Organisers

Japan Sports Association　/ Saitama Prefecture / Saitama Sports Association / Japan Football Association / Saitama City

Managing Organisations

Saitama Football Association

Schedule

Saturday 20 September to Tuesday 23 September 2014 (Four days)

Category	Sat. 20 September	Sun. 21 September	Mon. 22 September	Tue. 23 September
Men	First Round	First Round	First Round	Semi-finals & Final

Venue

Saitama Stadium 2002 (Main Ground, Ground No.2, No.3 & No.4) (Three natural turf fields & one artificial field)
500 Nakanoda, Midori-ku, Saitama, Saitama 336-0972

Akibanomori Sogo Park Football Field (One natural turf field)
1241 Nakakugi-oaza, Nishi-ku, Saitama, Saitama 331-0077

Number of Participating Players

Category	Head Coach	Players	Prefectures	Korean Players	Korean Team	Total
Men	1	20	15 teams	19	1 team	334

Tournament System

1) First Round: 16 teams, drawn into four groups of four, play the round-robin contest, and the top teams in each group, the total of four, will advance to the final round. The standings in the first round will be determined by points earned. A team will receive three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. If multiple teams are even on points, the following criteria will be applied to determine the standings:

1: Total points earned among the teams in question
2: Goal difference among the teams in question
3: Total goals scored among the teams in question
4: Goal difference based on all matches played in the group
5: Total goals scored in all matches played in their group
6: Drawing of lots

2) Final Round
The top four teams will play on the knockout system to determine champions, runners-up, third-placed teams. No third-place match will be held.

Number of Participating Teams

Participating teams will be the following 16 teams and determined in each region by Monday 14 July 2014:

1) One team each from the nine regional football associations: Nine teams
2) One team by the ratio allocation based on the number of registrants (teams and players) in the previous year: One team (Kanto Regional Association)
3) Host Prefecture: One team (Saitama Prefecture)
4) Japan-Korea Friendship: One team (Republic of Korea)
5) “Diffusion” Spot: Four teams (Kyushu, Tohoku, Hokushinetsu and Kyushu Regional Associations)
(One team each from the four regional football associations, except the host region, will be selected. Starting from Hokkaido, the spots are allocated in order. If a region gets to be the host and allocated the Diffusion Spot in the same year, the right for the Diffusion Spot will be carried over to the following year.)

2014 Spots

Hokkaido: 1, Tohoku: 2, Kanto: 2, Hokushinetsu: 2, Tokai: 2, Kansai: 1,
Chugoku: 2, Shikoku: 1, Kyushu: 2, Host (Saitama): 1, Korea: 1

Eligibility, Age Restriction & Prefectures (not applied to Korean teams except the age restriction)

A team shall consist of players who are residents in Japan, JFA registrants of the year 2014, and were born before 1 April 1979. The players also shall fulfil the following criteria.

1) A player can select his prefecture from the following.

i) Prefecture where he currently lives
ii) Prefecture where his workplace is located
iii) Prefecture where his JFA-registered team belongs

2) A person who participates in the 69th National Sports Festival Football Competition as a player is not allowed to participate in the Japan Sports Masters 2014 Football Competition as a player.

3) A player who participated in a prefectural qualifier is not allowed to play for another prefecture in the tournament.

4) A head coach, in principle, shall hold the Japan Football Association’s coaching certification (Class C, B, A or S)

5) Notes regarding Participation:

i) Players must ensure their health condition through a health check-up or any other means possible. In case a player finds himself ill-conditioned before or during competitions, he must inform officials to withdraw from the competition.
ii) In case of any accident, the organiser shall provide emergency medical treatment and transfer the injured player to medial institution as needed.
iii) The organiser shall purchase an accident insurance from the Japan Sports Association to compensate for accidental or sudden injury of participants during the event. It is recommended that each participant buy his own accident insurance.
iv) Players shall carry their insurance card during the event.

Awards

1) The champions, runners-up and two third-placed teams will be awarded a certificate.
2) Head coaches and players of the champions, runners-up and two third-placed teams will be awarded prizes.