2023 Emperor's Cup
The 2023 Emperor's Cup (Emperor's Cup JFA 103rd Japan Football Championship (Japanese: 天皇杯 JFA 第103回全日本サッカー選手権大会)) will be the 103rd edition of the annually contested cup, starting on 20 May. The format for 2023 does not present any changes from the previous edition. It will as usual feature 88 teams representing the prefectural football associations, J1 League, J2 League and Japan Football League. JFL's Honda FC was once again chosen to be the annually specially-designated amateur club.[1]
| Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 May – 9 December |
| Teams | 88 |
← 2022 2024 → | |
Ventforet Kofu are the defending champions, after an cinderella story for the J2 club saw them qualify to the final, which they have won on penalty shoot-outs against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, after a 1–1 draw on regulation time.[2]
Calendar
The schedule for the first round to the quarter-finals was announced on 20 December 2022.[3] The semi-finals and the final did not have its dates released by the Japan Football Association, as uncertanties around the schedule of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup leaved doubts about possible re-schedule of one or more rounds of the Emperor's Cup. The decision was also made to avoid schedule conflict for teams whose squad have one or more players participating in the competition.[4]
| Round | Date (alternative date) | Matches | Clubs | New entries this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 20–21 May (22 May) | 24 | 48 (47+1) → 24 |
|
| Second round | 7 June (21 June) | 32 | 64 (24+18+22) → 32 |
|
| Third round | 12 June (19 June) | 16 | 32 → 16 | |
| Fourth round | 2 August (9 August) | 8 | 16 → 8 | |
| Quarter-finals | 30 August (13 Sep) | 4 | 8 → 4 | |
| Semi-finals | 8 October | 2 | 4 → 2 | |
| Final | 9 December | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Participating clubs
In parentheses: The amount of times each team qualified for the Emperor's Cup (appearance in the 2023 Emperor's Cup included).
Qualifying rounds
As only J1 and J2 League clubs qualify directly for the first round, teams from outside of it who wants to qualify to the Emperor's Cup (exception being made to the JFA-seeded team), have to undergo a prefectural qualification, with regulaments and schedules varying from one association to another. In total, there are 47 prefectural cup qualifications, with the winners of each prefectural cup earning their right to play in the Emperor's Cup, with all of them assigned to start the competition in the first round.[6]
First round
The match pairings was decided on 22 March 2023. Except for Honda FC, who was granted a bye from prefectural qualifications due to their "amateur designated team" status, no other club had yet qualified to the tournament.[5]
| 21 May Match 1 | Chiba winner | v | Ibaraki winner | Ichihara |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium |
| 21 May Match 4 | Mie winner | v | Tottori winner | Suzuka |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Mie Suzuka Sports Garden |
| 20 May Match 5 | Wakayama winner | v | Osaka winner | Wakayama |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Kimiidera Athletic Stadium |
| 21 May Match 6 | Aomori winner | v | Miyagi winner | Hachinohe |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Prifoods Stadium |
| 21 May Match 7 | Nara winner | v | Honda FC | Nara |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Rohto Field Nara |
| 20 May Match 8 | Nagano winner | v | Kyoto winner | Matsumoto |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Sunpro Alwin |
| 20 May Match 9 | Kagawa winner | v | Saga winner | Marugame |
| 15:00 JST | Stadium: Pikara Stadium |
| 21 May Match 11 | Hokkaido winner | v | Yamagata winner | Sapporo |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium |
| 21 May Match 12 | Fukuoka winner | v | Kagoshima winner | Kitakyushu |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu |
| 20 May Match 13 | Tochigi winner | v | Aichi winner | Utsunomiya |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Tochigi Green Stadium |
| 21 May Match 15 | Iwate winner | v | Tokyo winner | Morioka |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 21 May Match 16 | Gunma winner | v | Yamanashi winner | Maebashi |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Earth Care Shikishima Stadium |
| 21 May Match 17 | Kanagawa winner | v | Saitama winner | Hiratsuka |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka |
| 21 May Match 18 | Oita winner | v | Yamaguchi winner | Oita |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Resonac Soccer/Rugby Field A Court |
| 21 May Match 19 | Hiroshima winner | v | Tokushima winner | Fukuyama |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Fukuyama Stadium |
| 21 May Match 20 | Ehime winner | v | Nagasaki winner | Matsuyama |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Ningineer Stadium |
| 20 May Match 21 | Gifu winner | v | Niigata winner | Gifu |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Gifu Nagaragawa Meadow |
| 20 May Match 22 | Fukushima winner | v | Akita winner | Fukushima |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Toho Stadium |
| 20 May Match 23 | Miyazaki winner | v | Kumamoto winner | Shintomi |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Unilever Stadium Shintomi |
| 21 May Match 24 | Okinawa winner | v | Okayama winner | Okinawa |
| 13:00 JST | Stadium: Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium |
Second round
