The JFA 43rd U-12 Japan Football Championship is about to kick-off at Kagoshima on Wednesday 25 December. The tournament will take place from Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 to determine the national champions of the U-12 category.

With the tournament entering its 43rd edition, many players of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) have played in this tournament, including HARAGUCHI Genki (Hannover 96/Germany) and NAKAJIMA Shoya (FC Porto/Portugal), while the U-22 Japan National Team’s MITOMA Kaoru (University of Tsukuba) is another player who played in this tournament.

In the first round of the tournament, the 48 teams who advanced through the reginal qualifiers will compete in a round robin group stage, where they will be divided into 12 groups. While the group leaders will automatically advance through, top four teams among the runners-up will also advance to setup the round of 16.

This year, many of the regular members of the national competition struggled to qualify through the regional qualifiers, as Avispa Fukuoka U-12 (Fukuoka) was the only team from last year’s top four finishers, who made their return to the national tournament. From Osaka, Yao Taisho FC won their first ticket to the tournament, while Roasso Kumamoto Junior also clinched their first appearance from Kumamoto.

From Kanagawa, Yokohama F・Marinos Primary made their return to the national competition since 2016, as they seek to win their first title since 2006. With a team from Kanagawa winning the title last year, Buddy SC also earned their spot into the tournament as the runners-up at the regional qualifier. After defeating the defending champions Kawasaki Frontale U-12 at the qualifiers, Buddy SC will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in this year’s tournament.

After finishing as the runners-up at the JFA Vermont Cup 29th U-12 Japan Futsal Championship, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-12 (Hokkaido) showed their dominance at the Hokkaido qualifier to earn their ninth appearance at the national competition.

Teams like Kashima Antlers Tsukuba Junior (Ibaraki), Tokyo Verdy Junior (Tokyo), and Cem Ano Kobe Junior (Hyogo) are other notable teams that made it through the reginal qualifiers this year.

Enticing matchups awaits at Kagoshima, as this year’s U-12 Japan Football Championship will kick-off on Christmas day. It will be interesting to see who wins through the tournament to be crowned as the national champions.

JFA 43rd U-12 Japan Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Thu. 26 - Sun. 29 December 2019
Tournament Venue:
1st Round/Round of 16
Kagoshima Fureai Sportsland (Kagoshima)

Quarterfinals
Kamoike Auxiliary Track & Field (Kagoshima)

Semi-finals/Final
Shiranami Stadium (Kagoshima)

Tournament Information