima Tokushima Ichiritsu High School Tokushima Tokushima Kita High School Tokushima Ehime FC Ehime FC Imabari Ehime Teikyo Daigo High School Ehime
Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2 [ edit ] Under-15 [ edit ] Division 1 [ edit ] Team City Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Sapporo Anfini Maki.FC Sapporo Aprile Sapporo Sapporo SSS Jr Youth Sapporo Sapporo Junior FC Sapporo Sapporo Otani Junior High School Sapporo Spread Eagle FC Hakodate Hakodate Hokkaido Consadole Asahikawa Asahikawa Hokkaido Consadole Muroran Muroran Dohto Jr Youth Kitahiroshima
Division 2 [ edit ] Team City Traum Vita FC Asahikawa Club Fields Ebetsu Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 2nd Sapporo Anfini Maki.FC 2nd Sapporo FC Denova Sapporo Sapporo Regaris Otaru Otaru Progresso Tokachi FC Obihiro Makubetsu Satsunai SC Makubetsu Hokkaido Consadole Kushiro Kushiro ASC Hokkaido Tomakomai
Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2 North [ edit ] Team Prefecture Aomori FC Aomori Trias Shichinohe Aomori Aomori Yamada Junior High School 2nd Aomori Renuovens Ogasa Iwate Tono Junior High School Iwate Blaublitz Akita 2nd Akita FC Akita Aspride Akita Sportif Akita Akita
Division 2 South [ edit ] Team Prefecture Aoba FC Miyagi AC Azzurri Miyagi FC Miyagi Barcelona Miyagi Tohoku Gakuin Junior High School Miyagi Yamagata FC Yamagata Fukushima United FC Fukushima JFA Academy Fukushima Fukushima Shoshi FC Fukushima
Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2A [ edit ] Division 2B [ edit ] Division 1 [ edit ] Division 2 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Lasta Shiga Shiga MIO Biwako Shiga Shiga Uji FC Kyoto Vervento Kyoto FC Kyoto Nagano FC Osaka Senrioka FC Osaka Takatsuki Sieg FC Osaka SC Internacional Japan Hyogo Itami FC Hyogo FC Paseno Itami Hyogo Nara YMCA SC Nara Cerezo Osaka Wakayama Wakayama
Division 1 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Fagiano Okayama Okayama Hajaxs FC Academy Okayama J-Field Okayama FC Okayama Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Hatsukaichi FC Hiroshima Sanfrecce Bingo Hiroshima Sanfrecce Kunibiki Hiroshima Seagull Hiroshima Hiroshima FC Tsuneishi Hiroshima Takagawa Gakuen Junior High School Yamaguchi
Division 2 [ edit ] Team Prefecture Gainare Tottori Tottori Shimane KFC Shimane Arcobaleno FC Okayama Fukuyama Rosas Seleson Hiroshima Renofa Yamaguchi FC Yamaguchi Crefio Yamaguchi FC Yamaguchi Gracia Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Renofa Yamaguchi West Yamaguchi
Team City Okinawa SV Okinawa FC Ryukyu Okinawa Vicsale Okinawa Okinawa EAC Urasoe Casa Okinawa Naha FC Grande Naha Naha Oroku Junior High School Naha W Wing Okinawa FC Yonabaru
See also [ edit ] Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football League (ja ) Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-15 Japan Football Championship (ja ) References [ edit ] External links [ edit ]
National association National teams (2024 )
Leagues (2024 )
Cups(2024 )
International cups
Men Women MS&AD Cup (Senior) JENESYS U-17 Women’s Football Memorial Cup
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