Japan Football Association

Japan Football Association

AFC
Founded	10 September 1921; 104 years ago (10 September 1921)
Headquarters	Bunkyō, Tokyo
FIFA affiliation	17 May 1929; 96 years ago (17 May 1929)
AFC affiliation	8 May 1954; 71 years ago (8 May 1954)
EAFF affiliation	28 May 2002; 23 years ago (28 May 2002)
President	Tsuneyasu Miyamoto
Vice-President	Takeshi Okada Yoshikazu Nonomura Yoshinori Hayashi Haruna Takata
Website	jfa.jp

The Japan Football Association (JFA, Japanese: 日本サッカー協会, romanized: Nihon Sakkā Kyōkai)^[1] is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions.^[2]

History

See also: Football in Japan § History

The organization was founded in 1921 as the Greater Japan Football Association (大日本蹴球協会, Dai-Nippon Shūkyū Kyōkai), and became affiliated with FIFA in 1929.^[1] In 1945, the name of the organization was changed to the Japan Football Association (日本蹴球協会, Nihon Shūkyū Kyōkai); its Japanese name was changed to the current title in 1975. The association generally translates its name to "Japan Football Association" in English,^[3] though "Japan Soccer Association" is also used.

Identity

Flag

Yatagarasu

The symbol of the JFA is the Yatagarasu, a mythical three-legged raven that guided Emperor Jimmu to Mount Kumano. Yatagarasu is also the messenger of the supreme Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu.^[1]

Anthem

In 1994, the JFA asked Ryuichi Sakamoto to compose the instrumental song - "Japanese Soccer Anthem".^[4] There is an arrangement version by Yasuhide Ito. This anthem is played at the beginning of JFA-sponsored events, such as the Emperor's Cup matches and as a prelude to kickoff at stadiums.

Members

The following is a list of presidents of Japan Football Association (JFA). The Honorary President is Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado.^[5]

Last updated: 6 March 2022

Name	Role	Ref.
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto	President	[1][6][7]
Mitsuru Murai	Vice President	[6][7]
Kazumichi Iwagami	2nd Vice President	[6][7]
Yoshinori Hayashi	3rd Vice President	[7]
Kiyotaka Suhara	General Secretary	[6][7]
Masashi Fukuda	Treasurer	[6]
Tsuyoshi Nishimoto	2nd Treasurer	[6]
Yasuharu Sorimachi	Technical Director	[6][7]
Hajime Moriyasu	Team Coach (Men's)	[6][7]
Futoshi Ikeda	Team Coach (Women's)	[6][7]
Hideki Kato	Media/Communications Manager	[6]
Tsuyoshi Kitazawa	Futsal Coordinator	[6]
Miiko Kaneko	Referee Coordinator

Presidents

Presidency	President	Took office	Left office
1	Jikichi Imamura	1921	1933
2	Ryutaro Fukao	1935	1945
	-	1945	1947
3	Ryutaro Takahashi	1947	1954
4	Yuzuru Nozu	1955	1976
5	Tomisaburo Hirai	1976	1987
6	Shizuo Fujita	1987	1992
7	Hideo Shimada	1992	1994
8	Ken Naganuma	1994	1998
9	Shunichiro Okano	1998	2002
10	Saburo Kawabuchi	2002	2008
11	Motoaki Inukai	2008	2010
12	Junji Ogura	2010	2012
13	Kuniya Daini	2012	2016
14	Kozo Tashima	2016	2024
15	Tsuneyasu Miyamoto	2024	Present

Management

• JFA Academy Fukushima
• JFA Academy Sakai
• JFA Academy Imabari
• JFA Academy Kumamoto Uki

Sponsorship

Last updated: 15 August 2024

JFA Official Top Partner

Company	Period
Kirin	1 January 2023 – 31 December 2030[8]

