On Friday 2 May, the eve of opening day, the draw for the first round of the JFA Premier Cup supported by NIKE took place at the hotel in Sakai city, Osaka. This is the competition to determine the U-15 championship team in Japan, the same as "Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament". The championship team be given a participating spot in the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals 2014. The drawing hall was filled with enthusiasm of all people from 12 teams surviving the fierce regional qualifying rounds across Japan, before opening the competition tomorrow.

On the front stage, Mr. Seichi OKUNO, the head coach of the defending champions, Omiya Ardija Junior Youth (Kanto regional 2nd representative/Saitama Pref.) made a comment following the opening remarks. He spoke about his experiences in the World Finals last year and the growth of his team's children, stressing his enthusiasm for the competition as saying "I and my team will try to play well with great efforts in each game in this tournament as well, aiming for the world stage." 

Captains of each team who participated in the draw got on the stage with each nervous face. The moment Tomoya YAMAMOTO, the captain of the Omiya Ardija who aims at winning consecutive victory, drew a balls, a stir swept through the hall. Attracting the whole attention, the aaphabetic character on the ball he drew was "C". The Omiya Ardija has been sorted in the Group C with the Nagoya Grampus U-15 (Tokai regional representative/Aichi Pref.), the Aomori Yamada Junior High School (Tohoku regional representative/Aomori Pref.) and the Albirex Niigata U-15 (Hokushinetsu regional representative/Niigata Pref.). Captain Yamamoto expressed his feeling as saying that "It is the time to start the tournament. I am full of strong desire for getting a ticket for the World finals".

Sasaki, the captain of the Aomori Yamada Junior High School as the only participating team belonging to the Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Federation, said "I was nervous but became relaxed to see teams we will match up in the first round. I look forward to having games with strong teams. I hope to survive in the first round with nerves of steel and secure a place in the World Finals. ", looking excited for coming games from tomorrow.

After the initial paring of each group was decided, all players enjoyed dinning and cheerful moment in a relaxed mood on their game's eve. The tournament will be held between the 3rd-5th May at J-GREEN Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.

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