The 100th edition of the championship starts on 28 December! The 100th All Japan High School Soccer Tournamen #football

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 12:22:36 +0900

The All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, now reaching its 100th edition, will start on Tuesday 28 December.

Unlike last year, when only parents and school staff were allowed to watch the matches, this year's matches will be open to spectators from the opening ceremony, with adequate measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. This year, all four semi-finalists, Yamanashi Gakuin High School (Yamanashi), Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori), Yaita Chuo High School (Tochigi), and Teikyo Nagaoka High School (Niigata) all returned to the national stage. In addition, many other strong teams will be aiming to claim the national title, including three-time champions Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka), and fourth place finisher of this year’s Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2021 WEST Ozu High School (Kumamoto).

This year, Akita Commercial High School (Akita), the school with the most appearances (48), qualified for the competition for the first time in two years, while Tokushima Commercial High School (Tokushima), the school with the second most appearances (40), qualified for the competition for the first time in 10 years. On the other hand, Nagano City High School (Nagano) and Chubu University Daiichi High School (Aichi) will be competing for the first time. It will be interesting to see if they can create a stir like Yamanashi Gakuin University High School (currently Yamanashi Gakuin High School), who won their first title in the 88th tournament in their first appearance.

The opening match will be held at Japan National Stadium on Tuesday 28 December, with Kanto Daiichi High School (TokyoB) and Nakatsu Higashi High School (Oita) leading the way. In the first round match held on Wednesday 29, Maebashi Ikuei High School (Gunma), who have clinched their promotion to the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League from next season, will face Kusatsu Higashi High School (Shiga). The matchup between Shoshi High School (Fukushima), led by U-22 Japan National Team member CHASE Anrie, and Setouchi High School (Hiroshima), looking to repeat their top four finish in their first appearance in the tournament last year, will also be interesting to watch. There will be a lot of great matches to watch, includig Seiryo High School (Ishikawa) vs Takagawa Gakuen (Yamaguchi), Maruoka High School (Fukui) vs Hannan University Senior High School (Osaka) and many more.

The seeded schools will make their appearances in the second round on Friday 31 December, where Teikyo Nagaoka, who have reached the top four in two consecutive tournaments, and Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kagoshima), who feature the dynamic second-year duo of OSAKO Rui and FUKUDA Shio, will go head-to-head. Other enticing matches between tournament regulars include Yonago Kita High School (Tottori) vs Yaita Chuo, Yamanashi Gakuin vs Saga Higashi High School (Saga), Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School (Miyagi) vs Takigawa Daini High School (Hyogo).

Keep a close eye on the performances of the individual players as well, as a number of players who have been offered contracts to play for J-clubs will make their appearances, including MATSUKI Kuryu (Aomori Yamada/FC Tokyo), KASAYANAGI Tsubasa (Maebashi Ikuei/V-Varen Nagasaki), FURUKAWA Yosuke (Shizuoka Gakuen/Jubilo Iwata), and SUZUKI Akito (Hannan University/Shonan Bellmare). Younger players like OKAWA Kafu (Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School) and HIROI Rando (Teikyo Nagaoka), who are selected into the national squad, are also players to keep an eye on.

The final will be held at Japan National Stadium on Monday 10 January 2022, and we hope you will join us to watch this exciting competition between the 48 schools.