The Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022 is about to kick-off on Saturday 2 April. From this year, the number of teams has been expanded from 10 to 12 in both East and West leagues, adding more excitement to the highest league competition of the U-18 age group.

EAST

Defending EAST champions Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) will start off the new season with an away match against Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba). After starting their campaign with seven straight wins last season, it will be interesting to see how Aomori Yamada will perform in the face of a significant change to their squad. Funabashi Municipal, on the other hand, had to fight until the very end to avoid relegation last season. Which side will come out on top in this match between two prestigious high school teams?

The match between Yokohama F.Marinos Youth (Kanagawa), who finished third last season, and Yokohama FC Youth (Kanagawa), who finished seventh last season, is also bound to be a heated affair. Yokohama FC will be seeking for revenge after losing both derby matches against Yokohama FM last season. It will be interesting to see which side wins this season's first Yokohama derby.

Another element to keep an eye on is how the promoted teams fare in the season opener. JFA Academy Fukushima U-18 (Shizuoka), who have been promoted to the Premier League for the first time since 2015, will face FC Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) on the road. The Academy side finished second in Prince League Tokai to clinch their spot into the play-offs, where they defeated Kamimura Gakuen High School and Shoshi High School to earn their ticket into the Premier League.

Kawasaki Frontale U-18 (Kanagawa), who will be making their Premier League debut, is another team to watch out for. In the past few seasons, Kawasaki F had always been in the top ranks of the Prince League but had failed to enter the Premier League. However, last season the team showcased their dominance to win Prince League Kanto with an 11-point lead over second place, before defeating Hannan University Senior High School 3-0 in the play-offs to earn their first promotion to the Premiership. They will open up their first ever season in the topflight with a match against Omiya Ardija U18 (Saitama).

The fixtures between Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) and Kiryu Daiichi High School (Gunma), Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) and Maebashi Ikuei High School (Gunma) have been postponed after members of the participating teams tested positive for Covid-19.

WEST

Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima), the defending champions of the WEST, will welcome Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka) to their home. Although Hiroshima had the upper hand in the two head-to-head fixtures played last season, both matches were closely contested with scores of 1-0 and 0-0.

After finishing second in the EAST, Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) have been relocated to the WEST and will start the new season with a fixture against Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) at home. It will be interesting to see how Shimizu, who have consistently been one of the top contenders in the EAST, will do in the WEST.

The two teams promoted in the WEST are Riseisha High School (Osaka) and Shizuoka Gakuen High School (Shizuoka). Riseisha, who are making their return to the Premier League since 2015, will start off the season by facing Sagan Tosu U-18 (Saga), who finished fifth last season.

Shizuoka Gakuen on the other hand, are set to face Ozu High School (Kumamoto). The two high school sides have faced each other in the Inter-High School Championships quarterfinals last season, in which Shizuoka Gakuen won 1-0, but Ozu will certainly be looking to redeem themselves this time around.

Plenty more intuiting matchups await, as Nagoya Grampus U-18 (Aichi) are set to face Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka), while Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) will play against Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) in the opening week. Stay tuned to find out which teams start off the season with a victory.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022

League Duration: Sat. 2 April - Sun. 4 December 2022

League Information