The Japanese Super Cup (Japanese: スーパーカップ, Hepburn: Sūpā Kappu), a.k.a was the Fujifilm Super Cup (Japanese: 富士フイルム スーパーカップ, Hepburn: Fuji Fuirumu Sūpā Kappu)[1] for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J.League and the Japan Football Association. This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the reigning J1 League champions and the Emperor's Cup winners. Fuji Xerox has sponsored the competition since its inception in 1994 (rebranded as Fujifilm Business Innovation from April 2021). The match is usually played annually every February.
Participating clubs
Under the normal circumstances, the following clubs participate:
* Since the 1998 Emperor's Cup winners Yokohama Flügels had been disbanded before the match, Shimizu S-Pulse as the runners-up qualified for the competition. † The same club won both the league and the cup; the cup's runners-up qualified for the competition. ‡ The same club won both the league and the cup; the league's runners-up qualified for the competition.
Super Cup in JSL era
The Japanese Super Cup was also played during the Japan Soccer League (JSL) era from 1977 to 1984. However, it was never established as an independent competition as the second competition in 1978 was already served as a mere opening league match of the JSL. This previous Super Cup competition was taken less seriously than the current competition and made dormant after 8 years. All matches were held in the National Stadium in Tokyo except for the 1978 and 1980 matches, both held in Osaka.
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