The Emperor's Cup JFA 101st Japan Football Championship will kick-off on Saturday 22 May, as a total of 26 first round fixtures will take place on Saturday and Sunday at various locations nationwide.

This year’s tournament will be held with the slogan, “New era.” Last year, the tournament was forced to make major regulation changes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but managed to complete the commemorative 100th edition of the Emperor's Cup. This year will be a new start for the prestigious tournament.

The competition will be played in a knockout format, but similar to last year, the schedule will be slightly altered, as all J1 and J2 clubs will entered the tournament by the second round which will take place on Wednesday 9 and Wednesday 16 June. The third round is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 7 July, followed by the Round of 16 on Wednesday 18 August, and a drawing will be held to determine the final bracket for the quarterfinals and beyond.

All 47 prefectural qualifiers were completed by Sunday 9 May, as a total of 2,299 teams entered this year’s tournament. Among the qualifying teams, six teams will be making their first ever appearance at the final stage.

After playing seven seasons at J3, SC Sagamihara (J2) has been promoted to J2 from this season and earned their first trip to the Emperor's Cup. They will face Komazawa University (Tokyo) who is making their first Emperor's Cup appearance since 2018. University sides have caused many “Giant killings” at the Emperor's Cup, making this an enticing matchup for both sides.

Out of the six debutants, three teams will be facing clubs from the J.League, including Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth (Hokkaido), as the Hokkaido side will be facing Blaublitz Akita (J2) who has won the J3 title with a dominating performance last season. In their first season at J2, the Akita side is currently in eighth place with a record of five wins, four draws, and five losses. With both sides carrying great momentum into the Emperor's Cup, it will be interesting to see who will advance to the second round from this fixture.

Last year, Fukuyama City FC (Hiroshima) proved that a tournament debutant can also be a force to be reckoned with, as they made a deep run into the fifth round in their first Emperor's Cup. This year, the Hiroshima side will square off against Matsue City FC (Shimane) in the first round, as the winner of this fixture will face Shimizu S-Pulse (J1) at the second round.

Intense battles await from the first round, as only the winners will remain in this knockout tournament. Please stay tuned for matches filled with excitement at the 101st Emperor's Cup.

Emperor's Cup JFA 101st Japan Football Championship

【1st Round】Sat. 22, Sun. 23 May［Backup date: Mon. 24 May］
【2nd Round】Wed. 9, Wed. 16 June
【3rd Round】Wed. 7 July［Backup date: Wed. 14 July］
【Round of 16】Wed. 18 August［Backup date: Wed. 13 October］

Tournament Information