Nippon TV Beleza are an elite team which have produced many well-known players over the years. Last year, they won the Nadeshiko League for the first time in five years and they clinched the title again this year with an outstanding performance of scoring the highest and conceding the least number of goals. They have proved that they are the strongest in the league with seven players being selected to the ‘Best XI’, namely goalkeeper YAMASHITA Ayaka, defenders IWASHIMIZU Azusa, ARIYOSHI Saori, and MURAMATSU Tomoko, midfielder and anchor SAKAGUCHI Mizuho, and forwards MOMIKI Yuka and TANAKA Mina.

The team lost only two closely-contested matches during the regular season, and they clinched the league title with a seven-point gap with second-placed INAC Kobe Leonessa. There is no question that they dominated the women’s football and their consistent performance has been noted throughout this year. They also hoisted the Nadeshiko League Cup which was held during the mid-season break of the Nadeshiko League. Now they will compete in the quarter-finals of the Empress’s Cup seeking for the “Triple Crown”.

League’s top-scorer, Tanaka, tallied 18 goals during the regular season with an exceptional one goal per match average and became the top striker representing the Nadeshiko League. Not only their outstanding forward but all of their players forming the centre line, anchor and league MVP Sakaguchi, centre back Iwashimizu and national –squad goalkeeper Yamashita are their core strengths.

Additionally, youth players coming from their academy, Momiki Yuka, HASEGAWA Yui, and SUMIDA Rin, who had shone for Japan in the recent FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, take on the supporting role of these key players. Seeing number of their senior players making history for Nippon Beleza and the national squad, they worked hard and improved themselves to one day surpass them and become the next generation of star players. They will now need to showcase their full potential and hoist the Empress’s Cup in order to continue the success story of their predecessors.

This is the last competition of this season for Nippon Beleza. They are looking to become the ‘Secretariat’ of the Nadeshiko League by the winning the ‘Triple Crown’ for the first time since 2007.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Empress' Cup Quarter-finals (12/17)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament

2016-10-22(Sat.) ～ 2016-12-25(Sun.)
Quarter-finals：17 December (Sat.)　Yurtec Stadium Sendai・Pikara Stadium (Kagawa Prefecture Marugame Stadium)
Semi-finals：23 December(Fri.)　Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka 
Final：25 December(Sun.)　Fukuda Denshi Arena

Tournament Information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)