J. League

J. League

Countries	Japan
Confederation	AFC
Founded	1992
Divisions	2
Number of teams	J1: 18 clubs J2: 15 clubs
Relegation to	Japan Football League
Levels on pyramid	Level I & II
Domestic cup(s)	Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Emperor's Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League
Current champions	Kashima Antlers (2007)
Most successful club	Kashima Antlers
Website	http://www.j-league.or.jp/eng/
J. League 2008

Always, before making major changes, please propose the idea in the discussion page first. Thanks

The Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ, Nippon Puro Sakkā Rīgu^?), or J. League (Jリーグ, J Rīgu^?), is the top professional football (soccer) league in Japan and one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Currently, J. League Division 1 and 2 are the first and second levels of the Japanese football league system.

The League history

Phases of the League

Before the Pro League Era (-1992)

For history of Japanese club football before the inception of the professional league in 1993, see Japan Soccer League.

Before the inception of the J. League, the highest level of club football was the Japan Soccer League (JSL), and it consisted of amateur clubs. Fans were few, the grounds were not of the highest quality, and the Japanese national team was not on a par with the Asian powerhouses. To raise the level of play domestically, to attempt to garner more fans, and to strengthen the national team, the Japan Football Association (JFA) decided to form a professional league.

The professional football league, J. League was formed in 1992, with eight clubs drawn from the JSL First Division, one from the Second Division, and the newly formed Shimizu S-Pulse. At the same time, JSL changed its name and became the Japan Football League (former), a semi-professional league. Although the J. League did not officially launch until 1993, the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup competition was held between the ten clubs in 1992 to prepare for the inaugural season.

The inaugural season, and the J. League boom (1993-1995)

J.League officially kicked-off its first season with ten clubs on May 15, 1993 as Verdy Kawasaki (current, Tokyo Verdy) played host to Yokohama Marinos (current, Yokohama F. Marinos) at the Kasumigaoka National Stadium. It made a huge impact on the Japanese sports culture as professional baseball, golf, and sumo were the only well-supported and widely-watched sports in the country. Many famous and post-peak foreign players were brought into the clubs and the stadiums were filling in. On every matchday, at least one game was broadcast live on national TV, and it seemed the league was a huge success. In the second season (1994), the league recorded its highest average attendance of 19,598, which is yet to be broken.

Because of such popularity, clubs in Japan Football League (former) that failed to join "the original ten" in the inaugural season tried to join the league. Clubs like Jubilo Iwata and Bellmare Hiratsuka (current, Shonan Bellmare) joined the league in 1994, six more clubs followed in next four years.

An era after the J.League boom (1996-1999)

Despite the success in the first three years, many experts anticipate that "the boom" would soon dissipate, and the league would be in terrible shape financially as the clubs continued paying high wages to the foreign players. In fact, the phenomenon began in early 1996 as the league attendance declined rapidly. In 1997 the average attendance was 10,131, compared to more than 19,000 in 1994. Many claimed that the sudden decline in popularity was also due to rapid expansions; A total of eight clubs were added in the four year span from 1994 to 1998. With high paychecks and low attendance, money was bleeding from the clubs, and the league sponsors were becoming very worried. It seemed that there was no way out from the losses.

Although J. League clubs were no longer corporate-owned, they still depended heavily on support from sponsors, who were thus de facto parent companies. When the Japanese economy took a turn for the worse, clubs suffered as their sponsors were affected. In 1998, Sato Kogyo, a general contractor and primary co-sponsor of Yokohama Flügels, announced that it was experiencing financial difficulties, and it would be pulling its support from the club. The other primary co-sponsor, All Nippon Airways, who could not support the club on its own, met with Nissan Motors, the primary sponsor of Yokohama Marinos, the Flügels' cross-town rival, and decided to merge their clubs. Under the agreement, the Flügels were dissolved, and the Marinos were renamed Yokohama F. Marinos, the "F." representing the Flügels. To many, this incident signified and symbolized as "the fall of the league" as many other clubs across the league were having similar financial difficulties. Another great example is Fujita canceling a major sponsorship deal with Bellmare Hiratsuka (currently, Shonan Bellmare), which ultimately lead to the relegation of the club in 2000. Without a change, it would be just a matter of time before the league collapsed.

