The 2025 Emperor's Cup or the JFA 105th Japan Football Championship (Japanese: 天皇杯 JFA 第105回全日本サッカー選手権大会) was the 105th edition of the annually known contested cup. It featured 88 teams representing the prefectural football associations, university football federation, J1 League and the J2 League.
Vissel Kobe were the title holders, winning the 2024 final against Gamba Osaka, just before becoming 2025 J1 League champions, winning the domestic double. They joined the competition along other J1 and J2 League teams in the second round. They were beaten in the final by Machida Zelvia, who won their first ever major title.
Due to the participation of Urawa Red Diamonds in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, they were given automatic qualification to the Round of 16 of the Emperor's Cup, as the Club World Cup takes place between June and July, just when the rest of the J1 League teams are participating in the second and third round of the Emperor's Cup.
Calendar The schedule for the first round to the Round of 16 was announced on 4 February 2025.
Round Date Backup date(s) Matches Clubs New entries this round First round 24–25 May 28 May 27 47 prefectural qualification cup winners 6 2025 J2 League clubs 1 amateur designated team Second round 11 June 18 June 32 60 (27+19+14) → 3019 2025 J1 League clubs 14 2025 J2 League clubs Third round 16 July 23 July 15 30 → 15 None Round of 16 6 August 13 August 8 16 (15+1) → 8Urawa Red Diamonds Quarter-finals 27 August 10 September 4 8 → 4 None Semi-finals 16 November – 2 4 → 2 Final 22 November – 1 2 → 1
Qualifying rounds
As the norm, only J1 and J2 League clubs qualify directly for the first round. All the teams from lower divisions (starting from the J3 League) who wants to qualify to the Emperor's Cup (exception being made to the JFA-seeded team), have to undergo a prefectural qualification, with regulations 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.
In bold, it will be displayed the teams that won each final, and not necessarily the home team. All the matches are played on a neutral venue.
Participating clubs J1 League All teams playing in the 2024 J1 League join the competition in the second round, except 2025 FIFA Club World Cup participants Urawa Red Diamonds, who join in the Round of 16. ClubApps.PrefectureKashima Antlers40thIbarakiUrawa Red Diamonds59thSaitamaKashiwa Reysol57thChibaFC Tokyo31stTokyoTokyo Verdy50thTokyoMachida Zelvia13thTokyoKawasaki Frontale42ndKanagawaYokohama F. Marinos47thKanagawaYokohama FC26thKanagawaShonan Bellmare53rdKanagawaClubApps.PrefectureAlbirex Niigata33rdNiigataShimizu S-Pulse33rdShizuokaNagoya Grampus48thAichiKyoto Sanga42ndKyotoGamba Osaka45thOsakaCerezo Osaka56thOsakaVissel Kobe38thHyogoFagiano Okayama17thOkayamaSanfrecce Hiroshima73rdHiroshimaAvispa Fukuoka33rdFukuoka
J2 League Out of 20 participating teams in the 2025 J2 League, 14 join the competition in the second round. Six teams (highlighted with a "†") join the tournament in the first round: the three worst-ranked non-relegated 2024 J2 League teams and those promoted from the 2024 J3 League. ClubApps.PrefectureHokkaido Consadole Sapporo44thHokkaidoVegalta Sendai31stMiyagiBlaublitz Akita32ndAkitaMontedio Yamagata33rdYamagataIwaki FC8thFukushimaMito HollyHock †29thIbarakiRB Omiya Ardija †30thSaitamaJEF United Chiba60thChibaVentforet Kofu33rdYamanashiKataller Toyama †16thToyamaClubApps.PrefectureJúbilo Iwata48thShizuokaFujieda MYFC7thShizuokaRenofa Yamaguchi21stYamaguchiTokushima Vortis37thTokushimaEhime FC †24thEhimeFC Imabari †15thEhimeSagan Tosu33rdSagaV-Varen Nagasaki18thNagasakiRoasso Kumamoto25thKumamotoOita Trinita †29thOita
Amateur Designated Team Toyo University was selected by the JFA to receive the automatic qualification for the tournament. They are the defending national university champions, having won the 2024 All Japan University Football Championship. TeamPrefectureLeagueLevelApps.Toyo UniversityTokyoKanto University League D1UL11st
