The quarter-finals of the 25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship will be held in Hyogo Prefecture on Wednesday 4 January. We expect the battles to get more competitve as the tournament goes on.

Fujieda Junshin High School (Tokai1/Shizuoka), who had captured the inter-high school football competition last summer, are now looking to claim the back-to-back championship title. However, they didn't get to the last eight easily. While they cruised through the first round by scoring five goals, they struggled to post a 2-0 win in their second match only finding their first goal after 78th minutes. 

Their opponents, Daisho Gakuen High School (Kansai2/Osaka), are currently tied for the top-scoring team in the tournament with 18 goals in two matches. Sakamoto Michika and captain KUBOTA Haruka led the team’s offence and racked up five and four goals, respectively. Daisho Gakuen are the only team remaining from the Kansai area, and, as the sole representatives of this region, they are expected to take on the defending champions at full stretch bringing the momentum they have built up so far.

Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kyushu2/Kagoshima) were the runner-up in the championship last year. However, they only got through to this stage by winning difficult matches. They edged their opponents by one goal in the first round and defeated Shonan Gakuin High School (Kanto1/Kanagawa) only after a penalty shootout in the second round, where they allowed them to open the scoring, but came up with an equaliser in the latter part of the game.

Seiwa Gakuen High School (Tohoku2/Miyagi), their opponents in the quarter-finals, have not conceded any goals so far. They beat St. Capitanio Girl's High School (Tokai3/Aichi) in the second round without giving them a single chance to take a shot. We expect a highly-contested match, and whichever team that capitalise the most on their scoring chances will advance to the semi-finals.

Jumonji High School (Kanto3/Tokyo) have build their confidence by winning against tough opponents in the championship. In the second round, they defeated powerhouse Hinomoto Gakuen High School (Kansai1/Hyogo), who entered the tournament claiming the title twice in the past three years. In this game, Jumonji kept their attacking attitude until the end of match firing six more shots after the break surpassing the opponents in the number of attempts at goal despite scoring three goals in the first half alone.

In the quarter-finals, they will face Bunkyo High School Attached to Hiroshima Bunkyo Women's University (Chugoku1/Hiroshima) who were held to only two-shot attempts in each half but managed to edge 1-0 in the tight second-round match. Which team will play to their strength and capitalise on their scoring opportunities will likely to be the key in determining the outcome of the enticing contest.

Shutoku High School (Kanto5/Tokyo) scored three goals from corner kicks in the second round. Their corner-kicker specialist, KAGAMI Reina, has improved significantly and she is currently performing at top form. There is no doubt she will be one of the key players in the quarter-finals. As a team, they displayed their resilience in the regional tournament as they came back to equalise twice even in extra time with the eventual champions Shonan Gakuin High School, but lost the closely-contest match only after a penalty shootout.

Their opposition, Tokiwagi Gakuin High School, are one of the most prominent teams in women’s football claiming the title for this national competition five times. In the second round where they eventually won 2-0, they took 18 attempts at goal while their opponents were held to a single shot and dominated the match. They missed thier final-four berth only once since 2002, but this loss came in the first round last year as they were eliminated on penalties. We expect them to enter the quart-finals with a strong determination to avenge the previous year’s defeat. We cannot wait to see the heated contest from the two powerful teams in the championship.

25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championshi

30 December 2016 (Sat.) ～ 8 January 2017 (Sun.)　[Free Admission]
First Round～ Quater-finals：Venues across Hyogo Prefecture
Semi-finals ～ Final：Noevir Stadium Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture)

Tournament Information