The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the

Kirin Brewery Company is a Japanese integrated beverages company. It is a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings Company, Limited. Its major operating units include Kirin Brewery Company, Limited, Mercian Corporation and Kirin Beverages Company, Limited. Kirin is a member o ...

. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which national teams and clubs participated in), and was last held in its full form in 2022. From 1992 onwards, the format was changed to a round robin national team competition. The first nation to win the competition was

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Japan are the tournament's most successful team with eleven titles, followed by

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

with three titles. As of 2022, the current cup holders are

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Since the start of the international competitions in 1992, the tournament has hosted a variety of teams from South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Out of the South American members of CONMEBOL who have been invited (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru), Peru have been the most successful (three titles). Out of the European invitees, there have been seven different champions, the most successful being the Czech Republic with two titles, with Hungary, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Slovakia and Scotland winning one title each. Aside from Japan, the only other Asian country to have won the tournament are the United Arab Emirates (2005), who shared the title with Peru. Tunisia is the only African team to win the tournament. In addition to the annual Kirin Cup Soccer there are a few , friendlies also sponsored by the Kirin Corporation, played throughout the year in Japan. Japan took out the most recent 2021 Kirin Challenge Cup with 1–0 win over

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

on 11 June 2021.

Tournaments

All times are

Japan standard time , or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to ...

(

UTC+9 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time wit ...

)

1978 Japan Cup

Won by Borussia Mönchengladbach and Palmeiras.

1979 Japan Cup

Won by Tottenham Hotspur.

1980 Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer

Won by

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

1981 Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer

Won by Club Brugge KV.

1982 Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer

1983 Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer

1984 Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer

Group A

Group B

1985 Kirin Cup Soccer

1986 Kirin Cup Soccer

1987 Kirin Cup Soccer

1988 Kirin Cup Soccer

1991 Kirin Cup Soccer

1992 Kirin Cup Soccer

1993 Kirin Cup Soccer

1994 Kirin Cup Soccer

1995 Kirin Cup Soccer

1996 Kirin Cup Soccer

1997 Kirin Cup Soccer

1998 Kirin Cup Soccer

1999 Kirin Cup Soccer

2000 Kirin Cup Soccer

2001 Kirin Cup Soccer

2002 Kirin Cup Soccer

2003 Kirin Cup Soccer

2004 Kirin Cup Soccer

2005 Kirin Cup Soccer

2006 Kirin Cup Soccer

2007 Kirin Cup Soccer

2008 Kirin Cup Soccer

2009 Kirin Cup Soccer

2011 Kirin Cup Soccer

2013 Kirin Challenge Cup

2014 Kirin Challenge Cup

2015 Kirin Challenge Cup

2016 Kirin Cup Soccer

Kirin Cup returned in 2016, under a new name and format: Kirin Cup Soccer 2016.

2016 Kirin Challenge Cup

2017 Kirin Challenge Cup

2018 Kirin Challenge Cup

2019 Kirin Challenge Cup

2020 Kirin Challenge Cup

On 17 July,

Japan national under-23 football team The Japan national under-23 football team（Japanese: U-23サッカー日本代表）is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games an ...

was planning to hold the 2020 Kirin Challenge Cup at Noevir Stadium Kobe, but it was cancelled due to ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

2021 Kirin Challenge Cup

''The friendly against on 3 June 2021 was cancelled due to multiple Jamaican players being unable to board their flight to Japan on account of not meeting the Japanese government's pre-travel

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

testing requirements. The fixture was replaced with a match against the Japan under-24 team.'' ''This match between Japanese teams was a substitute match for the Kirin Challenge Cup, which was a charity match, not the Kirin Challenge Cup.''

2021 Kirin Challenge Cup (Under-24)

Japan, Honduras and Spain participated in the Kirin Challenge Cup (Under-24) 2021.

2022 Kirin Challenge Cup

* Source
All-Time Match Results
(1978–present) on kirin.co.jp

2022 Kirin Cup Soccer

2022 Kirin Cup Soccer was held between 10 and 14 June 2022, in a four-nation tournament format. ;Teams * * * *

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

Winners (Kirin Cup Soccer)

Clubs

* 1978: Borussia Mönchengladbach and

SE Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

(Shared) * 1979: Tottenham Hotspur * 1980:

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

* 1981: Club Brugge * 1982:

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

* 1983: Newcastle United * 1984:

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

* 1985: Santos * 1986:

* 1987:

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

* 1988:

CR Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

* 1989: Not Held * 1990: Not Held

National teams

* 1992: * 1993: * 1994: * 1995: * 1996: * 1997: * 1998: * 1999: and (Shared) * 2000: and (Shared) * 2001: * 2002: Not Finished * 2003: Not Finished * 2004: * 2005: and (Shared) * 2006: * 2007: * 2008: * 2009: * 2010: Not Held * 2011: , and (Shared) * 2012: Not Held * 2013: * 2014: * 2015: * 2016: * 2017: Not Held * 2018: Not Held * 2019: Not Held * 2020: Not Held * 2021: Not Held * 2022:

References

External links

*
Statistics
on RSSSF
Kirin Cup Soccer
on Soccerway {{International Football Japanese football friendly trophies International men's association football invitational tournaments International association football competitions hosted by Japan Japan national football team Recurring sporting events established in 1978 1978 establishments in Japan Annual sporting events