JFA Official Supplier

Company	Period
Adidas Japan	20xx–present

JFA Major Partner

Company	Period
ANA	27 February 2023 – 31 December 2026
Saison	5 November 2001 – 31 December 2030
au	25 August 2016 – 31 December 2026
Mitsui Fudosan	1 October 2023 – 31 March 2027
Mizuho	1 April 2013 – 31 December 2026
MS&AD	2 May 2008 – 31 December 2026
Toyo Tires	1 May 2021 – 31 December 2026

JFA National Team Partner

Company	Period
APA Hotel	1 March 2023 – 31 December 2026
Toyota	1 January 2024 – 31 December 2027
Yomiuri Shimbun	21 March 2023 – 31 December 2026

National teams

• List of international matches

Men

Team[9][10]	Head coach	Appointed	Time as Manager
Japan national football team	Hajime Moriyasu[11][12][13][14]	26 July 2018	7 years, 142 days
Japan national under-23 football team	Go Oiwa[15][16]	16 December 2021	3 years, 364 days
Japan national under-19 football team	Yuzo Funakoshi[17]	14 July 2023	2 years, 154 days
Japan national under-18 football team	Yuzo Funakoshi[18]	14 July 2023	2 years, 154 days
Japan national under-17 football team	Kazunori Jo	18 December 2023	1 year, 362 days
Japan national under-16 football team	Shingi Ono[19]	12 December 2024	1 year, 3 days
Japan national under-15 football team	Reiji Hirata	18 December 2023	1 year, 362 days
Japan national futsal team	Kenichiro Kogure[20][21]	23 November 2021	4 years, 22 days
Japan national under-23 futsal team	Kenichiro Kogure[22][23]	—	—
Japan national under-20 futsal team	Kenichiro Kogure	23 November 2021	4 years, 22 days
Japan national beach soccer team	Ozu Moreira[24]	18 June 2020	5 years, 180 days
Japan eNational football team	—	—	—

Women

Team[9][10]	Head coach	Appointed	Time as Manager
Japan women's national football team	Nils Nielsen[25]	12 December 2024	1 year, 3 days
Japan women's national under-23 football team	—	—	—
Japan women's national under-19 football team	Akira Ijiri (ja)	12 December 2024	1 year, 3 days
Japan women's national under-17 football team	Sadayoshi Shirai (ja)[26]	12 December 2024	1 year, 3 days
Japan women's national under-16 football team	Sadayoshi Shirai[27]	12 December 2024	1 year, 3 days
Japan women's national under-15 football team	Hiroshi Nakano
Japan women's national futsal team	Takehiro Suga (ja)[20]	23 November 2021	4 years, 22 days
Japan women's national under-20 futsal team	—	—	—

League system

Main article: Japanese association football league system

See also: List of football stadiums in Japan

Japanese clubs' placements at each league may determine the JFA-organized competition the club will participate in, or if they will be qualified to one at all.

Men

See also: List of football clubs in Japan

As of the 2025 season, all clubs in the top two tiers (J1 and J2) enter the Emperor's Cup directly, with the clubs below it having to qualify through prefectural tournaments.

