Following last year’s JFA Premier Cup 2013 supported by NIKE, JFA announces it will hold JFA Premier Cup 2014 supported by NIKE for three days from Saturday 3rd May to Monday 5th May at J-GREEN SAKAI in Osaka.
The championship team will be given a spot in the world championship “Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals 2014”.
The matching draw will be held on Friday 2nd May, the day before the opening day, in presence of all participating players to determine the matching for the 1st round. The followings are the event outline and the match schedule.

Event Title:

JFA Premier Cup 2014 supported by NIKE

Organiser:

Japan Football Association

Managing Organisation:

Osaka Prefecture Football Association

Special Sponsor:

Nike Japan Inc.

Partner:

Coca-Cola Japan Co., Ltd.

Event Dates:

Saturday 3rd, Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May, 2014

Event Venue:

J-GREEN SAKAI, Osaka Prefecture

Participating Teams:

9 teams selected by 9 regional associations respectively
1 team each from Kanto and Shikoku regions as promotional seeds
1 team from Kanto region as a seed for the last year’s championship region

Total 12 teams

JFA Premier Cup 2014 supported by NIKE Important Notices

Competition Methods:

（１）1st Round
All 12 participating teams are divided into 3 groups of 4 teams. 4 teams consisting of 3 best teams of each group and the best team of all 2nd ranked teams of each group advance to the final round.
The ranks of each group in the 1st round are determined by the number of points earned. A winning team of each game receive 3 points and a losing team receive 0 point as teams played in draw games receive 1 point each. When multiple teams have the same number of points, the ranks are determined by following factors.

1. Total goal difference of all games played (= all goals for – all goals against)
2. Total goals for of all games played
3. Win-Loss result between teams in question
4. Lottery (In the presence of representatives from teams in question)

One 2nd ranked team advancing to the final round out of all 2nd ranked teams are determined by following factors in this order.

1. Total points earned of all games played
2. Total goal difference of all games played (=all goals for – all goals against)
3. Total goals for of all games played
4. Lottery (In the presence of representatives from teams in question)

（２）Final Round
The ranks from 1st to 3rd are determined by a single elimination tournament by four teams. (The third place game is not played.) The bracket of the final round is determined by draw after the first round. The draw will be designed for two teams from the same first round group not to play the first game.

Competition Regulations:

The games are conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations set by Japan Football Association for the year in which this event is held. However, following event regulations are additionally applied.
The maximum of 20 players can be on the roster submitted for the event, as each game limits to the maximum of 18 players on the game roster.
Up to 5 substitutions are allowed out of the maximum of 7 substitute members listed on the game roster.

Miscellaneous:

The championship team will be given a spot in Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals (Dates: Undecided. Location: Manchester.)
In addition, only players born after 2nd April, 1999 (Heisei 11) are qualified to play in this event.