Albirex Niigata Ladies started their season under the direction of new coach KARASHIMA Keiju. Former coach NONAKA Futoshi who was managing the team since 2013 left after the Empress Cup last year. Their final standing of the Nadeshiko League Division 1 was fifth place, and this was exactly the same in 2015. However, their style of football changed considerably since the beginning of this season.

Finishing fifth place also in 2015, their record was 8 wins, 2 draws, and 8 losses. This year they ended the season with better results with 9 wins, 3 draws, and 6 losses. By having the same players start the game, they gained the necessary match experience to coordinate their plays. It was a productive season where they made significant progress as a team.

KAMIONOBE Megumi is the key offensive player of the team. She was one of the few players who played all 18 matches of the Nadeshiko League season. She led the team’s offence and scored 6 goals. Along with the team’s top scorer, OISHI Sayaka, with 7 goals, Kaminobe posed threats to the opponents.

In defence, the team played without going through major changes during this season. The key player here is NAKAMURA Kaede. She was named captain of the team from this season. They are expected to grab a good result if they can display their well-coordinated combination plays which they have nurtured throughout this season.

The team has not won the title of the Empress’s Cup, even though they have advanced to the final and became the runner-up three times previously. Since they have experienced such bitter defeats in the past, they are now looking to claim the title by playing with stronger passion this time.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Empress' Cup Quarter-finals (12/17)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament

2016-10-22(Sat.) ～ 2016-12-25(Sun.)
Quarter-finals：17 December (Sat.)　Yurtec Stadium Sendai・Pikara Stadium (Kagawa Prefecture Marugame Stadium)
Semi-finals：23 December(Fri.)　Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka 
Final：25 December(Sun.)　Fukuda Denshi Arena

Tournament Information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)