Ahead of the first match of the Emperor's Cup JFA 99th Japan Football Championship scheduled on Saturday 25 May, the opening ceremony of the Emperor's Cup took place on Monday 13 at Japan Football Museum in Tokyo, where the defending champions, Urawa Red Diamonds returned the Emperor's Cup.

With the 99th edition of the tournament just around the corner, the Emperor's Cup is the oldest football tournament in Japan. The first Emperor's Cup of the Reiwa era saw an increase of 519 teams from the last tournament, as 2,619 teams entered the tournament to compete for the first national title of the new era. The final of this commemorable tournament will take place on Wednesday 1 January 2020 at the National Stadium, which will be the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics.

President TASHIMA Kohzo of the Japan Football Association (JFA) and Chairman SUHARA Kiyotaka of the Organising Committee for the Emperor's Cup appeared at the opening ceremony, as President Tashima shared his expectations, “The final of this tournament will be the first official sporting event held at the new National Stadium, and I am sure that the competition leading to such stage shall be filled with extraordinary action.”

Following the opening ceremony, the returning ceremony of the Emperor's Cup was held, as Coach Oswaldo OLIVEIRA and UGAJIN Tomoya took the podium in behalf of the defending champions, Urawa Red Diamonds.

After returning the cup to President Tashima, Coach Oliveira declared his intention to reclaim the title, “We will temporarily return this cup today. Please hold onto it until 1 January, so that we can come back to pick it up again.”

Ugajin, who scored the only goal of last year’s final, shared his aspiration to repeat as champions, “Every player entering the Emperor's Cup is dreaming of playing in the first match held at the new National Stadium. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, and I am already visualising myself holding the cup after winning the final.”

The first round of the 99th Emperor's Cup will take place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, as a total of 88 teams, including the 47 representatives of each prefecture, will make their appearance. The competition will proceed in a knockout format with the tournament final scheduled on 1 January of 2020. The J1 and J2 clubs will join the competition in the second round held on Wednesday 3 and Wednesday 10 July. Urawa Red Diamonds will face the winner between Hokkaido University of Education Iwamizawa Campus (Hokkaido) and Ryutsu Keizai University (Ibaraki), at Urawa Komaba Stadium.

Comments from the winning team of the 98th Emperor's Cup

Oswaldo OLIVEIRA, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We hope to place our names on the record book by winning the first Emperor's Cup held at the new National Stadium. Every team is hoping to create history, and it will be an extraordinary honour if we can achieve such feat at a tournament rich in history like the Emperor's Cup.

UGAJIN Tomoya, (Urawa Red Diamonds)
In the second round, there is a chance we will face Ryutsu Keizai University, which is the school I graduated from. When I was in school, we fought against Gamba Osaka in 2009. I remember that we had nothing to lose, and we entered the match with a strong intention to win. Now that I am on the other side, it is a scary thought to be facing such team, but as professionals, we will enter the match with an even stronger mentality to win the match.

Fixtures and Results through the 3rd Round

【1st Round】Sat. 25, Sun. 26 May
【2nd Round】Wed. 3, Wed. 10 July
【3rd Round】Wed. 14 August
【Round of 16】Wed. 18 September
【Quarterfinals】Wed. 23 October
【Semi-final】Sat. 21 December
【Final】Wed. 1 January 2020

Tournament Information