Level on pyramid	League(s)/Division(s)
1	J1 League (J.League) 20 clubs – 3 relegations Current: 2025 J1 League Dates: 14 February – 6 December 2025
2	J2 League (J.League) 20 clubs – 2 promotions + 4 playoffs, 3 relegations Current: 2025 J2 League Dates: 15 February – 29 November 2025
3	J3 League (J.League) 20 clubs – 2 promotions + 4 playoffs, 0–2 relegations Current: 2025 J3 League Dates: 15 February – 6 December 2025
4	Japan Football League (JFL) 16 clubs – 0–2 promotions, 0–2 relegations Current: 2025 Japan Football League Dates: 8 or 9 March – 23 November 2025
5–6	Japanese Regional Leagues 135 clubs (80 in Division 1 and 55 in Division 2; As of 2025) – promotions and relegations vary according to each regional association. Current: 2025 Japanese Regional Leagues
	Hokkaido Soccer League 8 clubs	Tohoku Soccer League 30 clubs	Kantō Soccer League 20 clubs	Hokushinetsu Football League 16 clubs	Tōkai Adult Soccer League 17 clubs	Kansai Soccer League 16 clubs	Chūgoku Soccer League 10 clubs	Shikoku Soccer League 8 clubs	Kyushu Soccer League 10 clubs
7+	47 Prefectural Leagues (ja)[28] & 5 Block Leagues of Hokkaido 450+ clubs (D1) and 1200+ clubs (D2 and below) – promotions and relegations vary according to each regional and prefectural association. Hokkaido Sapporo Block | Dōhoku (North) Block | Dōtō (East) Block | Dōō (Central) Block | Dōnan (South) Block Tōhoku Aomori | Iwate | Miyagi | Akita | Yamagata | Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki | Tochigi | Gunma | Saitama | Chiba | Tokyo | Kanagawa | Yamanashi Hoku-shinetsu Niigata | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui | Nagano Tōkai Gifu | Shizuoka | Aichi | Mie Kansai Shiga | Kyoto | Osaka | Hyogo | Nara | Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori | Shimane | Okayama | Hiroshima | Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima | Kagawa | Ehime | Kochi Kyushu Fukuoka | Saga | Nagasaki | Kumamoto | Ōita | Miyazaki | Kagoshima | Okinawa

Women

See also: List of women's football clubs in Japan

As of 2024–25 season, all clubs in the top two tiers enter the Empress's Cup directly, with the clubs below having to qualify through regional tournaments. The top-tier clubs also qualify to the WE League Cup.

Level on pyramid	League(s)/Division(s)
1	WE League 12 clubs – no relegation Current: 2024–25 WE League season Dates: 14 September 2024 – 17 May 2025
2	Nadeshiko League Division 1 12 clubs – 1 relegation + 1 playoff Current: 2025 Nadeshiko League Dates: 15 March – 12 October 2025
3	Nadeshiko League Division 2 10 clubs – 1 promotion + 1 playoff, 1 relegation + 1 playoff Current: 2025 Nadeshiko League Dates: 15 March – 18 October 2025
4	9 Regional Leagues many clubs – 2 playoffs, ?? relegations
5–6	47 Prefectural Leagues[28] & 2 Block Leagues of Hokkaido many clubs – ?? promotions

Competitions

Further information: List of association football competitions § Japan

Only includes tournaments organized by the JFA.

International competitions

See also: FIFA International Match Calendar

Senior

Competition[29][9][10]	Edition	Champions / Team(s)	Next edition
National team
Kirin Cup Soccer	2022 (final)	Tunisia (1st title)	TBD
Kirin Challenge Cup	2023	Uruguay (24 March)  Colombia (28 March)  El Salvador (15 June)  Peru (20 June)	2024
Women's national team
MS&AD Cup	2023	Panama (14 July)	2024

Youth

Competition[29][9][10]	Edition	Champions / Teams	Next edition
National teams
U-16 International Dream Cup	2024	Japan  Venezuela  Senegal  Ukraine	2025

Domestic competitions

Senior

See also: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite and 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two

Competition[30][31]	Current	Champions	Details	Runners-up	Next
League
Japanese Regional Football Champions League	2024	Asuka FC	Final round	Vonds Ichihara	2025
Cup
Japanese Super Cup	2024	Kawasaki Frontale	1–0	Vissel Kobe	2025
Emperor's Cup JFA Japan Football Championship	2024	Vissel Kobe	1–0	Gamba Osaka	2025
All Japan Senior Football Championship	2024	Japan Soccer College	1–0	FC Tokushima	2025
All Japan Club Teams Football Tournament	2024	Koga City FC	1–0	FC Nakatsu	2025
Futsal
JFA Japan Futsal Championship	2024 (ja)	Nagoya Oceans	6–2	Tachikawa Athletic	2025 (ja)
F.League Ocean Cup	2024	Nagoya Oceans	4–3	Pescadola Machida	2025
Beach soccer
JFA Japan Beach Soccer Tournament	2024	Loewe Yokohama	7–4	Tokyo Verdy BS	2025

