The 2026–27 Emperor's Cup or the JFA 106th Japan Football Championship (Japanese: 天皇杯 JFA 第106回全日本サッカー選手権大会) is the 106th edition of the annually known contested cup. It features 88 teams representing the prefectural football associations, university football federation, J1 League and the J2 League. The winner will qualify for the 2027–28 AFC Champions League Two.
Calendar The schedule was announced on 10 April 2026.
Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round First round 19 August 2026 24 47 prefectural qualification cup winners 1 amateur designated team Second round 26 August 2026 32 64 (24+20+20) → 3220 2026–27 J1 League clubs 20 2026–27 J2 League clubs Third round 23 September 20267 October 2026 16 32 → 16 None Round of 16 9 December 2026 8 16 → 8 Quarter-finals 23 December 2026 4 8 → 4 Semi-finals 27 December 2026 2 4 → 2 Final 1 January 2027 1 2 → 1
Qualifying rounds
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.
Due to the effects of the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake, the Kumamoto Prefecture representative selection tournament was cancelled and Roasso Kumamoto were selected based on the tournament regulations.
Participating clubs J1 League All teams playing in the 2026–27 J1 League joined the competition in the second round.
ClubApps.PrefectureKashima Antlers41stIbarakiMito HollyHock30thIbarakiUrawa Red Diamonds60thSaitamaKashiwa Reysol58thChibaJEF United Chiba61stChibaFC Tokyo32ndTokyoTokyo Verdy51stTokyoMachida Zelvia14thTokyoKawasaki Frontale43rdKanagawaYokohama F. Marinos48thKanagawaClubApps.PrefectureShimizu S-Pulse34thShizuokaNagoya Grampus49thAichiKyoto Sanga43rdKyotoGamba Osaka46thOsakaCerezo Osaka57thOsakaVissel Kobe39thHyogoFagiano Okayama18thOkayamaSanfrecce Hiroshima74thHiroshimaAvispa Fukuoka34thFukuokaV-Varen Nagasaki19thNagasaki
J2 League All teams playing in the 2026–27 J2 League joined the competition in the second round.
ClubApps.PrefectureYokohama FC27thKanagawaShonan Bellmare54thKanagawaAlbirex Niigata34thNiigataHokkaido Consadole Sapporo45thHokkaidoVegalta Sendai32ndMiyagiBlaublitz Akita33rdAkitaMontedio Yamagata34thYamagataIwaki FC9thFukushimaRB Omiya Ardija31stSaitamaVentforet Kofu34thYamanashiClubApps.PrefectureKataller Toyama17thToyamaJúbilo Iwata49thShizuokaFujieda MYFC8thShizuokaTokushima Vortis38thTokushimaFC Imabari16thEhimeSagan Tosu34thSagaOita Trinita30thOitaTegevajaro Miyazaki5thMiyazakiTochigi City FC15thTochigiVanraure Hachinohe13thAomori
Amateur designated team University of Tsukuba, having won the 2025 All Japan University Football Championship, was selected by the Japan University Football Association to receive the berth.
TeamPrefectureLeagueLevelApps.University of TsukubaIbarakiKanto University League D1UL136th
Prefectural representatives All the 47 prefectural tournament winners (prefectural representatives) joined in the first round.
PrefectureTeamLeagueLevelApps.HokkaidoSapporo University Hokkaido Student Soccer League Div. 1 UL1 26thAomoriReinMeer Aomori JFL 4 5thIwateIwate Grulla Morioka JFL 4 19thMiyagiTohoku Gakuin University Tohoku University League Div. 1 UL1 8thAkitaAkita University Tohoku University League Div. 2 UL2 1stYamagataOyama SC Tohoku Soccer League Div. 1 5 5thFukushimaFukushima United J3 3 14thIbarakiRyutsu Keizai University Kanto University League Div. 2 UL2 12thTochigiTochigi SC J3 3 26thGunmaThespa Gunma J3 3 23rdSaitamaTokyo International University Kantō Soccer League Div. 2 6 4thChibaBriobecca Urayasu Ichikawa JFL 4 8thTokyoCriacao Shinjuku JFL 4 2ndKanagawaSenshu University Kanto University League Div. 2 UL2 3rdYamanashiYamanashi Gakuin University Kanto University League Div. 3 UL3 1stNaganoNagano Parceiro J3 3 13thNiigataJapan Soccer College Hokushinetsu Football League Div. 1 5 15thToyamaToyama Shinjo Hokushinetsu Football League Div. 1 5 9thIshikawaKanazawa Seiryo University Hokushin'etsu University League Div. 2 UL2 3rdFukuiFukui United Hokushinetsu Football League Div. 1 5 18thShizuokaAzul Claro Numazu JFL 4 4thAichiMaruyasu Okazaki JFL 4 6thMieAtletico Suzuka Tōkai Adult Soccer League Div. 1 5 9thGifuFC Gifu J3 3 20thShigaReilac Shiga J3 3 11thKyotoKyoto Sangyo University Kansai University League Div. 1 UL1 8thOsakaFC Osaka J3 3 8thHyogo Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 5 2ndNaraNara Club J3 3 17thWakayamaArterivo Wakayama Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 5 18thTottoriGainare Tottori J3 3 28thShimaneBelugarosso Iwami Chūgoku Soccer League 5 5thOkayamaInternational Pacific University FC Chūgoku University League Div. 1 UL1 4thHiroshimaSRC Hiroshima Chūgoku Soccer League 5 8thYamaguchiRenofa Yamaguchi J3 3 22ndKagawaKamatamare Sanuki J3 3 26thTokushimaFC Tokushima Shikoku Soccer League 5 11thEhimeEhime FC J3 3 25thKochiKochi United J3 3 11thFukuokaGiravanz Kitakyushu J3 3 17thSaga Kyushu Soccer League 5 5thNagasaki Nagasaki International University Kyushu University League Div. 2 UL2 1stKumamotoRoasso Kumamoto J3 3 26thOitaVerspah Oita JFL 4 15thMiyazakiVeroskronos Tsuno Kyushu Soccer League 5 3rdKagoshimaKagoshima United J3 3 12thOkinawaOkinawa SV JFL 4 7th
Schedule First 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) Regional 2nd Divs. (6) 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) University Leagues (UL) Total
References
External links Emperor's Cup 2026, JFA.jp