The 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship, the tournament to decide the best team in Japan, will start this weekend.

88 teams, including 18 from the J.League Division1, 22 from the Division2, 47 representatives from each prefecture, and one seeded team, will participate in the championship. They are all hoping to advance to the final at the Suita City Football Stadium in Osaka on New Year’s Day of 2017.

The JFA President TASHIMA Kohzo, OKANO Mitsuyoshi, the President and CEO of SURUGA bank Ltd., and MATSUZAKI Yasuhiro, the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Emperor's Cup, appeared at a press conference at JFA House on Wednesday 24 August prior to the start of the tournament.

The President Tashima explained the highlights – ‘the final will be in Osaka’ and ‘Gamba Osaka aim to win three consecutive championships for the first time in history.’　He also noted about holding the tournament in Osaka: the final of the Emperor's Cup has been held in many places back in history, such as at Fujieda Higashi High School in Shizuoka or a prefecture-run stadium in Yamanashi. Over the past 50 years, the National Stadium has become the ‘sacred ground’ for football and has been used for the final. However, until the new national stadium is completed, we decided to hold the final in other locations as much as possible. So it will be in Osaka this year, where many J.League club teams are based.’

The President Tashima expressed his expectations: ‘G Osaka can take on the challenge to become the first team to win three championships in a row in the long history of this tournament. I’d like them to show their spirit to reach the final and play in their hometown of Osaka. He also encouraged other teams to play at full strength to prevent G Osaka’s treble.

HASEGAWA Kenta, the coach of G Osaka explained his aim: ‘as the final of the Emperor's Cup will be held at Suita City Football Stadium, we are determined to advance to the final at any cost. If we win three consecutive championships, we’ll have the best start to the year, and share our joy with the fans. The captain ENDO Yasuhito noted: ‘both the players and the staff are highly motivated. We’d like to perform well to reach the final.’

Since the 89th cup, the special sponsor SURUGA bank Ltd. have been giving awarded the ‘SURUGA I Dream Award‘ to a goal, which contributes to a ‘giant slaying - the signature of this tournament. Okano, the President and CEO of the company, commented: ‘the Emperor's Cup is a truly inspiring tournament for both amateur and professional players. We’d like to support the cup again this year with the ‘SURUGA I Dream Award’.’

The Chairman MATSUZAKI explained various hot topics to keep an eye on in this tournament. He introduced eight newcomers, including Tochigi Uva FC, who beat a team from J.League Division3, the favourites in the region, Kanagawa University, and Vonds Ichihara FC. He also commented on Roasso Kumamoto and Tokai University Kumamoto, both of whom will take part in the cup, having overcome the effects of the disaster.

The 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship will be held on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 August across the country.

Comments

TASHIMA Kohzo, the President of the Japan Football Association
The champions of this Emperor's Cup will book a place at the AFC Champions League next year. The JFA highly value the Emperor's Cup, which has been held for nearly 100 years. The final of this cup will be held in Osaka for the first time in 56 years. The last time the final was held in Kansai was the 44th cup at Oji Athletic Field (Hyogo) in 1964. So I hope people from Osaka and Kansai will enjoy the excitement of the Emperor's Cup at the stadium.

OKANO Mitsuyoshi, president and CEO, SURUGA bank Ltd.
We’re truly honoured to sponsor this championship which is most prestigious and traditional, and which will decide the best team in Japan. This is an inspirational championship for whoever has any connection to football. Amateur teams can grab opportunities to play seriously against professional ones, while trying to book a place in the AFC Champions League by winning the cup – so both amateurs and professionals can chase that dream. ‘To dream’ is our company’s mission. So I understand that we support all football-related dreams by sponsoring this cup.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

The 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

2016-8-27-2017-1-1

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