See also: 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Details	Runners-up	Next season
Women's cup
Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship	2024	Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Albirex Niigata	2025
Women's futsal
JFA Japan Women's Futsal Championship (ja)	2024	SWH Ladies Nishinomiya	4–4 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	Bardral Urayasu Las Bonitas	2025

University

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Next season
Football
All Japan University Football Tournament	2024	Toyo University (1st title)	1–0	Niigata University HW	2024
Prime Minister's Cup All Japan University Football Tournament	2024 (ja)	Hannan University (3rd title)	2–1	Niigata University HW	2025
Denso Cup Challenge Soccer (ja)	2024	Kanto Selection B (4th title)	8–1	Shikoku Selection	2025
All Japan University Football Rookie Championship	2024	Kokushikan University (1st title)	3–1	Kindai University	2025
Women's football
All Japan Women's University Football Championship	2024	Nippon Sport Science University (19th title)	2–1	Yamanashi Gakuin University	2025
Futsal
University Futsal Championship (ja)	2024	Osaka Seikei University (2nd title)	4–3	Josai University	2025

Youth

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Next season
League
Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League	2024	Ohzu High School	3–0	Yokohama FC U-18	2025
Cup
Club Youth U-18 Championship (ja)	2025 (ja)	Kashima Antlers U-18 (1st title)	3–0	Vegalta Sendai U-18	2026
All Japan High School Soccer Tournament	2024	Maebashi Ikuei High School (2nd title)	1–1 (a.e.t.) (9–8 p)	RKU Kashiwa High School	2025
Football at the Inter High School Sports Festival	2025	Kamimura Gakuen High School (1st title)	2–2 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p)	Ohzu High School	2026
Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-15 Japan Football Championship (ja)	2024 (ja)	Urawa Red Diamonds (3rd title)	3–2	Gamba Osaka	2025(ja)
Club Youth U-15 Championship (ja)	2024 (ja)	Kawasaki Frontale Ikuta (1st title)	4–1	FC Gifu	2025 (ja)
Junior High School Sports Festival (ja)	2024 (ja)	Kamimura Gakuen Junior High School (3rd title)	1–0	Aomori Yamada Junior High School	2025 (ja)
JFA U-12 Japan Football Championship (ja)	2024	Tokyo Verdy (3rd title)	3–2	Buddy SC	2025
Futsal
JFA U-18 Japan Futsal Championship (ja)	2024	Fugador Sumida Falcons (2nd title)	1–0	Bardral Urayasu Tercero	2025
JFA U-15 Japan Futsal Championship (ja)	2024	Nagaoka JYFC (6th title)	7–0	FC Craques Matsudo	2025
JFA Vermont Cup U-12 Japan Futsal Championship (ja)	2024	Tozuka FC Junior (3rd title)	8–2	Shizuoka Junior FC Pivo	2025

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Next season
Women's cup
Japan Club Youth (U-18) Women's Football Tournament (ja)	2024	Tokyo Verdy Menina (2nd title)	1–0	JFA Academy Fukushima	2025
All Japan High School Women's Football Championship	2024	Fujieda Junshin High School (8th title)	5–0	Kamimura Gakuen High School	2025
JFA U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship (ja)	2024	Tokyo Verdy Menina (11th title)	1–0	INAC Kobe Leoncina	2025
Football at the Inter High School Sports Festival	2025	Daisho Gakuen High School (1st title)	3–2	Tokoha Univ. Tachibana High School	2026
Princess Takamado Trophy JFA U-15 Women's Football Championship (ja)	2024	Cerezo Osaka (2nd title)	3–2	Urawa Red Diamonds	2025
Women's futsal
JFA U-15 Japan Women's Futsal Tournament (ja)	2024	Kyoto Seika Gakuen Jr. High School (1st title)	5–1	Linda	2025

