‘The 28th Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament’, which decides the best U-15 men’s team in the country, will start on Saturday 17 December. Thirty two teams from across the country will compete to claim the title.

Youth teams of the J.League clubs, teams of the Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association and local town clubs will all participate in this coming tournament. Aomori Yamada Junior High School (Tohoku 1), who have succeeded in winning All Japan Junior High School Sports Festivals (Football) three years running, will meet the previous champions Cerezo Osaka U-15 (Kansai 3) in the opening match. Aomori Yamada failed to get through the first match in their previous two appearances. Forward AWAZU Ruki and midfielder FUJIWARA Yudai will be leading the squad in offence, while they aim to win their first game. C Osaka, on the other hand, lost to Aomori Yamada 1-4 in the 25th tournament, and they are looking to build up momentum from the beginning of this competition by avenging the previous loss.

C Osaka was beaten by their rival Gamba Osaka Junior Youth (Kansai 1) by 12 points this season in the Prince Takamado TrophyU-15 Football League 2016 KANSAI (Sunrise League). Although G Osaka suffered a defeat in stoppage time in the previous final, they will participate in this year’s competition as the top seed of Osaka. Some of the players, including midfielder MESHINO Soma and forward TSUKAMOTO Dai, have experienced finishing in second place last year. We can expect these players to gear up as they compete in their last junior high tournament.

Shimizu S- Pulse Junior Youth (Tokai 1) are one of the teams, who have been performing well this year. The team won the JAPAN Club Youth (U-15) Football Championship in August after clinching the title of the JFA Premier Cup in May and achieved the ‘Double Crown’ so far. Just as they managed to keep a clean sheet through five games in August, the squad have displayed solid defence throughout this year. Moreover, they are noted for their skilful plays in offence. YAMAZAKI Ryosuke and KAWAMOTO Riyo are the offensive talents of the team, but their strength is that they do not have to rely on them to win matches.

Teams from Kanto region have reached the final in the past four consecutive tournament, excluding the previous one where the Osaka derby decided the competition winners. Tokyo Verdi Junior Youth will participate in this tourney as the top seed of Kanto. All the players are highly skilled, including the swift-footed forward, KOBAYASHI Yuto. Attacking football is expected from the very first match against Kataller Toyama U-15 (Hokushinetsu 3).

Yokohama F・Marinos Junior Youth, the second seed of Kanto, are another powerhouse, who beat Tokyo V 5-1 in the Kanto Youth (U-15) Soccer League 1st Division. NISHIKAWA Jun leads the attacks up front, while their solid defence is centred on the 184-cm-tall defender, WADA Koji. They are a well-balance team with strength in both offence and defence, aiming to reach the summit of the tournament.

JFA Academy Fukushima U15 (Tokai 2), who ended in second place in the JAPAN Club Youth (U-15) Football Championship, and Sagan Tosu U-15 (Kyushu 1) with a hard-working mentality and teamwork spirit will also take part in this nationwide competition. Serious and exciting games will be seen, since each team has to go home when they lose in this knock-out format tournament.

28th Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament

2016-12-17(Sat.)～2016-12-28(Wed/)
First Round～Quarter-finals：Various Stadiums in Ibaraki Prefecture
Semi-finals～FinalAjinomoto Field Nishigaoka(Tokyo)
Tournament Information