The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament is about to kick-off on Wednesday 28 December.

The 48 schools that have won the prefectural qualifiers will compete for the national title in a knock-out format. The top three finishers from the previous year, the winners Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori), runners-up Ozu High School (Kumamoto), and third-placed Takagawa Gakuen High Scool (Yamaguchi), were granted a bye in the first round, while Kokugakuin Kugayama High School (Tokyo A) was seeded in place of Kanto Daiichi High School (Tokyo) from the Tokyo block.

Among the high schools participating in the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League, the highest league in the U-18 age group, Aomori Yamada, which finished fourth in the EAST, Maebashi Ikuei High School (Gunma), which finished sixth in the EAST, Ozu, which finished sixth in the WEST, and Riseisha High School (Osaka), which finished eighth in the WEST, qualified for the tournament. All are serious contenders for the title, but Maebashi Ikuei in particular is attracting a lot of attention after winning the Inter-High School Championships in the summer and will be vying for their second title of the year.

One of the tournament's most competitive blocks is shared by Maebashi Ikuei and Shohei High School (Saitama), which boasts ARAI Yuta, a member of the U-18 Japan National Team who is set to join FC Tokyo and has already competed in the J.League YBC Levain Cup as a specially designated JFA/J.League player.

On the other hand, in the same block as the defending champions Aomori Yamada, there are many strong sides such as Shoshi High School (Fukushima), Yonago Kita High School (Tottori) and Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kagoshima), all of which won their play-off matches to join the Premier League next season, making this a highly competitive block as well. Kamimura Gakuen in particular is a solid team with plenty of talents such as FUKUDA Shio, who is set to join Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany, OSAKO Rui, who has been offered a place at Cerezo Osaka, and YOSHINAGA Yumeki from the U-16 Japan National Team.

Strong schools can be found in the other blocks as well, including Higashiyama High School (Kyoto), which finished in the top eight last year and has a large number of returning players, including SAKATA Reiya, who will join Cerezo Osaka, and Nihon University Fujisawa High School, which is led by 198 cm striker MORISHIGE Yosuke, who will join Shimizu S-Pulse.

Also of note are Nippon Sport Science University Kashiwa High School (Chiba), Ashiya Gakuen High School (Hyogo) and Iizuka High School (Fukuoka), who qualified through the fierce competition of Chiba, Hyogo, and Fukuoka Prefectures.

The battle that begins with the opening match between Seiritsu Gakuen High School (Tokyo B) and Tsu Technical High School (Mie) at Japan National Stadium on Wednesday 28 January will conclude with the final match at Japan National Stadium on Monday 9 January 2023. Please stay tuned for hotly contested action between the players of the 48 schools, as they battle it out for the winter title.

The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament

Tournament Dates: Wed. 28 December 2022 - Mon. 9 January 2023

Tournament Information