The 26th Vermont Cup All Japan U-12 Futsal Championship will kick off on Friday 12 August. This article will review some of the dramatic moments of last year’s championship.

The 25th Vermont Cup All Japan U-12 Futsal Championship took place from 14 to 16 August in Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium and Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. Nearly 3,500 teams took part in the regional qualifiers held all over Japan prior to this competition, and a total of 48 teams were selected. They were divided into 12 groups of 4 teams for the first round, and then the top teams from each group and 4 second placed teams went through to the final round. The first-round matches were intense. 

The first day saw Malva Chiba fc U-12 (Chiba) in Group A displaying their strength. The team won their first two matches by their playing style specialised for futsal and individual skills.

On the second day of the tournament, 16 teams for the final round were decided and the round-of-16 games were played; 8 teams advanced to the next round.

The quarterfinals, which were held on the last day of the competition, were enticing with a lot of scoreline changes. Malva Chiba fc U-12 (Chiba) eventually beat Cerezo Osaka U-12 (Osaka) 5-3 after a long challenging game that required the utmost effort from each member of the team. FC Valentia (Wakayama), Tomozo SC (Tochigi), and Brincar FC (Aichi) also qualified for the final four. 

The first semifinal was Malva Chiba fc U-12 vs. FC Valentia. Malva Chiba took the initial lead but FC Valentia continued to be persistent and equalised in the 13th minute of the second half. However, Malva Chiba were mentally stronger; they won the match 3-2. The other semifinal was Tomozo SC vs. Brincar FC. Both teams had played in the group stage and Tomozo SC won in their previous meeting. This time, Brincar FC were highly motivated, getting the chance to avenge their loss. They conceded the first goal, but equalised in the first half. From the 15th minute of the 2nd half, they scored 4 goals in only 5 minutes. Their force to break through decided the match. Brincar FC qualified for the final 5-2. 

The final was very exciting. In the first half, Brincar FC took the initial lead with goals scored by TSUBOTANI Syu and OKUNO Shintaro. In the 15th minute of the second half, Malva Chiba’s goalkeeper INOUE Kazuto and Brincar FC’s field player Tsubotani crashed in the air and in front of the goal, and Inoue injured his head. The audience was nervous by the fact that ambulance was called to transfer Inoue to the hospital.

When the match restarted, a dramatic incident happened; field player OHATA Rinsei, who was playing as a goalkeeper, replacing Inoue, smashed a shot and the ball found the net after hitting the cross bar. Malva Chiba scored the equalising goal.

In the extended time, Malva Chiba continued to take control but failed to take the lead, after each team added one more goal. In the 2nd minute of the second half of the extra time, KATO Gen of Brincar FC successfully scored a tie-breaker. After this goal, Brincar FC’s Okuno found an open space and scored an additional goal, while Malva Chiba were chasing an equaliser and left themselves exposed to counterattacks. Wild-card team Brincar FC won the final match 5-3 and got the title. This is the first time the team from Aichi prefecture became the national champions. 

Vermont Cup All Japan U-12 Futsal Championship

Fri. 12 August - Sun. 14 August 2016
Tokyo/Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium、Ota-City General Gymnasium
Match information