Over-age

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Next season
Over-age
JFA O-40 Japan Football Tournament	2024	FC Seibudai (1st title)	2–0	FC Funabashi	2025
JFA O-50 Japan Football Tournament	2025	Lien Chiba (1st title)	0–0 (9–8 p)	Yokohama Senior 50	2026
JFA O-60 Japan Football Tournament	2025	Yokosuka Azul 60 (2nd title)	1–0	Nishinomiya SFC	2026
JFA O-70 Japan Football Tournament	2025	Hiroshima Selection (1st title)	1–0	Hyogo Selection	2026

Competition[30][31]	Season	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Next season
Women's over-age
JFA O-30 Japan Women's Football Tournament (ja)	2025	Legame (2nd title)	1–1 (5–4 p)	Shupini Osaka	2026
JFA O-40 Japan Women's Football Open Tournament	2025	Kodaira SC (2nd title)	1–0	Socios FC Venga	2026

See also

• NHK
• DAZN
• Abema
• J Sports
• Football in Japan
• Football in Tokyo
• Women's football in Japan

References

1. "Organisation". JFA. 16 January 2021.
2. Byer, Tom (2 February 2011). "Asian Cup: Japan Is on the Up". The New York Times.
3. "Japan Football Association". JFA. 4 June 2013.
4. "財団法人日本サッカー協会 平成18年度第1回理事会 報告事項" (PDF). JFA. 13 April 2006. p. 6.
5. "Empress's Cup of Soccer". Imperial Family of Japan. 1 January 2015.
6. "Japan Football Association". FIFA. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
7. "Japan Football Association (JFA)". AFC. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
8. "「日本サッカー協会オフィシャルパートナー」契約に基本合意" (in Japanese). Kirin Company. 1 June 2022.
9. "Japan national team". JFA. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
10. "日本代表" [Japan national team] (in Japanese). JFA. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
11. "Samurai Blue's head coach Moriyasu Hajime signs contract extension to 2026 "We want to see a new view at the next world cup"". JFA. 29 December 2022.
12. "Moriyasu Hajime named as the head coach of Samurai Blue (Japan national team)". JFA. 26 July 2018.
13. "Samurai Blue（日本代表）監督 森保一氏と契約合意". JFA (in Japanese). 28 December 2022.
14. "SAMURAI BLUE（日本代表）監督に森保一氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 26 July 2018.
15. "Mr. OIWA Go appointed as Head Coach of U-21 Japan National Team". JFA. 16 December 2021.
16. "U-21日本代表監督に大岩剛氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 16 December 2021.
17. "U-18日本代表監督に船越優蔵氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 14 July 2023.
18. "U-18日本代表監督に船越優蔵氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 14 July 2023.
19. "U-16日本代表監督に小野信義氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 12 December 2024.
20. "Japan futsal national team appoint Mr. Kogure Kenichiro as men's head coach and Mr. Suga Takehiro as women's head coach". JFA. 23 November 2021.
21. "フットサル日本代表 新監督が決定 男子は木暮賢一郎監督、女子は須賀雄大監督が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 23 November 2021.
22. "U-23 Japan futsal national team short-listed squad - Training camp (12/26-29＠JFA YUME Field)". JFA. 20 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022.
23. "U-23フットサル日本代表候補トレーニングキャンプ（12.26-29＠高円宮記念JFA夢フィールド）メンバー". JFA. 20 December 2022.
24. "Mr. Moreira Ozu appointed as new coach of Japan beach soccer national team". JFA. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
25. "なでしこジャパン（日本女子代表）監督にニルス・ニールセン氏が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 12 December 2024.
26. "U-16日本女子代表 白井貞義監督が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 19 January 2023.
27. "U-16日本女子代表 白井貞義監督が就任". JFA (in Japanese). 19 January 2023.
28. "47 Prefectural Football Associations". JFA. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
29. "List of International matches". JFA. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
30. "Competitions". JFA. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
31. "大会・試合" [Competitions / Matches] (in Japanese). JFA. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

External links

• Official website
• JFA on FIFA
• JFA on AFC
• List of the official SNSs on JFA