The 2024 Prince Takamado JFA U-18 Football Premier League (Japanese: 高円宮杯 JFA U-18サッカープレミアリーグ 2024, Hepburn: Takamado no Miya-hai JFA U-18 Sakkā Puremia Rīgu 2024) will be 35th season of the main competition for under-18 teams in Japan, the 14th after rebranding the competition to the current "Premier League" format, and the 3rd season with 24 clubs participating in the league.[1]
Changes from the previous season
The Premier League/Prince League play-offs gives an opportunity for teams to be promoted from the Prince Leagues (a conglomerate of regional leagues that forms the 2nd division of youth football in Japan). The 11th and 12th-placed teams of each division will be directly relegated.
As usual, the teams were allocated to each division by the JFA based on geographical positions. Yokohama FC U-18s was the only team to be relocated, switching from the West to the East on 2024, a year after relocating to the West.[2]
Updated to match(es) played on 7 April 2024. Source: JFA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
Promotion/relegation play-offs
Qualifies for the stage the 16 top-ranked teams of the nine Prince League divisions, with each region having its amount of qualifying slots predetermined by the JFA[a].[3] They will be divided into four blocks, with their respective block winners (or 2nd round winners) qualifying for the next season's Premier League.
Kanto's Prince League is the only one to qualify three teams from, whereas Tohoku, Tokai, Kansai, Chugoku and Kyushu qualifies two teams each, and just one each qualifies from Hokkaido and Shikoku. The play-offs will be played at 6 (1st round) and 8 December (2nd round).
^Reserve teams, however, can not participate in the play-offs. If their final league placement sits in the qualifying zone for the play-offs, their slot will be allocated to the next best-ranked team.
Play-offs win
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