The tournament will include a Blue Lock Award and an original trophy.
The anime adaptation of the popular sports manga BLUE LOCK has become a sub-sponsor for the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 in Japan. The tournament will take place from 21 to 24 August, 2026, at the Chiba Fukuda Denshi Field, the Fukuda Denshi Square, and the JFA Yume Field Chiba Prefectural Football Center.
What is the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 tournament?
As per the official press release from BLUE LOCK, the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 is a 4-day long event which will take place from 21 to 24 August. It’s an 11-a-side football (soccer) tournament for U-12 players (those born on or after 1 January, 2014).
A total of 40 teams will be participating in the tournament. The preliminary league will feature 10 groups of four teams each. The winners of the playoffs will advance to the finals. The final tournament will feature 16 teams who will play against each other to determine the winner.
The event is being organised by U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 Executive Committee (Amazing Sports Lab Japan Co., Ltd.), Chiba Prefectural Football Association.
The tournament will feature a BLUE LOCK Award and a special original trophy for the winners. Moreover, all the participants will receive bibs and backpacks featuring the BLUE LOCK logo.
What is BLUE LOCK about?
The BLUE LOCK manga is written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura. It began serialising in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in August 2018. An anime adaptation was released in 2022, with the second season airing in 2024. The third season has also been announced. The manga is also receiving a live-action adaptation in August 2028.
KManga publishes the manga in English and describes the story as:
After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?