The JFA Premier Cup 2015, the only tournament that is connected to the world stage in the U-15 generation, begins with its three-day heated contests from Sunday 3 May to Tuesday 5 May.

The tournament, a Golden Week (one of Japan’s biggest holidays) tradition of J-GREEN Sakai in Osaka Prefecture, assembles 12 selected teams around the nation. The participating teams, divided into three groups of four, play round-robin contests as the group-winners in each group and the best runners-up team among groups advance to the final round. The qualified teams compete in the final round in the knockout system. The champions clinch a berth to “Premier Cup World Finals 2015” to gain rare opportunities to play against powerhouses around the world.

The Manchester United Premier Cup began with a title of “Nike Premier Cup” in 1993 as 624 teams from 15 countries in Europe vied to be the champions. In the following year, spots for the Asian region were allocated, and in 1997 the tournament was expanded worldwide with teams taking part from Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia. The title was changed to “Manchester United Premier Cup” in 2003 and continued to evolve. And last year, 8000 and more teams from 43-plus countries competed for the world championship. From Japan, Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Junior Youth, the champions of the JFA Premier Cup 2014 supported by NIKE, participated in the tournament to gain international experience as they played against academy teams around the world such as Tigres (Mexico), Feyenoord (Netherland) and Manchester United.

The JFA Premier Cup is a path to the world stage and has produced a number of talented players. Some of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) players also experienced this tournament such as KIYOTAKE Hiroshi (played in 2003 for Catiolla FC), SAKAI Hiroki and KUDO Masato (both played in 2004 for Kashiwa Reysol U-15). Current pivotal players from the Japan U-22s NAKAJIMA Shoya (played in 2007 for Tokyo Verdy 1969 Junior Youth) and NOTSUDA Gakuto (played in 2008 for Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Junior Youth) also made appearances in this tournament.

Visit match venues and witness the teams contending for the world finals and prospects shining with expectation to thrive in the professional ranks.

JFA Premier Cup 2015

Sun. 3 May to Tue. 5 May
J-GREEN Sakai (Sakai, Osaka)

The Cup information (Japanese version only)