The 2020 Emperor's Cup () was the 100th edition of the annual Japanese national football cup tournament. The tournament, originally scheduled to begin on 23 May, was rescheduled to begin on 16 September and ended with the final on 1 January 2021 at the National Stadium.
The number of teams was reduced to 50 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, and subsequently changed to 52 teams. Both the champions of the 2020 J2 League and the 2020 J3 League entered at the quarter-finals. The top two teams from the 2020 J1 League entered at the semi-finals.
The defending champions were Vissel Kobe but they were unable to defend the title as they failed to qualify through the top two of the 2020 J1 League.
The J1 League champions Kawasaki Frontale completed the double by beating the league's runners-up Gamba Osaka in the final, earning their first Emperor's Cup title.
Calendar The revised schedule was announced on 18 June 2020.
Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round First Round 16 September 16 32 prefectural cup winners Second Round 23–30 September 16 16+15+1 → 1615 prefectural cup winners 1 Amateur Best Team Third Round 28 October – 11 November 8 16 → 8 Fourth Round 13 December 4 8 → 4 Fifth Round 20 December 2 4 → 2 Quarter-finals 23 December 2 2+2 → 2 2020 J2 champions club 2020 J3 champions club Semi-finals 27 December 2 2+2 → 2 2020 J1 Top two clubs Final 1 January 2021 1 2 → 1
Regional allocation JFA decided that 48 amateur teams would be split into 8 regions, and each region would be represented by 1 team in the Fourth Round. 8 regions were based on 9 regional football associations in Japan (Hokkaido & Tohoku would be merged into a single region).
Kantō (all 8 prefectural representative teams participate from First Round); Kyushu (all 8 prefectural representative teams participate from First Round); Hokushinetsu (5 prefectural representative teams, with 3 teams participate from Second Round and 2 teams participate from First Round); Tōkai (4 prefectural representative teams plus Honda FC, with 3 teams participate from Second Round and 2 teams participate from First Round); Chūgoku (5 prefectural representative teams, with 3 teams participate from Second Round and 2 teams participate from First Round); Hokkaido & Tohoku (7 prefectural representative teams, with 1 team participate from Second Round and 6 teams participate from First Round); Shikoku (all 4 prefectural representative teams participate from Second Round); Kansai (6 prefectural representative teams, with 2 teams participate from Second Round and 4 teams participate from First Round);
Participating clubs 52 clubs will compete in the tournament. 2020 J1 Leaguetop two clubs 2020 J2 League,2020 J3 Leaguechampions clubs Amateur Best Team 47 prefectural tournament winners Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka Tokushima Vortis Blaublitz Akita Honda FC Hokkaido: Sapporo University Aomori: ReinMeer Aomori Iwate: Fuji University Miyagi: Sony Sendai FC Akita: Saruta Kogyo Yamagata: Oyama SC Fukushima: Iwaki FC Ibaraki: University of Tsukuba Tochigi: Tochigi City Gunma: Tonan Maebashi Saitama: Tokyo International University Chiba: Vonds Ichihara Tokyo: Tokyo Musashino City FC Kanagawa: Toin University of Yokohama Yamanashi: Yamanashi Gakuin University Pegasus Nagano: Artista Asama Niigata: Niigata University of Health and Welfare Toyama: Toyama Shinjo Club Ishikawa: Kanazawa Seiryo University Fukui: Fukui United Shizuoka: Tokoha University Aichi: FC Maruyasu Okazaki Mie: Suzuka Point Getters Gifu: Shiga: MIO Biwako Shiga Kyoto: Ococias Kyoto AC Osaka: FC Tiamo Hirakata Hyōgo: Cento Cuore Harima FC Nara: Nara Club Wakayama: Arterivo Wakayama Tottori: Shimane: Matsue City FC Okayama: Mitsubishi Mizushima FC Hiroshima: Fukuyama City FC Yamaguchi: FC Baleine Shimonoseki Kagawa: Takamatsu University Tokushima: FC Tokushima Ehime: Matsuyama University Kōchi: Kochi United Fukuoka: Fukuoka University Saga: EV Internacional Nagasaki: Kumamoto: Ōita: Verspah Oita Miyazaki: Tegevajaro Miyazaki Kagoshima: National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya Okinawa: Okinawa SV
Bracket Source:Tournament table (Official website in Japanese)
Hokkaido & Tohoku Regions
Kantō Region
Hokushinetsu Region
Tōkai Region
Kansai Region
Chūgoku Region
Shikoku Region
Kyushu Region
Fourth & Fifth Round
Finals
First round The draw for the first through third rounds was conducted on 29 July 2020.
Hokkaido & Tohoku Regions
Kantō Region
Hokushinetsu Region
Tōkai Region
Kansai Region
Chūgoku Region
Kyushu Region
Second round Hokkaido & Tohoku Regions
Kantō Region
Hokushin'etsu Region
Tōkai Region
Kansai Region
Chūgoku Region
Shikoku Region
Kyushu Region
Third round
Hokkaido & Tohoku Regions
Kantō Region
Hokushinetsu Region
Tōkai Region
Kansai Region
Chūgoku Region
Shikoku Region
Kyushu Region
Fourth round
Fifth round Venues for the fifth round through the semi-finals were only announced on 10 December, as the venues would be decided based on the qualified teams for the round.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
See also Japan Football Association (JFA)
J.League 2020 J1 League (I) 2020 J2 League (II) 2020 J3 League (III) 2020 Japan Football League (IV) 2020 Japanese Regional Leagues (V/VI)
2020 Fuji Xerox Super Cup (Super Cup) 2020 Emperor's Cup (National Cup) 2020 J.League YBC Levain Cup (League Cup)
References
External links 2020 Emperor's Cup – official website at JLeague.jp