Prefectural Representatives All the 47 prefectural tournament winners (prefectural representatives) join in the first round. PrefectureTeamLeagueLevelApps.HokkaidoBTOP Hokkaido Hokkaido Soccer League 5 2ndAomoriReinMeer Aomori Japan Football League 4 4thIwateIwate Grulla Morioka Japan Football League 4 18thMiyagiSendai University Tohoku University League Div. 1 UL1 4thAkitaNorth Asia University Tohoku University League Div. 1 UL1 3rdYamagataOyama SC Tohoku Soccer League Div. 2 South 6 4thFukushimaFukushima United J3 League 3 13thIbarakiUniversity of Tsukuba Kanto University League Div. 1 UL1 35thTochigiTochigi SC J3 League 3 25thGunmaThespa Gunma J3 League 3 22ndSaitamaTokyo International University Kanto University League Div. 1 UL1 8thChibaJuntendo University Kanto University League Div. 2 UL2 17thTokyoHosei University Kanto University League Div. 2 UL2 14thKanagawaSC Sagamihara J3 League 3 4thYamanashiYamanashi Gakuin Univ. Pegasus Yamanashi Football League 7 7thNaganoMatsumoto Yamaga J3 League 3 17thNiigataNiigata University H&W Hokushin'etsu University League Div. 1 UL1 8thToyamaToyama Shinjo Hokushinetsu Football League Div. 1 5 8thIshikawaZweigen Kanazawa J3 League 3 21stFukuiFukui United Hokushinetsu Football League Div. 1 5 17thShizuokaHonda FC Japan Football League 4 45thAichiChukyo University Tokai University League Div. 1 UL1 9thMieVeertien Mie Japan Football League 4 5thGifuFC Gifu J3 League 3 19thShiga Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 5 1stKyotoKyoto Sangyo University Kansai University League Div. 1 UL1 7thOsakaFC Osaka J3 League 3 7thHyogo Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 5 1stNaraNara Club J3 League 3 16thWakayamaArterivo Wakayama Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 5 17thTottoriGainare Tottori J3 League 3 27thShimaneBelugarosso Iwami Chugoku Soccer League 5 4thOkayamaInternational Pacific University FC Chugoku Soccer League 5 1stHiroshimaFukuyama City Chugoku Soccer League 5 5thYamaguchiBaleine Shimonoseki Chugoku Soccer League 5 5thKagawaKamatamare Sanuki J3 League 3 25thTokushimaFC Tokushima Shikoku Soccer League 5 10thEhime Shikoku Soccer League 5 1stKochiKochi United Japan Football League 4 10thFukuokaGiravanz Kitakyushu J3 League 3 16thSagaBrew Saga Kyushu Soccer League 5 12thNagasaki Kyushu Soccer League 5 12thKumamoto Kumamoto Football League 7 1stOitaVerspah Oita Japan Football League 4 14thMiyazakiVeroskronos Tsuno Kyushu Soccer League 5 2ndKagoshimaKagoshima United J3 League 3 11thOkinawaOkinawa SV Japan Football League 4 6th
Schedule On 7 March 2025, the JFA announced the match pairings for the tournament, with its respective dates and kick-offs being revealed up to the Round of 16. Match pairings for the quarter-finals onwards were not announced at the time.
First round + Number of teams per tier in this round J2 League (2) J3 League (3) Japan Football League (4) Regional 1st Divs. (5) Regional 2nd Divs. (6) Prefectural leagues (7) University Leagues (UL) Total
Second round + Number of teams per tier in this round J1 League (1) J2 League (2) J3 League (3) Japan Football League (4) Regional 1st Divs. (5) University Leagues (UL) Total
Third round + Number of teams per tier in this round J1 League (1) J2 League (2) J3 League (3) Japan Football League (4) University Leagues (UL) Total
Fourth round + Number of teams per tier in this round J1 League (1) J2 League (2) J3 League (3) University Leagues (UL) Total
Quarter-finals The match-ups from this stage onwards was determined on 14 August 2025. + Number of teams per tier in this round J1 League (1) J3 League (3) Other leagues (2/4+) Total
Semi-finals
Final + Number of teams per tier in this round J1 League (1) Total
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Shota FujioMachida Zelvia52 Kosuke SagawaBlaublitz Akita43 Soki HoshinoTochigi SC3 Naoki MaedaSanfrecce Hiroshima Kota MoriFukushima United Motoki NagakuraFC Tokyo Yuma SuzukiKashima Antlers
See also 2025 J1 League 2025 J2 League 2025 J3 League 2025 Japan Football League 2025 Japanese Super Cup
References
External links Emperor's Cup 2025, JFA.jp