All the 2023 J1 and J2 League clubs enter the competition in this round. Most of these professional clubs will host their matches in their own prefecture. However, as the number of teams from these leagues combined not matches the amount of host teams required, some of these teams will have to play their matches away from home. These specific away teams either finished between the 15th to 20th place on last season's J2 or got promoted from the J3 League for the 2023 season, and will play their ties against teams that finished between the 7th and 14th place on last season's J2.[7]
| 7 June Match 25 | Yokohama F. Marinos | v | Match 1 winner | Yokohama |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium |
| 7 June Match 26 | Zweigen Kanazawa | v | Machida Zelvia | Kanazawa |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Ishikawa Athletics Stadium |
| 7 June Match 27 | Kyoto Sanga | v | Match 2 winner | Kyoto |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Takebishi Stadium Kyoto |
| 7 June Match 28 | Albirex Niigata | v | Match 3 winner | Niigata |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium |
| 7 June Match 29 | Nagoya Grampus | v | Match 4 winner | Nagoya |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium |
| 7 June Match 30 | Vegalta Sendai | v | Fujieda MYFC | Sendai |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Yurtec Stadium Sendai |
| 7 June Match 31 | Urawa Red Diamonds | v | Match 5 winner | Saitama |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium |
| 7 June Match 32 | Montedio Yamagata | v | Match 6 winner | Tendō |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: ND Soft Stadium Yamagata |
| 7 June Match 33 | Kashima Antlers | v | Match 7 winner | Kashima |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium |
| 7 June Match 34 | V-Varen Nagasaki | v | Ventforet Kofu | Isahaya |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki |
| 7 June Match 35 | Vissel Kobe | v | Match 8 winner | Kobe |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe |
| 7 June Match 36 | Júbilo Iwata | v | Match 9 winner | Iwata |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Yamaha Stadium |
| 7 June Match 37 | Cerezo Osaka | v | Match 10 winner | Osaka |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium |
| 7 June Match 38 | JEF United Chiba | v | Omiya Ardija | Chiba |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Fukuda Denshi Arena |
| 7 June Match 39 | Shonan Bellmare | v | Match 11 winner | Hiratsuka |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka |
| 7 June Match 40 | Fagiano Okayama | v | Match 12 winner | Okayama |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: City Light Stadium |
| 7 June Match 41 | Kawasaki Frontale | v | Match 13 winner | Kawasaki |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium |
| 7 June Match 42 | Mito HollyHock | v | Renofa Yamaguchi | Mito |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: K's denki Stadium Mito |
| 7 June Match 43 | Gamba Osaka | v | Match 14 winner | Suita |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita |
| 21 June Match 44 | Yokohama FC | v | Match 15 winner | Yokohama |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium |
| 7 June Match 45 | Kashiwa Reysol | v | Match 16 winner | Kashiwa |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium |
| 7 June Match 46 | Tokushima Vortis | v | Iwaki FC | Naruto |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium |
| 7 June Match 47 | Consadole Sapporo | v | Match 17 winner | Sapporo |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Sapporo Atsubetsu Park Stadium |
| 7 June Match 48 | Oita Trinita | v | Match 18 winner | Oita |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Resonac Dome Oita |
| 7 June Match 49 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | v | Match 19 winner | Fukuyama |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Fukuyama Stadium |
| 7 June Match 50 | Blaublitz Akita | v | Tochigi SC | Akita |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Soyu Stadium |
| 7 June Match 51 | Avispa Fukuoka | v | Match 20 winner | Fukuoka |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Best Denki Stadium |
| 7 June Match 52 | Shimizu S-Pulse | v | Match 21 winner | Shimizu |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira |
| 7 June Match 53 | FC Tokyo | v | Match 22 winner | Tokyo |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium |
| 7 June Match 54 | Tokyo Verdy | v | Thespakusatsu Gunma | Tokyo |
| 18:30 JST | Stadium: Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka |
| 7 June Match 55 | Sagan Tosu | v | Match 23 winner | Tosu |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium |
| 21 June Match 56 | Roasso Kumamoto | v | Match 24 winner | Kumamoto |
| 19:00 JST | Stadium: Egao Kenko Stadium |
References
- "About the 2023 Emperor's Cup". jfa.jp (in Japanese). Japan Football Association.
- Orlowitz, Dan (16 October 2022). "Kofu outlasts Hiroshima to claim maiden Emperor's Cup title". The Japan Times. Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- "天皇杯 JFA 第103回全日本サッカー選手権大会マッチスケジュールについて". jfa.jp (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- "天皇杯JFA第103回全日本サッカー選手権 試合日程 2023". stadio.jp. Stadio. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- "1～2回戦組合せ決定 天皇杯 JFA 第103回全日本サッカー選手権大会". jfa.jp (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- "2023年度 天皇杯JFA第103回全日本サッカー選手権大会 スケジュール決定 1回戦5/20.21開催！J1.J2は2回戦6/7より出場". juniorsoccer-news.com (in Japanese). Junior Soccer nEWS. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- "MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE STANDINGS". jleague.co. Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 23 March 2023.