The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League, the top competition which decides the strongest U-18 football clubs, will resume on 26 and 27 November. Each team will play three more matches and finish the season.

In the Takamado EAST, it is a dead heat from the top team Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) down to the sixth-placed team Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) with only six points apart. On the previous Matchday, Aomori Yamada lost against powerhouse Yokohama F・Marinos Youth (Kanagawa) allowing other youth clubs to narrow the difference. But this time, forward NARUMI Akito returns to the team after injury and he is expected to bring his team back to their top form. Aomori Yamada lost their chance to win the title in the last match of the previous season. Check out if they can avenge the loss and claim the trophy this time.

F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo), who is chasing Aomori Yamada with only 2 points difference, Yokohama FM and Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama), both teams narrowing their point differential to three, have been building their momentum towards the end of the season. In this summer, F.C. Tokyo won the 40th JAPAN Club Youth (U-18) Football Championship, and recently on 19 November they claimed their second title of this season by winning the 2016 J. Youth Cup 24th J. League Youth Championship. Now the team is raising their motivation to win the Premier League.

Yokohama FM and Omiya Ardija are also trying to grab the title. They started their season poorly; Yokohama FM got 1 draw and 2 defeats, while Omiya Ardija lost all 3 matches. However, both teams improved significantly during summer and gradually began to display their strengths. Currently, they are also among the top flights of the league.

The match between Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) and Shimizu is expected to be exciting, too. Checkout the dead-heat competition to get the title of the EAST until the end of the season.

In the WEST, Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima) have moved closer to the crown with 6 points difference from the second-placed Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka). Hiroshima has been very consistent with only one defeat so far, while 7 out of 12 wins were victories with only a single-goal difference. When they faced Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) on the previous Matchday, they managed to score a decisive goal just before the end of the match. They have been demonstrating their mental strength by grabbing closely-contested matches. However, they lost against F.C. Tokyo by allowing them to turn around the match in the final of the mentioned 2016 J. Youth Cup 24th J. League Youth Championship. Now, their passion to claim the title of this Premier League is probably even stronger. YAMANE Towa expresses his determination towards the trophy by saying ‘we still have another competition to win’.

Second-placed Cerezo Osaka is in a difficult situation; their defeats against Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) on Matchday 12 and Gamba Osaka on Matchday 13 are adversely affecting their standing. However, since Matchday 14, they have got consecutive wins displaying their strengths. For Cerezo Osaka, It will be ideal if they win and Hiroshima lose the coming two matches prior to their clash on the final Matchday. We cannot wait to see whether they still have the chance to claim the title on the last game of the season and put pressure on the league leaders.

Another characteristic of WEST is the number of the teams who are still fighting to stay in the league. Five teams are competing to avoid relegation to the Prince League next year, whereas there are only three teams of EAST in a similar battle. Currently, ninth-placed Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) and tenth-placed Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita) have the possibility to change their standings, since they have upcoming matches against middle or bottom ranked teams. Apart from the competition for the title, another race to avoid relegation is also worth checking out.

Premier League EAST Matchday 16   Sunday 27 November

Sun. 27 November
11:00　Shimizu S-pulse Youth vs Kashiwa Reysol U-18（Fujieda Sports Complex Park Soccer Stadium）
11:00　Aomori Yamada High School vs Kashima Antlers Youth（Aomori Yamada High School）
11:00　Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa vs Albirex Niigata U-18（Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa）
13:00　F.C. Tokyo U-18 vs Yokohama F・Marinos Youth（Tokyo Gas Musashinoen Tamokuteki Ground）
13:00　Omiya Ardija Youth vs Ichiritsu Funabashi High School（Saitama Stadium 2002 Second Ground）

Premier League WEST Matchday 16   Saturday 26 - Sunday 27 November

Sat. 26 November
14:00　Vissel Kobe U-18 vs Nagoya Grampus U18（Ibukinomori Stadium）
Sun. 27 November
11:00　Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth vs Higashi Fukuoka High School（Yoshida Soccer Park）
14:00　Gamba Osaka Youth vs Oita Trinita U-18（Gamba Osaka Ground）
15:00　Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 vs Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School（Kyoto Sanga F.C. Higashi Joyo Ground）
15:00　Cerezo Osaka U-18 vs Ozu High School（Cerezo Osaka Maishima Ground）

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