# 2024 All Japan University Football Championship

The 2024 All Japan University Football Championship (第73回 全日本大学サッカー選手権大会; All Japan 73rd University Football Championship) was the 73rd edition of the referred annually contested cup for universities across Japan, also known as Intercollegiate. For the first time, the tournament format was significantly changed. On 4 December 2023, it was announced beforehand that not only the number of teams would increase from 24 to 28 teams, but the tournament would also change from the previous single elimination tournament to a three-round, five-stage format.
Toyo eventually won the tournament, beating Niigata University of Health and Welfare in the final by 1–0. It was Toyo's first time in their history not only to win the tournament, but to reach the final as well. Niigata HW ended up being runners-up for the second time in the tournament's history, having lost both of the two finals they played.

## Format

A total of 28 teams participates in the tournament. Six teams advanced directly to the final round, two advanced directly to the strengthening round (recommended by JUFA Board of Directors), and the other 20 teams were assigned to the qualifying round. The 10 winning teams advanced to the final round, while the other 10 losing teams advanced to the strengthening round.
In the strengthening round, then, participates 12 teams, which includes the 10 qualifying round losing teams and the two teams recommended by the JUFA. The 12 teams are split in three groups of four teams in each. All three group winners, along with the best second-placed team among the groups (who has their knockout stage qualification described as a "wildcard"), qualifies for the knockout stage of the round (starts at the semi-finals). The winning team of the strengthening round will be given a direct regional slot as "strengthening round winner" in the following year's tournament.
In the final round, 16 teams participates, being them the 10 winning teams of the preliminary round and six automatically allocated teams. They are divided into four groups with four teams in each. Each group winners qualifies for the knockout stage of the round (start at the quarter-finals). The winning team of the final round will be declared as the official tournament champion.

## Participating clubs

The participating universities were announced on 19 November 2024. However, as the university did not submitted the application documents within the predetermined deadline, Fukuoka University had their rights to participate in the tournament removed. They would qualify as Kyushu's best-ranked representative, as champions of the Kyushu University League.
The National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya participates in the tournament for the most consecutive times out of every other qualified university, having qualified for 15 straight times. Tokai University qualified for the first time in 23 years, being between the qualified the team with the current longest interval between its last participation. Niigata Sangyo University is the only debutant of the tournament.
This year's tournament did not use a draw to determine the pairings, but rather used "ranking points", assigned to each regional university football federation, previously used to determine seed slots for the Prime Minister's Cup and the Intercollegiate.
* Teams highlighted in bold were automatically assigned for the final round
* Teams highlighted in italics were automatically assigned for the strengthening round, as recommended by the JUFA Board of Directors
| Region | RP | University | Apps | Located on | RRP |
| PM Cup winner | 1st | Hannan University | 22nd | Osaka | 96.000 |
| PM Cup runner-up | 1st | Niigata University of Health and Welfare | 10th | Niigata | 50.000 |
| PM 3rd place | 5th | Tokyo International University | 4th | Saitama | 38.200 |
| Hokkaido | 1st | Sapporo University | 45th | Sapporo | 2.000 |
| Tohoku | 1st | Hachinohe Gakuin University | 3rd | Aomori | 10.000 |
| Tohoku | 2nd | Fuji University | 3rd | Iwate | 5.000 |
| Kanto | 1st | Meiji University | 23rd | Tokyo | 191.000 |
| Kanto | 2nd | University of Tsukuba | 42nd | Ibaraki | 95.500 |
| Kanto | 3rd | Toyo University | 3rd | Tokyo | 63.667 |
| Kanto | 4th | Chuo University | 36th | Tokyo | 47.750 |
| Kanto | 6th | Nihon University | 5th | Tokyo | 31.833 |
| Kanto | 7th | Toin University of Yokohama | 3rd | Kanagawa | 27.286 |
| Kanto | 8th | Tokai University | 9th | Kanagawa | 23.875 |
| Hokushin'etsu | 2nd | Niigata University of Management | 5th | Niigata | 25.000 |
| Hokushin'etsu | 3rd | Niigata Sangyo University | 3rd | Niigata | 16.667 |
| Tokai | 1st | Tokoha University | 15th | Shizuoka | 23.000 |
| Tokai | 2nd | Chukyo University | 44th | Aichi | 11.500 |
| Tokai | 3rd | Tokai Gakuen University | 8th | Aichi | 7.667 |
| Kansai | 2nd | Kansai University | 27th | Osaka | 48.000 |
| Kansai | 3rd | Kyoto Sangyo University | 9th | Kyoto | 32.000 |
| Kansai | 4th | Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences | 23rd | Osaka | 24.000 |
| Kansai | 5th | Osaka Gakuin University | 4th | Osaka | 19.200 |
| Kansai | 6th | Kwansei Gakuin University | 26th | Hyogo | 16.000 |
| Chugoku | 1st | Hiroshima University | 15th | Hiroshima | 6.000 |
| Shikoku | 1st | Shikoku Gakuin University | 4th | Kagawa | 2.000 |
| Kyushu | 1st | Kyushu Sangyo University | 20th | Fukuoka | 16.000 |
| Kyushu | 2nd | National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya | 26th | Kagoshima | 8.000 |
| Kyushu | 3rd | Nippon Bunri University | 5th | Oita | 5.333 |

