Guess which team will be the top football club in Japan. The 94th Emperor’s Cup will open on 5 July. The schedule of the tournament and the pairings up to round 16 were announced on 19 May.

The final, usually held on New year’s day for many years, will be organised on 13 Dec. due to AFC Asian Cup scheduled in January next year, its venue also will be different, at NISSAN Stadium in Yokohama City because of Tokyo National Stadium’s renovation starting soon. This is first time for the final match to be held other than on New Year’s day and National Stadium in 47 years, the 47th Emperor’s Cup in 1967.

There will be total of 88 teams competing for the cup, including all the J.League clubs and representative teams of 47 prefectural and city governments, adding AC Nagano Parceiro - the amateur team made the best performance in the non-professional category of the last torunament.  They will compete each other head to head in knock-out system for the honor of the top position of Japan football club and acquire the ticket to take part in AFC Champions League (ACL) in 2015.

The tournament starts with the first round matches between J 3 Teams which was reorganized from JFL, representative teams of prefectures which won of prefecture championship (preliminaries). Representative teams of prefectures will be decided on 29 Jun. (Gunma on 6 Jul., Hokkaido on 19 Jul.)

Every clubs of J 1 and J2 will appear from second round on 12 and 13 Jul. (J2 Sapporo on 6 Aug.)
Yokohama F.Marinos, the defending champion, will meet the winner of the match between Nagasaki Prefecture Representative and Miyazaki Prefecture Representative. AC Nagano Parceiro, made unexpected run last year, will play against Niigata prefecture representative in the first round. The winner of that game to take on JEF United Chiba in second round.

Third round matches will be on 20 Aug, round 16 (fourth round matches) on 6 and 7 Sep. (10 Sep. for J1 teams made it to best eight of J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup and, J2 and J3 teams reached to best 16)  Quarter-final is on11and 12 Oct (15 Sep. for J1 team made it to semi-final of J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup), semi-final is on 26 Nov.

Yokohama F.Marinos Head Coach HIGUCHI Yasuhiro eagerly said, “No way we will be absent from our house for the final match scheduled in our home stadium. We are determined to fight to get a ticket for ACL. ”, aiming to win the championship for 8th times, the highest record for J.League clubs.

HYODO Shingo, MF of Yokohama F.Marinos, was excited about the tournament and committed to win the championship in the final match in Yokohama as he remembers “The teams in lower division has nothing to lose, that’s exactly how I felt when I played in University days .”

SURUGA I DREAM Award has been given to the team made a giant killing and scored the goal symbolizing the emperor’s cup since The 89th  Emperor’s Cup. “You will watch serious matches between non-professional and professional. I would expect to watch many giant killings and the tournament gets sensational.  Please pay attention to this award for recording history as a new tradition.” told OKANO Mitsuyoshi, President & CEO of Suruga Bank.

DAINI Kuniya, Japan Football Association President, expressed his high hopes for the tournament’s new development. “It has been long time the final match is at National Stadium, we had big turnout every time, probably for New Year’s day. Hopefully to make final match attractive as ever. ”

Comment

DAINI Kuniya, Japan Football Association President
At just about the same time as FIFA World Cup going to quarter-finals, the opening games of the Emperors’s Cup should be filled with a high motivation of players and excitement. Bit concerned about J3 and JFL teams have to play from prefecture preliminary but you would have a chance to watch exciting games for knock-out system. Ticket to AFC Champions League will be at stake, I am expecting to see energetic performance for reaching the top position in Asia and beyond in the world. 

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