Blue Lock Named Sub-Sponsor of the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026

Hit Soccer Anime Will Present the BLUE LOCK Award at the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026 in Chiba, Japan This August

LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2026 – The "BLUE LOCK" Production Committee today announced that the TV anime BLUE LOCK has been named a sub-sponsor of the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026, supporting the young players who will carry the future of soccer. Based on the hit manga serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, which has surpassed 60 million copies in cumulative worldwide circulation and won the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category, BLUE LOCK joins the tournament in support of the next generation of players.

As part of the sponsorship, a BLUE LOCK Award and an original trophy will be presented as supplementary prizes at the tournament. Bibs and drawstring bags featuring the BLUE LOCK logo will also be distributed as novelty items to cheer on the participating teams and players.

◆ 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

For further news about the BLUE LOCK series or the U-12 Junior Soccer World Challenge 2026, please visit the official Blue Lock website, https://Blue Lock-anime-en.com/, or the official X account at @Blue_Lock_En.

Series Information

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!!

Staff:
● Muneyuki Kaneshiro (story), Yūsuke Nomura (art)
● Animation Production: Eight Bit
● Production: “BLUE LOCK” Production Committee

Cast:
● Yoichi Isagi: Kazuki Ura
● Michael Kaiser: Mamoru Miyano

For more information, visit:
Official website: https://Blue Lock-anime-en.com/
X: @Blue_Lock_En
Official English Social Accounts
Instagram: @blue_lock_en(https://www.instagram.com/blue_lock_en/)
X (EN): @Blue_Lock_En(https://x.com/Blue_Lock_En)
X (JP): @BLUELOCK_PR (https://x.com/BLUELOCK_PR)
TikTok: @blue_lock_en(https://www.TikTok.com/@blue_lock_en)

MANGA INFORMATION
Title: BLUE LOCK
Story: Muneyuki Kaneshiro Manga: Yūsuke Nomura, Serialized in Kodansha's "Weekly Shōnen Magazine"
Volumes: Volumes 1-38 are currently available in the U.S., with Volume 39 recently released on Friday, June 19, 2026

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yūsuke Nomura, Kodansha / "BLUE LOCK" Production Committee

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