Change of the League's infrastructure (1999-2005)

The league's management finally realized that they were heading in the wrong direction. In order to solve the problem, the management came out with two solutions.

First, they announced the J.League Hundred Year Vision, in which they aim to make 100 professional football clubs in the nation of Japan by 2092, the hundredth season. The league also encouraged the clubs to promote football or non-football related sports and health activities, to acquire local sponsorships, and to build good relationship with their hometowns at the grass-root level. The league believed that this will allow the clubs to bond with their respective cities and towns and get support from local government, companies, and citizens. In other words, clubs will be able to rely on the locals, rather than major national sponsors.

Secondly, the infrastructure of the league was heavily changed in 1999. The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL (former) and one club from J.League to create a two division system. The topflight became the J.League Division 1 (J1) with 16 clubs while J.League Division 2 (J2) was launched with ten clubs in 1999. The second-tier Japan Football League (former), now became third-tier Japan Football League.

The criteria for becoming a J2 club was not as strict as the top division. This allowed smaller cities and towns to maintain a club successfully without investing as much as clubs in J1. In fact, clubs like Mito HollyHock only draw an average of 3,000 fans a game and receive minimal sponsorship, yet still field fairly competitive teams in J2.

Clubs in Division 2 took time to build their teams for J1 promotion as they also tried to gradually improve the youth systems, the home stadium, the financial status, and the relationship with their hometown. Clubs such as Oita Trinita, Albirex Niigata, and Kawasaki Frontale accomplished the scheme successfully. All these clubs originally started as J2 in 1999 and were comparatively small, but they eventually earned J1 promotion in 2002, 2003, and 2004 respectively. Now they are all well established in the topflight.

The league also began to follow European game formats as time went on. Originally, due to the cultural unease of neither side coming out as the winner of a game, extra time, golden goal rules, and penalty shoot-outs were employed for regular league matches. Penalty shoot-outs were abolished in the beginning of the 1999 season, and extra time was abolished in 2002 for J2 and 2003 for J1.

Also, until 2004 (with the exception of 1996 season), the J1 season was divided into two. At the end of each full season, the champion from each half played a two-legged series to determine the overall season winner and runners-up. Jubilo Iwata in 2002, and Yokohama F. Marinos in 2003, won both "halves" of the respective seasons, thus eliminating the need for the playoff series. This was the part of the reason for the league to abolish the split-season system beginning in 2005.

AFC Champions League & Expansion of J2 (2005-present)

Beginning 2005 season, J. League Division 1 consisted 18 clubs (increased from 16 in 2004) and season format became similar to the European club football. The number of relegated clubs also increased to 2.5 from 2, with the third-from-bottom club going into promotion/relegation playoffs with the third-placed J2 club. Since then, other than minor adjustments, the top flight has stayed consistent.

Japanese football clubs have been participating in the AFC Champions League for many years dating back to 1980s, but for the most part, the Japanese clubs took the Asian competition as an extra burden that took their attention away from the domestic competition. A good example is the 2005 season, where the participants, Yokohama and Iwata went through 13 consecutive Asian and domestic matches in a span of 44 days averaging 1 game per 3.66 days. The league cared less to ease the pressure of the clubs, where as Chinese and Korean league moved their domestic games to help the respective clubs' schedule. The fixture congestion was finally addressed in starting 2006 season.