## Schedule
### Qualifying round

The higher-ranked teams by regional ranking points hosted each fixture, playing then, against lower-ranked teams. The sequence used to determine the match-ups started with the top-ranked home team facing the bottom-ranked away team, the second top-ranked home team facing the ninth-ranked away team, down to the lower-ranked home team facing the top-ranked away team.
To determine which group each team would qualify to, the total ranking points of the involved teams was utilized, with the groups having been set beforehand, although the identity of each team was only known after the round completion.
The winning teams of each match qualified to the Final Round, while the losing team advanced to the Strengthening Round.

### Strengthening round
#### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Chuo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 9 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Hachinohe Gakuin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Niigata Sangyo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Shikoku Gakuin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 0 | |

#### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tokai | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Hiroshima | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 3 | Nippon Bunri | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Fuji | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 1 | |

#### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kyoto Sangyo | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Tokyo International | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Niigata-keiei | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Sapporo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | |

#### Final
### Final round
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Osaka Gakuin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Meiji | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 3 | Kwansei Gakuin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Kanoya | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Niigata HW | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Toin Yokohama | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 3 | Hannan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Chukyo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 0 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tsukuba | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Osaka HSS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 3 | Kyushu Sangyo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Tokai Gakuen | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Toyo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Nihon | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | Advances to the knockout stage |
| 3 | Kansai | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Tokoha | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | |

#### Final

| GK | 1 | Hiroto Maeda |
| DF | 3 | Toi Ohashi |
| DF | 4 | Hayato Inamura |
| DF | 5 | Yusei Yamanouchi |
| DF | 18 | Ryo Arai |
| MF | 6 | Kakeru Watai |
| MF | 8 | Kota Nakayama (c) |
| MF | 10 | Yuta Arai | 90+3' |
| MF | 17 | Mahiro Yunomae | 63' |
| FW | 14 | Hikaru Takahashi |
| FW | 20 | Riki Murakami | 70' |
| Substitutes: ||
| MF | 7 | Rintaro Masuda | 63' |
| FW | 13 | Rintaro Umetsu | 70' |
| DF | 23 | Hinata Fukuhara | 90+3' |
| Manager: ||
| Takuya Inoue ||
| GK | 1 | Ryo Momoi |
| DF | 3 | Mamoru Naruse |
| DF | 4 | Ryusei Akimoto (c) |
| DF | 5 | Kyo Hosoi |
| DF | 23 | Ren Shiraishi |
| DF | 24 | Kakeru Otsuka |
| MF | 7 | Yuzumu Tazawa | 65' |
| MF | 10 | Temmu Matsumoto |
| MF | 13 | Kira Uenohira | 86' |
| FW | 8 | Ryu Takaashi | 65' |
| FW | 11 | Kosei Yoshida | 76' |
| Substitutes: ||
| MF | 26 | Hayato Mori | 65' |
| FW | 9 | Yusuke Aoki | 65' |
| FW | 15 | Kenta Urushidate | 76' |
| MF | 25 | Raiki Wakabayashi | 86' |
| Manager: ||
| Hirokazu Sakuma ||
| Assistant referees: Kanta Imai Kan Mishina Fourth official: Ikumi Nagai | Match rules 90 minutes. Extra-time of 15 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

Only taking in consideration the Final Round.
| Rank | Player | University | Goals |
| 1 | Keisuke Kasai | Toin Yokohama | 5 |
| 2 | Hayato Kanda | Osaka Gakuin | 3 |
| 2 | Rintaro Masuda | Toyo | 3 |
| 2 | Koshiro Sumi | Tsukuba | 3 |
| 2 | Kosei Yoshida | Niigata HW | 3 |

