Kirin Cup



The Kirin Cup is held annually, the host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. Originally the competition was contested with three teams but on a few occasions the trophy has been contested by just two nations or four sides in a round robin format.

The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as the Japan Cup, it’s most recent name changes have included Kirin Challenge Cup, Kirin Cup Soccer and Kirin Soccer Cup. Naturally Japan are the tournament’s most successful team. Scotland have competed in the competition on a number of occasions and have won the trophy once, this coming in 2006.

Year Guests Winners
1992 Wales Argentina Argentina
1993 Hungary United States Hungary
1994 France Australia France
1995 Scotland Ecuador Japan
1996 Mexico Yugoslavia Japan
1997 Croatia Turkey Japan
1998 Czech Republic Paraguay Czech Republic
1999 Belgium Peru Belgium/ Peru
2000 Slovakia Bolivia Japan/ Slovakia
2001 Yugoslavia Paraguay Japan
2002 Slovakia Honduras None
2003 Argentina Paraguay None
2004 Serbia Slovakia Japan
2005 Peru United Arab Emirates Peru/ United Arab Emirates
2006 Scotland Bulgaria Scotland
2007 Colombia Montenegro Japan
2008 Paraguay Côte d’Ivoire Japan
2009 Chile Belgium Japan
2011 Peru Czech Republic None
2013 Uruguay Uruguay
2014 Uruguay Jamaica Uruguay
2016 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark & Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina