The , officially called the All Japan Adults Football Tournament,Official page is a football (soccer) cup competition in Japan. It is run by the Japan Football Association. As it only involves non-league teams (teams not affiliated to either J.League or the Japan Football League), it can be considered an equivalent of the FA Trophy or FA Vase in England.

Overview The "Shakaijin", "Shakaijin Cup" or "Zensha" as it is known, was first established in 1965 to determine potential entrants to the Japan Soccer League. The winner and runner-up played off in a promotion and relegation series against the bottom two clubs of the JSL. This continued even after the JSL added a Second Division in 1972. Since 1977, however, there is a system called the "Regional Football Champions League" to promote new league entrants (to the JSL 2nd Division, the former Japan Football League, and the current Japan Football League), thus the "Shakaijin" is now effectively a non-league cup competition. The 1999 edition was the only one to feature teams from the current JFL; otherwise, all participant clubs have been from the regional leagues.

The format is a week-long elimination tournament in a host locale (originally a single city, now a major metropolitan area) chosen by the JFA beforehand, and the best clubs of the regional leagues (currently 32 entrants) qualify. The final takes place in a major stadium in the largest host city or prefectural capital. The winner automatically qualifies to the Regional Champions League (runners-up and third places may also qualify depending on berth availability).

Many former Shakaijin winners are now J.League members, so the cup, despite no longer guaranteeing promotion, is considered a crucial stepping stone by ambitious clubs.

List of winners YearWinnerScoreRunner-upLocation(s)1965Nippon Kokan3–1Urawa ClubBeppu, Ōita1966Urawa Club1–0Nippon KokanOmiya1967Nagoya Bank4–1Toyota MotorsYokohama1968Toyota Motors1–0Urawa ClubShimabara, Nagasaki1969Kofu Club (shared)1–1Urawa Club (shared)Tōno, Iwate1970Toyota Motors1–0Kofu ClubFujieda, Shizuoka1971Towa Real Estate1–0Tanabe PharmaceuticalSaga1972Eidai Industries5–0Teijin SC MatsuyamaIchihara, Chiba1973Sumitomo2–1Ibaraki HitachiHitachi, Ibaraki1974Honda Giken3–0Yanmar ClubKagoshima1975Yanmar Club3–1Furukawa Electric ChibaShizuoka1976Nissan Motors1–0Dainichi Nippon Densen1977Toshiba Horikawa-cho2–0NTT Kansai1978Saitama Teachers2–0Hyōgo TeachersNobeoka, Miyazaki1979Toho Titanium2–0Mazda Auto Hiroshima1980Dainichi Nippon Cable SC2–0Osaka Gas1981NTT Kanto2–1Ibaraki Hitachi1982Osaka Gas3–1Shizuoka Gas1983Matsushita5–0NTT Kansai1984Kyoto Police Dept.2–1Shimizu Club1985NTT Kansai (shared) 1–1Yamanashi Club (shared)1986Furukawa Electric Chiba4–3Tokyo Gas1987Akita City Government1–0Furukawa Electric Chiba1988Kyoto Shiko Club2–0Mazda Auto Hiroshima1989Chuo Bohan2–0Furukawa Electric ChibaKasuga, Fukuoka1990Chuo Bohan3–1Ibaraki HitachiKanazawa1991PJM Futures2–0Seino UnyuTsuruoka, Yamagata1992PJM Futures2–0Nippon DensoTakamatsu, Kagawa1993Yokogawa Denki3–2YKK1994Ibaraki Hitachi1–0Hokuriku Electric Power Co.1995Prima Ham FC Tsuchiura1–0Albireo Niigata1996F.C. Kyoto BAMB 19931–1PK 4–3Prima Ham FC TsuchiuraTakatsuki, Osaka1997Yokogawa Denki1–0AETHonda Luminoso Sayama F.C.Fujisawa, KanagawaYokohama1998NTT Kyushu3–0Norbritz Hokkaido1999Honda Giken4–0Sony Sendai FCToyamaTakaoka, Toyama2000Sagawa Express Tokyo SC3–2Sagawa Printing SCSendai, Miyagi (final)Naruse, MiyagiRifu, MiyagiShichigahama, MiyagiMatsushima, Miyagi2001Sagawa Express Osaka S.C.2–1AETHonda Luminoso Sayama F.C.Nankoku, Kōchi (final)Ochi, KōchiHaruno, KōchiHidaka, KōchiNoichi, Kōchi2002Okinawa Kariyushi FC (shared) 0–0AETHonda Luminoso Sayama F.C. (shared)Shimizu, ShizuokaFujieda, Shizuoka2003Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C.3–0Shizuoka F.C.SaitamaKawagoe, Saitama2004Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. (shared)0–0Okinawa Kariyushi FC (shared)Okayama (final)Kurashiki, OkayamaOku, Okayama2005Rosso Kumamoto (shared) 2–2AETNew Nippon Steel Ōita (shared)Kobe, Hyōgo (final)Goshiki, HyōgoAwaji, HyōgoKakogawa, HyōgoMiki, Hyōgo2006V-Varen Nagasaki1–0Shizuoka F.C.Akita (final)Yurihonjō, AkitaNikaho, Akita2007F.C. Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu3–1Yazaki ValenteŌitaBeppu, Ōita2008A.C. Nagano Parceiro2–1NEC TokinNiigata2009Matsumoto Yamaga2–1Zweigen KanazawaIchihara, Chiba2010Kamatamare Sanuki2–0Nagano Parceiro Yamaguchi2011Tokyo 23 FC1–0SC SagamiharaŌgaki, Gifu2012F.C. Korea1–0AETFukushima UnitedChōfu, Tokyo2013Renofa Yamaguchi1–1PK 5–4Grulla MoriokaShimabara, Nagasaki2014FC Osaka2–0Club DragonsKamitonda, Wakayama2015Arterivo Wakayama1–1PK 5–3Hannan UniversityMorioka, Iwate (final)Hanamaki, IwateTakizawa, IwateTōno, Iwate2016Mitsubishi Mizushima FC2–2PK 5–3Suzuka Unlimited FCSaijō, Ehime (final)2017Suzuka Unlimited FC2–1Matsue City FCSakai, Fukui2018Matsue City FC3–2FC KariyaKashima, Ibaraki (final)Hitachinaka, Ibaraki2019FC Tiamo Hirakata1–0Ococias Kyoto ACKirishima, Kagoshima (final)Minamisatsuma, KagoshimaShibushi, Kagoshima2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan20212022Briobecca Urayasu0–0PK 5–3BTOP Thank KuriyamaShibushi, Kagoshima2023FC Kariya1–0PK 4–2Arterivo WakayamaSaga, SagaTosu, Saga2024Japan Soccer College1–0FC Tokushima Higashiōmi, Shiga (final)Kōka, ShigaMoriyama, ShigaŌtsu, Shiga2025Veroskronos Tsuno2–1FC Basara HyogoGonohe, AomoriHachinohe, Aomori (final)Nanbu, AomoriTowada, Aomori

See also Japanese Super Cup Emperor's Cup J.League Cup

References

External links JFA official page Official site of the 2011 season at the JFA Contents of Domestic Competition of Football in Japan Japanese Non-League Football News (in English)