However in the recent years, with inclusion of A-League in Eastern Asia, introduction of FIFA Club World Cup, and increment in marketability in the Asian continent, both the league and the clubs increased the attention of the Asian competition. Believe it or not, Kawasaki Frontale is one of the supported J. League club in Honk Kong, due to their participation of the Asian Champion League in the 2007 season. The continuous effort led to the success of Urawa Red Diamonds in 2007. Even in the 2008 season, Japanese clubs continues to dominate in the competition. With the excellence in league management and competitiveness, the J. League received a total of 4 slots starting 2009 season. The league took this as an opportunity to sell TV broadcasting rights to foreign countries, especially in Asia. To acquire more Asian interest, the J. League also plans to add a 4th foreign player slot for each team, although these will be allocated to just players from the AFC countries.

Meanwhile, J. League Division 2 started to expand to fulfill the demands of lower-level clubs becoming professional. At the end of 2004 two clubs were promoted from the Japan Football League and in the following year Ehime F.C. followed. At the beginning of the 2006 season, the league took a survey to figure out the number of non-league clubs interested in joining the professional league. As it turned out, about 40-60 clubs in Japan plan to be professional in the next 30 years. From the league's perspective, proposal of J.League Hundred Year Vision back in late 90s has been moving in the positive direction.

The league management formed a committee and looked at two practical options; either expand the second division or form a third division. In other words, the league had a choice between letting the non-league clubs catch up to the J2 standard or form a third division with non-league clubs where these clubs can prepare for J2. After studying several case studies, the committee made a professional assessment that it is the best interest of the league to expand the J2 to 22 clubs before forming a third division. Several reasonings led the committee to such decision:

• Japan Football League, the third-tier in Japanese football league system was already serving the purpose of preparing the non-league clubs.
• At the time, most non-league club interested becoming professional were in the regional leagues or Prefectural leagues, two to four levels below J2.
• Twenty-two clubs is the perfect number as it allows enough number of home games for annual revenue, while keeping the competition a fair double-round robin format.
• Most European leagues have similar football pyramids where there is more clubs in 2nd- and 3rd-tier leagues than the top flight.

Committee also reintroduced Associate Membership System to identify and assist such non-league clubs. The membership is exclusively given to non-league clubs that have intention to joining the J.League and also fulfill most of the criteria for J2 promotion. Several clubs in Japan Football League and Regional Leagues have applied and received the membership. Associate members finishing top 4 of JFL will be promoted to J2, although a few corporate and university holdouts may prevent a smooth transition (Japan, like Spain and Germany, allows reserve teams to compete in the main football league system, though not in the J. League itself). As of 2008, two clubs joined J2 through this system.

Future Plans (2009 and beyond)

Currently the league has 18 clubs in Division 1 and 15 clubs in Division 2. As mentioned in the last section, eventually the league plans to have 22 clubs. Once the J2 has 18 clubs, J. League Promotion/Relegation Series will be eliminated and the the 3rd place club will be allowed to move up to J1 by default. Once J2 has 22 clubs, regular promotion and relegation between J2 and JFL will start. Then the league plan to stabilize the financial status and football competitiveness of JFL afterward.

Timetable

The League structure

Main article: Japanese football league system

Since the inception of the second division in 1999, promotion and relegation follow a pattern similar to European leagues, where the two bottom clubs of J1 and the top two clubs of J2 are guaranteed to move. Also starting 2004, a third place J2 club can also move up if they were able to defeat the sixteenth-place J1 club in the Promotion/Relegation Series. However, promotion or right to play the pro/rele series relies on the J2 clubs meeting the requirements for J1 franchise status set by the league. This has generally not been a hindrance, in fact, no club is yet to be denied promotion due to not meeting the J1 criteria.

Japan Football League (JFL) is currently the third level in the football system and being a semi-professional league, the J. League allows only certain clubs from JFL to be promoted. In 2000, 2001, and 2006 the JFL league champion was promoted to J2; in 2005 two teams were promoted. From 2007, the league requires J. League Associate Membership and at least 4th-place finish in JFL to be promoted to J2. There is no relegation from J2 to JFL. Since 1999, seven club from JFL were promoted J2, two of which were expanded into J1. Currently, J1 has 18 clubs and J2 has 15 clubs. The division 2 will have 18-22 clubs in the near future.

