The 2024 J.League Cup, known as the 2024 J.League YBC Levain Cup (Japanese: 2024 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ) for sponsorship reasons, is the 32nd edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association footballcup competition. This season, all 60 J.League clubs will be participating in an updated tournament format, aimed to grow the J2 and J3 Leagues and improve the J.League as a whole.[1]
Format
In a change from previous seasons, all clubs from the season's J1, J2, and J3 Leagues will participate, thus including the clubs from all J.League divisions for the first time since 2001.[2] 29 teams will be participating in the tournament for the first time in their history.
The tournament is divided into three sections each with a different format: the first round, the play-off round and the prime round.
First round
57 clubs will take part in the first round, split into 10 groups. The three clubs participating in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League knockout stage (Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos and Ventforet Kofu) will be introduced to the tournament at the prime round. Each group will participate in a single-elimination tournament, leaving 10 clubs to advance to the play-off round. The draw for the first round is based on rankings from the 2023 season.[3]
As a general rule, the lower league club will play their fixture at home. In the case of clubs being in the same league, the club with the lower ranking from the 2023 season will be the home team. In the case of a tie, games will go to extra-time and penalties to determine a winner if necessary.
The first round groups are as follows:
Teams participating in the first round of the 2024 J.League Cup
Teams in italic are participating in their first J.League Cup competition.
Playoff round
The 10 clubs that qualified from the first round will then be drawn into five, two-legged fixtures and will play each other home and away. The remaining five clubs will advance to the prime round.
Prime round
A single-elimination tournament will be held between eight clubs: the five clubs that qualified from the playoff round plus the AFC Champions League clubs — Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Ventforet Kofu. Each round will be a two-legged home and away fixture, up until the final which will be a one-game tie played at a neutral venue. The draw for the brackets will be held on July 2.
Schedule
The schedule was announced on 19 December 2023.[4] All the matches take place in 2024.[5]