All Japan Senior Football Championship

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All Japan Senior Football Championship
Founded1965; 59 years ago (1965)
RegionJapan
Number of teams32
Current championsFC Kariya (1st title)
(2023)
Most successful club(s)Honda Luminoso Sayama FC
(3 titles)
2023 All Japan Senior Football Championship

The All Japan Senior Football Championship (

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

Year Winner Score Runner-up Location(s)
1965
Nippon Kokan
3–1 Urawa Club
Beppu, Ōita
1966 Urawa Club 1–0 Nippon Kokan
Omiya
1967 Nagoya Bank 4–1
Toyota Motors
Yokohama
1968
Toyota Motors
1–0 Urawa Club Shimabara, Nagasaki
1969
Kofu Club
(shared)
1–1
(
a.e.t.
)
Urawa Club (shared) Tōno, Iwate
1970
Toyota Motors
1–0
Kofu Club
Fujieda, Shizuoka
1971
Towa Real Estate
1–0 Tanabe Pharmaceutical Saga
1972 Eidai Industries 5–0 Teijin SC Matsuyama Ichihara, Chiba
1973
Sumitomo
2–1 Hitachi Ibaraki SC Hitachi, Ibaraki
1974 Honda Giken 3–0 Yanmar Club Kagoshima
1975 Yanmar Club 3–1
Furukawa Electric Chiba
Shizuoka
1976
Nissan Motors
1–0 Dainichi Nippon Densen
1977
Toshiba Horikawa-cho
2–0 NTT Kansai
1978 Saitama Teachers 2–0 Hyōgo Teachers
Nobeoka, Miyazaki
1979 Toho Titanium 2–0 Mazda Auto Hiroshima
1980
Dainichi Nippon Cable SC
2–0 Osaka Gas
1981
NTT Kanto
2–1 Hitachi Ibaraki
1982 Osaka Gas 3–1 Shizuoka Gas
1983
Matsushita
5–0 NTT Kansai
1984 Kyoto Police Dept. 2–1 Shimizu Club
1985 NTT Kansai (shared) 1–1 Yamanashi Club (shared)
1986
Furukawa Electric Chiba
4–3
Tokyo Gas
1987
Akita City Government
1–0 Furukawa Electric Chiba
1988
Kyoto Shiko Club
2–0 Mazda Auto Hiroshima
1989
Chuo Bohan
2–0 Furukawa Electric Chiba Kasuga, Fukuoka
1990
Chuo Bohan
3–1 Hitachi Ibaraki Kanazawa
1991
PJM Futures
2–0 Seino Unyu
Tsuruoka, Yamagata
1992
PJM Futures
2–0
Nippon Denso
Takamatsu, Kagawa
1993 Yokogawa Denki 3–2 YKK
1994 Hitachi Ibaraki 1–0
Hokuriku Electric Power Co.
1995
Prima Ham FC Tsuchiura
1–0
Albireo Niigata
1996 F.C. Kyoto BAMB 1993 1–1
PK 4–3
Prima Ham FC Tsuchiura
Takatsuki, Osaka
1997 Yokogawa Denki 1–0
AET
Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Yokohama
1998
NTT Kyushu
3–0 Norbritz Hokkaido
1999 Honda Giken 4–0 Sony Sendai FC Toyama
Takaoka, Toyama
2000 Sagawa Express Tokyo SC 3–2
Sagawa Printing SC
Shichigahama, Miyagi
Matsushima, Miyagi
2001
Sagawa Express Osaka S.C.
2–1
AET
Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. Nankoku, Kōchi (final)
Ochi, Kōchi
Haruno, Kōchi
Hidaka, Kōchi
Noichi, Kōchi
2002 Okinawa Kariyushi FC (shared) 0–0
AET
Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. (shared)
Shimizu, Shizuoka
Fujieda, Shizuoka
2003 Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. 3–0 Shizuoka F.C. Saitama
Kawagoe, Saitama
2004 Honda Luminoso Sayama F.C. (shared) 0–0 Okinawa Kariyushi FC (shared)
Kurashiki, Okayama
Oku, Okayama
2005
Rosso Kumamoto
(shared)
2–2
AET
New Nippon Steel Ōita (shared)
2006 V-Varen Nagasaki 1–0 Shizuoka F.C.
Yurihonjō, Akita
Nikaho, Akita
2007
F.C. Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu
3–1 Yazaki Valente
Beppu, Ōita
2008
A.C. Nagano Parceiro
2–1 NEC Tokin Niigata
2009 Matsumoto Yamaga 2–1 Zweigen Kanazawa Ichihara, Chiba
2010 Kamatamare Sanuki 2–0 Nagano Parceiro Yamaguchi
2011 Tokyo 23 FC 1–0 SC Sagamihara
Ōgaki, Gifu
2012
F.C. Korea
1–0
AET
Fukushima United
Chōfu, Tokyo
2013 Renofa Yamaguchi 1–1
PK 5–4
Grulla Morioka
Shimabara, Nagasaki
2014
FC Osaka 2–0 Club Dragons Kamitonda, Wakayama
2015
Arterivo Wakayama 1–1
PK 5–3
Hannan University
2016 Mitsubishi Mizushima FC 2–2
PK 5–3
Suzuka Unlimited FC
Saijō, Ehime(final)
2017
Suzuka Unlimited FC
2–1
Matsue City FC
Sakai, Fukui
2018
Matsue City FC
3–2 FC Kariya Kashima, Ibaraki (final)
Hitachinaka, Ibaraki
2019
FC Tiamo Hirakata 1–0 Ococias Kyoto AC
Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima
Shibushi, Kagoshima
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
2021
2022 Briobecca Urayasu 0–0
PK 5–3
BTOP Thank Kuriyama
Shibushi, Kagoshima
2023 FC Kariya 1–0
PK 4–2
Arterivo Wakayama Saga, Saga
Tosu, Saga

See also

References

External links