The 24th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship get underway tomorrow #football

Sat, 02 Jan 2016 13:51:32 +0900

The 24th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship will get underway on Sunday 3 January throughout Hyogo Prefecture as high school girls teams compete to be the best team in the nation. A total of 32 teams from nine regions in Japan take part and strive to top the knockout tournament.

The highlight of the first round is the contest between Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School (Kansai 2/Hyogo) and Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku 1/Miyagi), two schools who have kept the honour of champions to themselves since the 17th tournament.

While Tokiwagi Gakuen have sent out young prospects now fighting in the Nadeshiko League such as ITO Miki (INAC Kobe) and SHIRAKI Akari (Urawa Reds Ladies), Hinomoto Gakuen won the previous two championships. "I will put more focus on goal. Calculating how we get there backwards from the point of scoring while playing may help improve our team," said Hinomoto’s NAKATA Yuki ahead of the big match against their rival, looking to the third straight title.

As the winners in the last seven championships go head-to-head, other teams get more chances to go up in the tournament. Jumonji Senior High School (Tokyo) face Okayama Sakuyo High School (Chugoku 1/Okayama) in their opening match. Both are two of the powerhouses in the tournament and have capability to gain momentum with a win in the first contest.

In addition to them, some other teams also draw attention. While Shutoku Senior High School (Kanto 1/Tokyo) reached third place at last summer's Inter High School Sports Festival (Football), Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kyushu 1/Kagoshima) are regular contenders in this championship. Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School (Hokkaido 1) are also one of the teams to whom fans will not regret following.

There are a lot of must-see teams in different blocks from Hinomoto Gakuen and Tokiwagi Gakuen. Defending Inter-high champions Daisho Gakuen High School (Kansai 1/Osaka) are one of tournament's favourites, having skilled players who perform well at both ends of the pitch such as Inter-high's best eleven goalkeeper NISHIMURA Kiyoka, striker YAMADA Niina and NISHIYAMA Satsuki.

After winning the 15th championship and advancing to last four in the last championship, big-time outfit Fujieda Junshin High School (Tokai 1/Shizuoka) are contending for the title as well. Fujieda Junshin's counterparts Seiwa Gakuen High School (Tohoku 2/Miyagi) also have players who are confident with their skills, and the matchup is expected to be a fierce match.

Who will win through to the final to be held on Sunday 10 January? The battles among high school women's teams will start now.