The 2024 Emperor's Cup prefectural qualifiers comprised a series of tournaments in which each prefectural champion earned a place in the 2024 Emperor's Cup, Japan's premier national football cup competition. This marks the 28th occasion on which lower-ranking teams have qualified for the Emperor's Cup through prefectural tournaments. Prior to the 1996 Emperor's Cup, such teams gained entry to the competition via regional qualification rounds. For the 2024 edition, the competition continues to be restricted to Type 1 teams (composed mainly of adults), with Type 2 teams (composed of high school undergraduates) blocked from participating. J1 League and J2 League clubs did not participate in the prefectural tournaments, as those clubs are automatically qualified for the Cup.
Usually, the format of the Emperor's Cup opens 48 berths for amateur clubs, with all of them being assigned into the first round of the competition. Alongside the 47 prefectural champions, the JFA annually assigns a specially designated club to complete the roster of 48 amateur teams into the round. The specially designated clubs automatically skip the qualification stage and then, does not participate in their respective prefectural tournaments. On 2024, an exception was made due to the exclusion of Urawa Red Diamonds, who would automatically qualify into the second round of the Emperor's Cup. An extra amateur team, Meiji University, was then, given a direct entry as a second specially designated club into the first round, pushing Honda FC to the second round.
Customarily, university teams are allowed to participate in each tournament. Some university clubs have two or more affiliated teams participating, with its second-and-beyond teams composed of present and past students in that university. The first-team of each universities uses its formal name to distinguish themselves from its affiliated teams, which is most of the time done by attaching abbreviations (such as "FC", "AFC" or "SC") to the names of their respective universities.
Prefectural champions The 47 prefectural tournaments champions that qualified for the 2024 Emperor's Cup. PrefectureTeamLeagueApps.HokkaidoHokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth Hokkaido Soccer League 2ndAomoriVanraure Hachinohe J3 League 12thIwateIwate Grulla Morioka J3 League 12thMiyagiSony Sendai Japan Football League 25thAkitaSaruta Kogyo Tohoku Soccer League D2 North 3rdYamagataOyama SC Tohoku Soccer League D2 South 3rdFukushimaFukushima United J3 League 12thIbarakiUniversity of Tsukuba Kanto University League D1 34thTochigiTochigi City Japan Football League 14thGunmaTonan Maebashi Kanto Soccer League D2 8thSaitamaOmiya Ardija J3 League 29thChibaBriobecca UrayasuJapan Football League 7thTokyoYokogawa Musashino Japan Football League 6thKanagawaSC Sagamihara J3 League 3rdYamanashiYamanashi Gakuin University Pegasus Yamanashi Football League 6thNaganoNagano Parceiro J3 League 12thNiigataJapan Soccer College Hokushinetsu Football League D1 14thToyamaKataller Toyama J3 League 15thIshikawaZweigen Kanazawa J3 League 20thFukuiFukui United Hokushinetsu Football League D1 16thShizuokaAzul Claro Numazu J3 League 3rdAichiChukyo University Tokai University League D1 8thMieVeertien Mie Japan Football League 4thGifuFC Gifu J3 League 18thShigaBiwako Seikei Sport College Kansai University League D1 7thKyotoKyoto Sangyo University Kansai University League D1 6thOsakaKansai University Kansai University League D1 19thHyogoKonan University Kansai University League D1 2ndNaraNara Club J3 League 15thWakayamaArterivo Wakayama Kansai Soccer League D1 16thTottoriGainare Tottori J3 League 26thShimaneBelugarosso Iwami Chugoku Soccer League 3rdOkayamaMitsubishi Mizushima Chugoku Soccer League 16thHiroshimaFukuyama City Chugoku Soccer League 4thYamaguchiBaleine Shimonoseki Chugoku Soccer League 4thKagawaKamatamare Sanuki J3 League 24thTokushimaFC Tokushima Shikoku Soccer League 9thEhimeEhime FC J3 League 14thKochiKochi United Japan Football League 9thFukuokaGiravanz Kitakyushu J3 League 15thSaga Kyushu Soccer League 4thNagasaki Nagasaki Football League 11thKumamotoTokai University Kumamoto Kyushu University League D1 5thOitaJ-Lease FC Kyushu Soccer League 1stMiyazakiTegevajaro Miyazaki J3 League 4thKagoshimaNIFS Kanoya Kyushu University League D1 13thOkinawaOkinawa SV Japan Football League 5th
Prefectural tournaments Teams playing in higher tiers usually receive a bye from the early stages of each tournament, with some automatically seeded to the prefectural final. This is the case with many J3 League teams, as the only professional clubs eligible to participate. Some prefectures holds qualification to their prefectural tournaments, splitting "social representatives" and "university representatives" into the qualifiers. This is more prone to occur when two or more clubs from the same prefecture are members of the J3 League and/or Japan Football League, as both leagues' clubs are exempt from being treated as a "social representative", a term which describes amateur clubs whose players are, or were affiliated unanimously, with the same university.
Hokkaido
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Aomori
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Iwate
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Akita
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Miyagi
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Yamagata
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Fukushima
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Ibaraki
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Tochigi
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Gunma
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Saitama
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Chiba
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Tokyo
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Kanagawa
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Yamanashi
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Niigata
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Nagano
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Toyama
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Ishikawa
Fukui
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Shizuoka
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Aichi
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Gifu
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Mie
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Shiga
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Kyoto
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Osaka
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Hyogo
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Nara
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Wakayama
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Tottori
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Shimane
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Okayama
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Hiroshima
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Yamaguchi
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Kagawa
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Tokushima
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Ehime
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Kochi
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Fukuoka
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Saga
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Nagasaki
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Kumamoto
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Oita
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Miyazaki
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Kagoshima
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Okinawa
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See also 2024 Emperor's Cup
References
External links Emperor's Cup 2024, JFA.jp