On Frida 24 August, the 14th All Japan University Futsal Championship kicked off as 12 teams making their way out of regional qualifiers gathered at Kishiwada City Gymnasium in Osaka to compete for the collegiate national title for the next three days.

12 teams were divided into three groups in the first round where the group leaders along with one of the runners-up with the best record will advance to the final round. The four teams will play in a knockout format to determine the collegiate national champions.

In group A, Osaka Seikei University futsal club (Host region/Osaka) who has finished as the runners-up in the past two championships and Keio University Soccer Team (Kanto2/Tokyo) who is making their first national championship appearance, both showed their strengths. In their first match Osaka Seikei University won over Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University DELFINO (Kushyu1/Oita) 9-0, as they scored multiple goals while keeping a clean sheet. Keio University also won their match as they bested Kanazawa University LEGOs (Hokushinetsu/Ishikawa) 6-3 despite conceding the opening goal, they showed their persistency to mark a come from behind victory.

Osaka Seikei University won their second match against Kanazawa University 7-0, marking a rare two-consecutive shutout victory. Keio University also won their second straight match as they scored 10 goals against Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. The two undefeated teams will clash in day two, as Osaka Seikei University seeks for their third appearance in the final round in three years, while Keio University attempts to deny them at their first tournament appearance.

Group B also played out two matches, where the defending champions Juntendo University futsal club GAZIL/JFC (Kanto1/Chiba) who are seeking for their third consecutive title, defeated Nagasaki University futsal club FORZA (Kyushu2/Nagasaki) 11-3, followed by a 5-1 victory over Hokkaido University Esperanza (Hokkaido) who has won their first match. With Nagasaki University winning their match over Aichi Gakuin University ART FUTSAL CLUB (Tokai/Aichi) 9-8, Juntendo University clinched their final round berth ahead of day two.

The teams in Group C only played a match each as last year’s final round contender Doshisha University futsal club TREBOL (Kansai/Kyoto) won their match over Ehime University futsal club (Shikoku/Ehime) 10-4, while Yamaguchi University futsal club (Chugoku/Yamaguchi) who merely missed their final round appearance last year due to goal differential, bested Sendai University futsal club (Tohoku/Miyagi) 4-2 to grab a good start in the group stage.

Day two of the championship will take place on Saturday 25 August, as the remaining eight matches of the first round will be played to determine the four teams advancing to the final round. The competition between the powerhouses who has made it into the top four in the past championships and the new comers who seeks for an upset will be featured on this day.

Coach and Players' Comments

SHINOHE Norihide, Coach (Keio University Soccer Team)
Although we have won two matches today, our goal is to win the title, and we are still at the end of day one. Our team is a football team, so we usually play football and conduct our futsal session once a week. We have been preparing ourselves to win our next match against Osaka Seikei University. While participating in this championship, we still have our football schedule going, so half of our players joined the team late last night. Its not an easy task to take on, but our players are striving to become national champions in both football and futsal, so we will give our best to achieve our goal.

YAMAZAKI Tsubasa (Osaka Seikei University futsal club)
I am glad we managed to keep a clean sheet in two of our matches. However, it wouldn’t mean a thing if we can’t win tomorrow. Our goal is to win the title and we should be able to play our match with a good amount of nervousness. The fourth-year players experienced being the runners-up in two consecutive championships. That bitterness has been shared to the younger players and they have shown their strong intention to take the title this year. We are currently in great form and it has allowed us to earn the maximum six points while keeping two clean sheets.

KONUMA Masahito (Juntendo University futsal club GAZIL/JFC)
Although it is a great thing that we managed to win two matches, we have conceded many goals today, so we must improve that tomorrow. I think it will be tough to take the title if we kept playing the way we did today. We managed to win the championship last year, but most of the credit goes to last years fourth year players. That is why we have worked hard to improve both of our offence and defence. Despite securing our spot into the final round, we’re not so confident to win our third consecutive title. For now, we will give our best to record three wins in the group stage ahead of the final round.

MAKISUMI Shuhei (Doshisha University futsal club TREBOL)
This was my first national championship, and personally I was a bit shaken up. But once I entered the match, I was able to get myself loosened up. Last year I was cheering on the team from the stands and this year I am on the court getting cheered on. I was thinking if we can score first, the match would be so much easier for us, so I am glad I managed to score that first goal. Although we scored 10 goals, we conceded four. In order for us to reach higher stages, we must improve on that aspect. We would like to show our dominance to take down the national title.

Fri. 24 August: 1st Round Highlights

The 14th All Japan University Futsal Championship

Tournament Dates: Fri. 24 - Sun. 26 August 2018
Tournament Venue: Kishiwada City Gymnasium, Osaka
Tournament Information