Japan Football Association has determined to cancel the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020. The competition was originally postponed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, but with lingering risks surrounding inter-prefecture travels, cancellation of the competition was determined to prioritise the safety of the players. In accordance with this decision, the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020 Final and the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020 Play-off will also be cancelled.

With the cancellation of the Premier League, a new league is scheduled to be established, where 20 teams from the Premier League will join the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Prince League 2020 (a league with 88 teams competing in nine regions). This new league will implement a format only applied for 2020, where Premier League teams will play in their local regions to prevent further spread of the coronavirus caused by inter-prefecture travels. The Premier League and the Prince League will collaborate to provide competitive playing environments for the players while taking cautious measures towards the second and third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Comment of JFA Vice President/Chairman of Competitions Committee HAYASHI Yoshinori

We are still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, where risks of traveling between prefectures, and possibilities of second and third waves are very much present. Since March, we have held several conferences to discuss this matter. The decision was not easy, but we had no choice but to cancel the competition. We also had to make the decision quick, so that we give ourselves enough time to discuss the possibilities to establish a new competition.

With the current situation surrounding the outbreak of the coronavirus, many of our regional members have raised their voices to create competitive football environments at the regional level to substitute the national competitions. The idea to form a new league came from our desire to provide joy and opportunities for the players and the great enthusiasm of the regional members to overcome this current situation.

It is impossible to shutout all risks, but we will continue to prioritise the safety of the players while providing environments where the players can play football.

Cancelled Competition

Competition

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football League 2020

Host

Japan Football Association

Sponsor

JFA Youth & Development Official Partner
Iris Ohyama Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Nichiban Co., Ltd., Molten Corporation

Title

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020

League Period

Sat. 4 April - Sun. 6 December 2020

Venue

Venues of participating teams nationwide

Participating Teams

【EAST: 10 teams】
Aomori Yamada High School/Urawa Red Diamonds Youth/Omiya Ardija U18/Funabashi Municipal High School/Kashiwa Reysol U-18/Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School/FC Tokyo U-18/Yokohama F.Marinos Youth/Yokohama FC Youth/Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

【WEST: 10 teams】
Jubilo Iwata U-18/Nagoya Grampus U-18/Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18/Gamba Osaka Youth/Cerezo Osaka U-18/Vissel Kobe U-18/Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth/Higashi Fukuoka High School/Sagan Tosu U-18/Ozu High School

Title

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020 Final

Match Date

Sun. 13 December 2020

Venue

Saitama Stadium 2002

Fixture

Winner of Premier League EAST vs Winner of Premier League WEST

Title

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2020 Play-off

Match Period

1st-Round Fri. 11 December, 2nd-Round Sun. 13 December 2020

Venue

Venues in Hiroshima

Participating Teams

Top 16 teams from the nine regions (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Hokushinetsu, Tokai, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu) of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Prince League 2020 (excluding second teams of participating Teams of the Premier League)
*Number of participation slots, Hokkaido: 1, Tohoku: 2, Kanto: 3, Hokushinetsu: 2, Tokai: 2, Kansai:1, Chugoku:2, Shikoku:1, Kyushu: 2

Newly Proposed Joint League

Host

Regional FAs

Sponsor

JFA Youth & Development Official Partner
Iris Ohyama Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Nichiban Co., Ltd., Molten Corporation

Participating Teams

Total of 108 teams (20 teams of the Premier League and 88 teams of the Prince League) will compete in nine regions
(Premier League teams to join corresponding regions of the current Prince League)

League Period

Late-August - Late December

Venue

Venues nationwide (within the nine regions)

*League title will be determined by each region.
*Regions without Premier League teams (Hokkaido, Hokushinetsu, Shikoku) will carry out Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Prince League 2020.
*Dates and venues of the fixtures will be posted on JFA.jp as soon as they are determined.