# Football at the 2024 Inter High School Sports Festival – Men's tournament

The men's football tournament at the 2024 Inter High School Sports Festival (令和6年度全国高等学校総合体育大会サッカー競技大会; Reiwa 6 Inter High School Sports Festival Football Tournament) marked the 68th edition of the Festival's football tournament. It will be held from 26 July to 3 August 2024 on Fukushima Prefecture, during the high school summer break in Japan. It was contested by 52 prefectural qualifications' winning schools, with two teams from Fukushima (host), Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kanagawa and Osaka, and one team from each of the other prefectures.
The defending champions were Meishu Gakuen Hitachi, from Ibaraki Prefecture, who won the 2022 final against Toko Gakuen by 7–6 on penalties, after a 2–2 draw after extra-time. On the previous edition, curiously, neither of the teams who played at the semi-finals were on 2023 at the U-18 Premier League, the top division for youth teams in Japan. Meishu Hitachi did not qualify for this year's tournament, in which Shohei eventually won past Kamimura Gakuen, earning them their first Inter-High title.
For the first time since the JFA U-18 Premier League was established, seven of the eight quarter-finalists were Premier League teams.
During the tournament, all matches had a duration of 70 minutes, split into two halves of 35 minutes each, with a draw in normal time leading the match directly into penalty shoot-outs. In the final, in case of a draw, the match would be led into an extra-time of 20 minutes, split into two halves of 10 minutes. Only after extra-time, should the draw persists, there would have penalty shoot-outs.
By online streaming, the entire tournament was streamed with enabled worldwide access on inhai.tv, a website within control of SportsBull.

## Calendar

| Round | Date | Matches | Clubs |
| Opening ceremony | 26 July | - | - |
| First round | 27 July | 20 | 40 → 20 |
| Second round | 28 July | 16 | 32 (20+12) → 16 |
| Round of 16 | 30 July | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-finals | 31 July | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | 2 August | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 3 August | 1 | 2 → 1 |

## Venues

The men's tournament was held on different areas within Fukushima Prefecture. It's the second time that Fukushima hosted the football tournament, with its first time being on 1978.
* Iwaki – Hawaiians Stadium Iwaki and Aloha Field
* Naraha – J-Village and Sumiko Energy Materials Naraha Pitch
* Hirono – J-Village Stadium and Hirono Football Field

