The 2024 J.League Cup, known as the 2024 J.League YBC Levain Cup () for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition. This season, all 60 J.League clubs participated in an updated tournament format, aimed to grow the J2 and J3 Leagues and improve the J.League as a whole.
The defending champions were Avispa Fukuoka, who were eliminated in the third round.
Format In a change from previous seasons, all clubs from the season's J1, J2, and J3 Leagues participated, thus including the clubs from all J.League divisions for the first time since 2001. As many as 29 teams participated in the tournament for the first time in their history.
The tournament was divided into three sections each with a different format: the first round, the play-off round and the prime round.
First round 57 clubs took part in the first round, split into 10 groups. The three clubs participating in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League knockout stage (Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos and Ventforet Kofu) were introduced to the tournament at the prime round. Each group participated in a single-elimination tournament, leaving 10 clubs to advance to the play-off round. The draw for the first round was based on rankings from the 2023 league season. As a general rule, the lower league club played their fixture at home. In the case of clubs being in the same league, the club with the lower ranking from the 2023 season served as the home team. In the case of a draw, games go to extra time and penalties to determine a winner if necessary.
The first round groups are as follows:
+ Teams participating in the first round of the 2024 J.League CupGroup Teams1Vissel Kobe Shimizu S-Pulse Montedio Yamagata Kataller Toyama FC Imabari -2Sanfrecce Hiroshima Tokyo Verdy JEF United Chiba Kagoshima United Nara Club -3Urawa Reds Júbilo Iwata V-Varen Nagasaki Ehime FC Gainare Tottori -4Kashima Antlers Machida Zelvia Oita Trinita Zweigen Kanazawa Vanraure Hachinohe Giravanz Kitakyushu 5Nagoya Grampus Yokohama FC Fagiano Okayama Omiya Ardija FC Gifu Tegevajaro Miyazaki 6Avispa Fukuoka Kashiwa Reysol Thespa Gunma Renofa Yamaguchi Matsumoto Yamaga SC Sagamihara 7Cerezo Osaka Gamba Osaka Fujieda MYFC Tochigi SC Iwate Grulla Morioka FC Ryukyu 8Albirex Niigata Shonan Bellmare Blaublitz Akita Iwaki FC FC Osaka Kamatamare Sanuki 9FC Tokyo Sagan Tosu Roasso Kumamoto Mito HollyHock YSCC Yokohama Fukushima United FC 10Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Kyoto Sanga Tokushima Vortis Vegalta Sendai Azul Claro Numazu AC Nagano Parceiro
Notes
Playoff round The 10 clubs that qualified from the first round would be drawn into five, two-legged fixtures and would play each other home and away. The remaining five clubs would advance to the prime round.
Prime round A single-elimination tournament would be held between eight clubs: the five clubs that qualified from the playoff round plus the AFC Champions League clubs — Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Ventforet Kofu. Each round would be a two-legged home and away fixture, except the final which would be a one-game tie played at a neutral venue. The draw for the brackets would be held on July 2.
Schedule The schedule was announced on 19 December 2023. All the matches took place in 2024.
StageRoundDateFirst roundRound 16–13 MarchRound 217–24 MarchRound 322 MayPlayoff round5 June (First leg)9 June (Second leg)Prime roundQuarter-finals4 September (First leg)8 September (Second leg)Semi-finals9 October (First leg)13 October (Second leg)Final2 November
First round
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Group 10
Notes
Playoff round Kataller Toyama from J3 League were the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition. Summary
Matches
Prime round The pairings and match-ups for the prime round were announced on 2 July 2024.
Quarter-finals Summary
Matches
Semi-finals Summary
Matches
Final
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Motoki NagakuraAlbirex Niigata62 Yota KomiAlbirex Niigata4 Yuki OhashiSanfrecce Hiroshima4 Mutsuki KatoSanfrecce Hiroshima3 Kensuke NagaiNagoya Grampus PatricNagoya Grampus Kaito TaniguchiAlbirex Niigata Shosei UsuiKataller Toyama9 Jun AmanoYokohama F. Marinos2 Mitchell DukeMachida Zelvia Seiya InoueAvispa Fukuoka Matheus JesusV-Varen Nagasaki JuanmaV-Varen Nagasaki Edigar JunioV-Varen Nagasaki Yuki KobayashiHokkaido Consadole Sapporo Takashi KondoNagano Parceiro Tomoya MikiTokyo Verdy Na Sang-hoMachida Zelvia Shoya NakajimaUrawa Red Diamonds Katsuhiro NakayamaNagoya Grampus Takato NonomuraMatsumoto Yamaga Hinata OguraYokohama FC Yuta SatoFC Ryukyu Haruto ShiraiHokkaido Consadole Sapporo Daiki SugaHokkaido Consadole Sapporo Yudai TanakaFagiano Okayama Asahi UenakaYokohama F. Marinos Masashi WadaThespa Gunma Hokuto ShimodaMachida Zelvia Daiya TonoKawasaki Frontale Shunki HigashiSanfrecce Hiroshima Yuya YamagishiNagoya Grampus
References
External links Official website (in Japanese)