The TV anime BLUE LOCK, based on the original manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura, has become a sub-sponsor of the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 to support the next generation of soccer players.
The U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 is an 11-a-side soccer tournament for players born on or after January 1, 2014. The event will take place from August 21 to 24, 2026, at Chiba Fukuda Denshi Field, Fukuda Denshi Square, and JFA Yume Field Chiba Prefectural Football Center.
During the tournament, the Blue Lock Award and a special original trophy will be given as additional prizes. Participating teams and players will also receive support items, including bibs and knapsacks featuring the BLUE LOCK anime logo.
◆ Tournament Information:
Tournament: U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026
Dates: Friday, August 21 – Monday, August 24, 2026 (4 days)
Venues: Fukuda Denshi Field / Fukuda Denshi Square / JFA Yume Field (Chiba, Japan)
Format: 11-a-side soccer tournament for U-12 players (born on or after January 1, 2014)
*Excluding the World Challenge U-13 Girls’ Select Team
[Group Stage] Round-robin group stage of 4 teams per group across 10 groups; 3 matches per team
[Playoffs] Single 20-minute matches contested by the second-placed team of each group and the top two third-placed teams; the playoff winners advance to the final tournament
[Final Tournament] A knockout tournament of 16 teams in total: the 10 group winners plus the 6 playoff winners
Number of Participating Teams: 40 teams
Organized by: U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 Executive Committee (Amazing Sports Lab Japan Inc.) and the Chiba Prefectural Football Association (Public Interest Incorporated Association)
Managed by: U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 Executive Committee (Amazing Sports Lab Japan Inc.)
In Cooperation with: JEF United Ichihara Chiba
The BLUE LOCK TV anime first premiered in October 2022. The first movie, “BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-“, was released in April 2024, followed by the second TV anime season, “BLUE LOCK VS. U-20 JAPAN”, which aired in October 2024.
A third season, “BLUE LOCK NEO EGOIST LEAGUE“ is currently in production.
Teaser Visual:
CAST:
Kazuki Ura as Yoichi Isagi
Mamoru Miyano as Michael Kaiser
STAFF:
Original Work: Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Yusuke Nomura ‘BLUE LOCK’ (Serialized in Kodansha’s ‘Weekly Shonen Magazine’)
Animation Production: eight-bit
Production: “BLUE LOCK” Production Committee
At the same time, BLUE LOCK continues its expansion with a live-action film adaptation set to premiere in theaters across Japan on August 7, 2026. Produced by CREDEUS the studio behind Kingdom, Golden Kamuy, and the blockbuster Kokuhou the film promises to bring the anime’s intense, ego-driven soccer battles to life on the big screen.
Crunchyroll is streaming both the ongoing seasons and BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-.
About BLUE LOCK:
The “Blue Lock” project enters Phase Two! The egoists, possessed by the fire to fight and prove themselves, return once more to a battlefield where their lives are on the line!! To forge the world’s number one striker who will lead Japan to a World Cup victory, the Japan Football Union launched the “Blue Lock” project. 300 high school forwards were invited to take part. Under the extreme condition that elimination meant losing all future eligibility for Japan’s national team, these chosen diamonds-in-the-rough awakened their egos as strikers, one after another.
Through the world’s most insane soccer survival, a maelstrom of ego, they pushed forward, sometimes by their own evolution, sometimes through life-or-death duels with rivals, until only 35 remained. They claimed victory against the U-20 Japan national team, sweeping the world into a frenzy and advancing to a new stage!
Now, against the geniuses of Europe’s top five leagues, consisting of the most popular and acclaimed teams in the world, the battle to prove their own originality and to become the world’s number one striker begins. The highest-level New Generation World Survival in football history, “NEO EGOIST LEAGUE,” starts now!!
Source: Press Release
©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, Kodansha / “Blue Lock” Production Committee
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