J.League Division 1 (J1)

Until 2004 season, the J1 season was divided into two halves, with an annual championship series involving the champions from each halves (with exception of the 1996 season). However, from 2005 season, the split format is dropped. Now 18 clubs plays in double round robin, home and away.

The 2008 season

Main article: J. League 2008

Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:

• Goal differential
• Goals scored
• Head-to-head results
• Disciplinary points

A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series.

Clubs in J1 (2008)

Championship history

Main article: Japanese football champions

Best performance teams

Relegation history

The 1998 Season

When the league introduced the two-division system in 1999, they also reduced number of Division 1 club from 18 to 16. At the end of 1998 season, they hosted the J.League Promotion Tournament to determine two relegating clubs from J.League. Originally, tournament was supposed to have six participants; Kawasaki Frontale from Japan Football League (former) and five bottom clubs from very-complex combined ranking of 1997 and 1998 J.League seasons. However, Yokohama Flügels merged with Yokohama Marinos reducing the number J.League club to 17. Thus, the league took bottom four clubs from J.League and Kawasaki Frontale and decided that three survivor will join J.League Division 1 and two non-survivor will relegate/join the Division 2. As a results, Kawasaki Frontale failed to win J1 promotion and Consadole Sapporo became the first club in J.League history to relegate to J2. These two clubs and other eight clubs from JFL (former) were brought up to create the division 2.

Split-Season Era (1999-2004)

During the 1999 to 2003 season, two bottom clubs clubs were relegated to Division 2. To accommodate for split-season format, combined overall standings were used to determine the relegating clubs. This created a confusing situation, where for championship race stage standing were used, while overall standing was used for relegation survival.

At end of the 2004 season, Division 1 again expanded from 16 clubs to 18 clubs. No clubs were relegated; however, last-placed (16th) club had to play Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd placed club from J2. Again, to determined 16th placed club, overall standing was used instead of stage standing.

Single Season Era (2005-present)

From 2005 season, number of relegating club increased 2.5. To accommodate for two incoming Division 2 clubs, two bottom clubs were relegated; the only difference is that now 18 clubs is competing instead of 16 clubs. Also, 16th-placed club now has to play and win Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd-placed club from J2 to ensure their spot in J1 next year.

Summary

* Bold designates relegated clubs; † Won the Pro/Rele Series; ‡ Lost the Pro/Rele Series and relegated

J. League Division 2 (J2)

Since the inception in 1999, format of J2 has been very consistent. The clubs play a quadruple round-robin (two home and away) format in a single season. Until 2001, the clubs played extra time if they were tied after regulation and the clubs received 3pts for a regulation win, 2pts for an extra time win, 1pt for a tie, and 0pts for loss (there were no penalties). However, since 2002, the league abolished extra time and set the points system to the normal 3-1-0 system.

As the number of clubs in J2 grows larger, to avoid fixture congestion it is expected that league format will be reduced to a triple round-robin format for cases of 15 to 18 clubs and then to double round-robin format for 19 to 22 clubs.

The 2008 season

Fifteen clubs will play in triple round-robin format, a total of 42 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:

• Goal differential
• Goals scored
• Head-to-head results
• Disciplinary points

A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The top two clubs will be promoted to J1, while the 3rd placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation series.

Clubs in J2 (2008)

Championship/Promotion history

Main article: List of winners of J2 and predecessors

The top two clubs receive promotion. From the 2004 season, the 3rd placed club plays Promotion/Relegation Series against 16th-placed club in J1.

* Bold type designates the promoted club; † Lost the Promotion/Relegation Series; ‡ Won the Promotion/Relegation Series and promoted

J.League Associate Membership

Main article: J. League Associate Membership

J. League Associate Membership is a status given to the non-league football clubs in Japan that has intention to join J. League, in the near future. Clubs from the Japan Football League, Regional Divisions, and Prefectual Divisions, may apply for the membership. The applications are reviewed and inspected by a committee formed by the league. The Associate Membership is now required for J2 promotion and the system allows the J.League to identify the clubs that are intending to join the league and provide necessary resources.