## Participating schools

| Prefecture | High School | League (U-18) | L. | Apps. |
| Hokkaido | Asahikawa Jitsugyo High School | Hokkaido Prince League | 2 | 9th |
| Hokkaido | Sapporo Otani High School | Hokkaido Prince League | 2 | 7th |
| Aomori | Aomori Yamada High School | Premier League East | 1 | 27th |
| Iwate | Tono High School | Iwate Football League | 4 | 22nd |
| Miyagi | Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School | Tohoku Prince League | 2 | 21st |
| Akita | Nishime High School | Akita Football League | 4 | 9th |
| Yamagata | Yamagata Meisei High School | Yamagata Football League | 4 | 1st |
| Fukushima | Teikyo Asaka High School | Tohoku Prince League | 2 | 1st |
| Fukushima | Shoshi High School | Premier League East | 1 | 16th |
| Ibaraki | Kashima Gakuen High School | Kanto Prince League D1 | 2 | 10th |
| Tochigi | Yaita Chuo High School | Kanto Prince League D1 | 2 | 13th |
| Gunma | Kyoai Gakuen High School | Gunma Football League | 4 | 1st |
| Saitama | Shohei High School | Premier League East | 1 | 5th |
| Chiba | Ichiritsu Funabashi High School | Premier League East | 1 | 31st |
| Tokyo | Teikyo High School | Kanto Prince League D1 | 2 | 34th |
| Tokyo | Komazawa University High School | Tokyo T1 League | 4 | 2nd |
| Kanagawa | Tokai University Sagami High School | Kanagawa Football League | 4 | 4th |
| Kanagawa | Toko Gakuen High School | Kanto Prince League D2 | 3 | 16th |
| Yamanashi | Yamanashi Gakuin High School | Kanto Prince League D2 | 3 | 8th |
| Nagano | Tokyo City University Shiojiri High School | Nagano Football League | 4 | 6th |
| Niigata | Teikyo Nagaoka High School | Premier League West | 1 | 6th |
| Toyama | Toyama Daiichi High School | Hokushinetsu Prince League D1 | 2 | 31st |
| Ishikawa | Otori Gakuen High School | Hokushinetsu Prince League D1 | 2 | 1st |
| Fukui | Maruoka High School | Hokushinetsu Prince League D2 | 3 | 35th |
| Shizuoka | Shizuoka Gakuen High School | Premier League West | 1 | 9th |
| Aichi | Toho High School | Aichi Football League | 4 | 10th |
| Mie | Mie High School | Mie Football League | 4 | 7th |
| Gifu | Teikyo University Kani High School | Gifu Football League | 4 | 9th |
| Shiga | Ohmi High School | Kansai Prince League D1 | 2 | 4th |
| Kyoto | Higashiyama High School | Kansai Prince League D2 | 3 | 6th |
| Osaka | Kokoku High School | Kansai Prince League D1 | 2 | 1st |
| Osaka | Hannan University High School | Kansai Prince League D1 | 2 | 6th |
| Hyogo | Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School | Kansai Prince League D1 | 2 | 5th |
| Nara | Ikoma High School | Nara Football League | 4 | 2nd |
| Wakayama | Kindai University Wakayama High School | Wakayama Football League | 4 | 12th |
| Tottori | Yonago Kita High School | Premier League West | 1 | 19th |
| Shimane | Rissho University Shonan High School | Chugoku Prince League | 2 | 17th |
| Okayama | Sakuyo Gakuen High School | Okayama Football League | 4 | 24th |
| Hiroshima | Setouchi High School | Chugoku Prince League | 2 | 9th |
| Yamaguchi | Takagawa Gakuen High School | Chugoku Prince League | 2 | 26th |
| Kagawa | Jinsei Gakuen High School | Kagawa Football League | 4 | 3rd |
| Tokushima | Tokushima Ichiritsu High School | Shikoku Prince League | 2 | 22nd |
| Ehime | Saibi High School | Ehime Football League | 4 | 5th |
| Kochi | Kochi Ozu High School | Kochi Football League | 4 | 6th |
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka University Wakaba High School | Fukuoka Football League | 4 | 1st |
| Saga | Ryukoku High School | Saga Football League | 4 | 1st |
| Nagasaki | Kunimi High School | Kyushu Prince League D2 | 3 | 22nd |
| Kumamoto | Ohzu High School | Premier League West | 1 | 24th |
| Oita | Kasumigaura High School | Oita Football League | 4 | 3rd |
| Miyazaki | Nissho Gakuen High School | Kyushu Prince League D1 | 2 | 18th |
| Kagoshima | Kamimura Gakuen High School | Premier League West | 1 | 10th |
| Okinawa | Naha Nishi High School | Okinawa Football League | 4 | 18th |
* Note: In the sections below, team tiers (league levels) will be presented as follows:
** National: (1): Premier League
** Regional: (2): Prince League 1st Divs.; (3): Prince Leagues 2nd Divs.
** Prefectural: (4): Prefectural League 1st Divs.; (5): Prefectural League 2nd Divs.

## Schedule

The pairings and match-ups for the tournament were announced on 29 June 2024.

