The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Football League 2015 Premier League gets underway on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April as the tournament begins with the matchday 1 of the WEST league.

The new season of the league begins with the newly-introduced “Centralised System,” where several fixtures take place in the same venue. The teams who take a spearhead role are Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto), who were placed fifth last year, and Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo), who are out to claim their first championship in two years. Kyoto try to be “a team where every player can think about what to do” under new head coach Morioka Ryuzo while the opposing Kobe squad “attempts to break down the opponents as a team because they don’t have players who can break through individually,” according to Higashi Junya.

In the second match, Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto), who managed to stay in the league in the final match of the last season, face Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita), who come out for their first premier league campaign. Kyoto Tachibana have a bitter memory that they did not get any victory in the first half of the last season. To get off to a good start this season, they want three points in the first match. The opposing Oita also look for a winning start as Iwata says, “We try to put up a better result than last year when we won the Prince League Kyushu title.”

The first match on 12th at Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium is played between Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka), who missed the last season’s title by one point, and Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi), who ended up fourth despite finishing the first half of the season atop. Gamba’s Iwamoto Kazuki says, “We’ll go for the championship again this year.” while Nagoya’s Kajiyama Kanta says, “We are confident about winning the title.” It is interesting to see how the contest between such teams will go.

Newly-promoted Riseisha High School (Osaka), playing under new head coach Sawada Kentaro, face Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who aim to get back the title after three years. Riseisha’s defensive pivot, captain Yasuda has been sidelined by injury. With the shorthanded squad, it’s a must-see how well the Osaka side cope with Hiroshima offence led by Naganuma Yoichi, who is also registered for the club’s first team.

Pick-up Match of WEST MD1
Cerezo Osaka U-18  v  Higashi Fukuoka High School

The pick-up match of the opening day is a contest between defending champions Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) and Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka), nicknamed “Red Comet.” As Cerezo’s head coach Okuma Yuji says, “We don’t change our playing style even though the players changed,” they try to go with an aggressive style in both offence and defence. In the training match ahead of the opener, Cerezo took the initiative with crisp passing and seemed to be in form for the new season. Meanwhile, Higashi Fukuoka are a team whose “players cover for other players who are not capable. We are organised as a team,” according to Nakamura Kento. Changing from last year’s style based on individual plays, the Fukuoka side look to make a breakthrough with rebranded solidarity this year. They want to show their pride as the only WEST team who have participated in the Premier League since its inaugural year.

Cerezo Osaka U-18 v Higashi Fukuoka High School
Date: Saturday 11 April - 16:00
Venue: J-GREEN Sakai
Direction: Walk from Nankai Bus stop at “J-GREEN Sakai Minami-guchi” or “J-GREEN Sakai Club House-mae”

Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League WEST

All the matches on Sat. 11 April will be held in centralized-venue.

Sat. 4/11
J-GREEN Sakai
11:00   Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18  v  Vissel Kobe U-18
13:30   Kyoto Tachibana High School  v  Oita Trinita U-18
16:00 Cerezo Osaka U-18  v  Higashi Fukuoka High School

Sun. 4/12
Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium
11:00   Gamba Osaka Youth  v  Nagoya Grampus U18
13:30   Riseisha High School  v  Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth

All the five matches will be live broadcasted on JFA-TV.

*Please note you may not be able to watch the live broadcasting due to the Internet traffic, etc.
*The kick-off time is subject to change depending on ending time of the previous match.

Click here for JFA-TV

More information on Premier League WEST