Current Members

• Gainare Tottori
• Tochigi S.C. - promoted to J2 in 2009
• Fagiano Okayama F.C. - promoted to J2 in 2009
• Kataller Toyama - promoted to J2 in 2009
• New Wave Kitakyushu (promotion possibility suspended pending stadium and management progress)

Other Tournaments

Domestic Tournaments

• Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (1992-present, excluding 1995)
• Emperor's Cup (1993-present)
• XEROX Super Cup (1994-present)
• JOMO All-Stars Soccer (1993-present)
• Promotion/Relegation Series (2004-present)

International Tournaments

• AFC Champions League
• A3 Champions Cup
• Pan-Pacific Championship
• Suruga Bank Championship

Defunct Tournament

• Suntory Championship (1993-2004, excluding 1996)
• Sanwa Bank Cup (1994-1997)

J. League awards

• Most Valuable Player Award
• Top Scorer Award
• The Best Eleven
• Rookie of the Year Award
• Manager of the Year Award

Notable players & managers

Players

• Notable J-League Players from Japan
• Notable J-League Players from AFC
• Notable J-League Players from CAF
• Notable J-League Players from CONCACAF
• Notable J-League Players from CONMEBOL
• Notable J-League Players from OFC
• Notable J-League Players from UEFA

Managers

• J. League managers

See also

• J. League records
• J. League contracts
• Winning Eleven (Official video game)
• List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues

External links

• (Japanese) Official Site
• (English) Official Site
• Blog fan J-League in spanish

Football in Japan Japan Football Association     League Comp. J. League Division 1 J. League Division 2 Japan Football League League system Women's League National Team Women/Futsal League Champions (1st Tier/2nd Tier) List of clubs List of venues Cup Competitions Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Japanese Super Cup Shakaijin Cup Women's Cup
J. League   Domestic League, League Cup, & Emperor's Cup Seasons Division 1 & 2 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 League Cup 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 Emperor's Cup 1991 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008   2009 J. League Clubs & Associate Members Division 1 (18 clubs) Montedio Yamagata · Kashima Antlers · Omiya Ardija · Urawa Red Diamonds · JEF United Ichihara Chiba · Kashiwa Reysol · F.C. Tokyo · Kawasaki Frontale · Yokohama F. Marinos · Albirex Niigata · Shimizu S-Pulse · Júbilo Iwata · Nagoya Grampus · Kyoto Sanga F.C. · Gamba Osaka · Vissel Kobe · Sanfrecce Hiroshima · Oita Trinita Division 2 (18 clubs) Consadole Sapporo · Vegalta Sendai · Mito HollyHock · Tochigi S.C. · Thespa Kusatsu · Tokyo Verdy · Yokohama F.C. · Shonan Bellmare · Ventforet Kofu · Kataller Toyama · F.C. Gifu · Cerezo Osaka · Fagiano Okayama F.C. · Tokushima Vortis · Ehime F.C. · Avispa Fukuoka · Sagan Tosu · Roasso Kumamoto Defunct Club(s) Yokohama Flügels Associate Members Gainare Tottori · New Wave Kitakyushu   Competitions involving Japanese clubs Domestic J. League Division 1 · J. League Division 2 · Yamazaki Nabisco Cup · Emperor's Cup · Xerox Super Cup · JOMO All-Star Soccer Defunct Suntory Championship · Promotion/Relegation Series · Sanwa Bank Cup · A3 Champions Cup (possibly) International AFC Champions League · Pan-Pacific Championship · Suruga Bank Championship   J. League Awards Most Valuable Player · Top Scorer · Rookie of the Year · Best Eleven · Manager of the Year   See Also Japanese football league system · J. League Associate Membership · J. League records · J. League contracts · Japanese football champions · Notable J. League players · List of football clubs in Japan
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