### Final

| GK | 17 | Yudai Eda |
| RB | 20 | Haruto Nakano |
| CB | 5 | Yosei Arakaki |
| CB | 4 | Chikato Suzuki |
| LB | 3 | Ryoga Kuroki |
| CM | 6 | Iryu Yoshida | 45' |
| CM | 9 | Kento Onari |
| AM | 12 | Futa Tokumura |
| AM | 10 | Kazuki Fukushima | 25' |
| ST | 15 | Towa Matsushita |
| ST | 14 | Gaku Nawata (c) |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Kotaro Ikeda |
| MF | 2 | Kazu Tomori |
| MF | 7 | Eita Hanashiro |
| MF | 8 | Yuta Sasaki | 39' |
| MF | 19 | Tomoya Imura |
| FW | 11 | Hajime Hidaka |
| FW | 13 | Reo Kinjo | 45' |
| FW | 16 | Kaito Sakihama | 25' 39' |
| FW | 18 | Yu Akizawa |
| Manager: ||
| Keiichiro Arimura ||
| GK | 1 | Tomotaro Sasaki |
| RB | 12 | Manato Ando |
| CB | 5 | Yota Nakamatsu |
| CB | 4 | Kodai Sakamoto |
| LB | 3 | Yuto Uehara |
| RM | 10 | Gota Yamaguchi |
| CM | 8 | Minato Otani (c) |
| CM | 14 | Kenshin Honda |
| LM | 11 | Ryuki Osa |
| CF | 7 | Yudai Miura | 70' |
| ST | 15 | Jeong Ji-sog |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 16 | Tsubasa Shirane |
| DF | 2 | Sho Suzuki | 70' |
| DF | 13 | Yuki Sato |
| MF | 6 | Hiroyuki Suzuki |
| MF | 17 | Yuta Kaida |
| MF | 20 | Yuwa Nezu |
| FW | 9 | Yujin Iwaya |
| FW | 18 | Rei Matsumoto |
| FW | 19 | Ryuto Harada |
| Manager: ||
| Keiji Tamada ||
* Match rules
* 80 minutes.
* Extra-time of 10 minutes for each half if scores still level.
* Persisting a draw after extra-time, a penalty shoot-out would be held.
* Nine named substitutes.
* Maximum of five substitutions.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | High School | Goals |
| 1 | Gaku Nawata | Kamimura Gakuen | 9 |
| 2 | Takumi Yasuno | Teikyo Nagaoka | 5 |
| 3 | Jeong Ji-sog | Shohei | 4 |
| 3 | Ryusei Kato | Teikyo Kani | 4 |
| 3 | Futa Tokumura | Kamimura Gakuen | 4 |

## Selected best players

The following 34 players featured in the Tournament's Best Players Squad:
| P. | Player | High School | G. |
| GK | Tomotaro Sasaki | Shohei | 3rd |
| GK | Shun Matsuda | Aomori Yamada | 2nd |
| DF | Yosei Arakaki | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| DF | Yuto Uehara | Shohei | 3rd |
| DF | Yota Nakamatsu | Shohei | 3rd |
| DF | Keishin Yamamoto | Teikyo Nagaoka | 3rd |
| DF | Tariqkani Hayato Okabe | Ichiritsu Funabashi | 3rd |
| DF | Genki Yamaguchi | Aomori Yamada | 3rd |
| DF | Taichi Sugino | Toko Gakuen | 3rd |
| DF | Shun Aoya | Toko Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Chikato Suzuki | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Towa Matsushita | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Kento Onari | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Minato Otani | Shohei | 3rd |
| MF | Kenshin Honda | Shohei | 3rd |
| MF | Ryuki Osa | Shohei | 2nd |
| MF | Hiroyuki Suzuki | Shohei | 3rd |
| P. | Player | High School | G. |
| MF | Ryo Shibano | Yonago Kita | 3rd |
| MF | Tetta Yuzuki | Yonago Kita | 2nd |
| MF | Taiga Kozai | Teikyo Nagaoka | 3rd |
| MF | Masashi Mizukawa | Teikyo Nagaoka | 3rd |
| MF | Hayato Horikawa | Shizuoka Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Ko Mineno | Ichiritsu Funabashi | 3rd |
| MF | Sota Minami | Nissho Gakuen | 3rd |
| MF | Shuta Sasa | Sapporo Otani | 3rd |
| FW | Futa Tokumura | Kamimura Gakuen | 2nd |
| FW | Gaku Nawata | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| FW | Reo Kinjo | Kamimura Gakuen | 3rd |
| FW | Jeong Ji-sog | Shohei | 3rd |
| FW | Hayato Suzuki | Yonago Kita | 3rd |
| FW | Takumi Yasuno | Teikyo Nagaoka | 3rd |
| FW | Yuki Kato | Shizuoka Gakuen | 3rd |
| FW | Ryusei Kato | Teikyo Kani | 3rd |