## Joining J.League clubs in 2025

    As of 12 February 2025.
| Pos. | Player | Moving from | Moving to | League |
| GK | Go Kambayashi | Meiji | Cerezo Osaka | J1 |
| GK | Ryoya Kimura | Nihon | Yokohama F. Marinos | J1 |
| GK | Hiroto Maeda | Toyo | Azul Claro Numazu | J3 |
| GK | Ryota Matsumoto | Tokyo International | Iwaki FC | J2 |
| GK | Tsubasa Nishizawa | Toin Yokohama | Júbilo Iwata | J2 |
| GK | Sera Yamaguchi | Chukyo | FC Gifu | J3 |
| DF | Ryusei Akimoto | Niigata HW | Thespa Gunma | J3 |
| DF | Toshiki Ando | Tsukuba | Sagan Tosu | J2 |
| DF | Koki Azumane | Tokyo International | Gainare Tottori | J3 |
| DF | Sota Fukazawa | Chukyo | Kataller Toyama | J2 |
| DF | Keita Fukui | Tsukuba | Omiya Ardija | J2 |
| DF | Sena Igarashi | Toin Yokohama | Iwaki FC | J2 |
| DF | Hayato Inamura | Toyo | Albirex Niigata | J1 |
| DF | Kenta Itakura | Tokyo International | Mito HollyHock | J2 |
| DF | Hiroshi Iwasaki | Toin Yokohama | Tochigi SC | J3 |
| DF | Kosuke Kawashima | Kansai | Kagoshima United | J3 |
| DF | Yuto Kimura | Kansai | Tochigi SC | J3 |
| DF | Koki Kumakura | Nihon | Yokohama FC | J1 |
| DF | Taisei Kuwata | Chukyo | Kashiwa Reysol | J1 |
| DF | Taichi Matsumoto | Toin Yokohama | Gainare Tottori | J3 |
| DF | Yuya Mineda | Osaka HSS | Renofa Yamaguchi | J2 |
| DF | Kodai Nagata | Meiji | Kyoto Sanga | J1 |
| DF | Ryo Nakamura | Sapporo | Fujieda MYFC | J2 |
| DF | Shoya Nose | Hannan | Thespa Gunma | J3 |
| DF | Shohei Ogushi | Kyoto Sangyo | FC Gifu | J3 |
| DF | Sora Okita | Tsukuba | Mito HollyHock | J2 |
| DF | Seiga Sumi | Meiji | Fagiano Okayama | J2 |
| DF | Kyota Tokiwa | Meiji | FC Tokyo | J1 |
| DF | Yosuke Uchida | Meiji | Tokyo Verdy | J1 |
| DF | Kota Yokokubo | Kyoto Sangyo | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | J3 |
| MF | Yuta Arai | Toyo | Tokyo Verdy | J1 |
| MF | Takanari Endo | Toin Yokohama | Yokohama FC | J1 |
| MF | Tatsuya Hakozaki | Osaka Gakuin | FC Gifu | J3 |
| MF | Yoko Iesaka | Chuo | Fagiano Okayama | J1 |
| MF | Akira Iihoshi | Kyushu Sangyo | Roasso Kumamoto | J2 |
| MF | Yuta Inami | Sapporo | Vanraure Hachinohe | J3 |
| MF | Keisuke Kasai | Toin Yokohama | Albirex Niigata | J1 |
| MF | Gen Kato | Tsukuba | Nagoya Grampus | J1 |
| MF | Toshiki Kawai | Sapporo | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | J3 |
| MF | Shuma Kido | Osaka HSS | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | J2 |
| MF | Kotatsu Kumakura | Nihon | Ventforet Kofu | J2 |
| MF | Issei Kumatoriya | Meiji | Tokyo Verdy | J1 |
| MF | Tenmu Matsumoto | Niigata HW | V-Varen Nagasaki | J2 |
| MF | Rinta Miyoshi | Hannan | Kochi United | J3 |
| MF | Kota Nakayama | Toyo | Omiya Ardija | J2 |
| MF | Shunta Morimura | Hannan | Mito HollyHock | J2 |
| MF | Ryota Saito | Hannan | V-Varen Nagasaki | J2 |
| MF | Yusei Shinomiya | Osaka Gakuin | Zweigen Kanazawa | J3 |
| MF | Koshiro Sumi | Tsukuba | Júbilo Iwata | J2 |
| MF | Kakeru Watai | Toyo | Azul Claro Numazu | J3 |
| MF | Rearu Watanabe | Kanoya | Roasso Kumamoto | J2 |
| MF | Keisuke Yoshida | Tokyo International | Nagano Parceiro | J2 |
| MF | Azuri Yutani | Chuo | Vegalta Sendai | J2 |
| FW | Nabel Yoshitaka Furusawa | Tokyo International | Kashiwa Reysol | J1 |
| FW | Kengo Furuyama | Osaka HSS | Cerezo Osaka | J1 |
| FW | Masato Handai | Tsukuba | Roasso Kumamoto | J2 |
| FW | Soki Hoshino | Chuo | Tochigi SC | J3 |
| FW | Hayato Kanda | Osaka Gakuin | Fujieda MYFC | J2 |
| FW | Haru Kano | Chuo | Nagano Parceiro | J3 |
| FW | Taisei Kato | Kanoya | Iwaki FC | J2 |
| FW | Kanji Kuwayama | Tokai | Machida Zelvia | J1 |
| FW | Sota Nakamura | Meiji | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | J1 |
| FW | Soki Tamura | Tsukuba | Shonan Bellmare | J1 |
| FW | Shuto Udo | Chukyo | Oita Trinita | J2 |
| FW | Keigo Watanabe | Toin Yokohama | Shonan Bellmare | J1 |