J. League 100 Year Plan club status

J. League 100 Year Plan club status, Jei Rīgu hyakunen kōsō kurabu (Jリーグ百年構想クラブ) is a status given to Japanese non-league football clubs. The applicant must have an intention to become a professional club and to join the professional league, J. League, that governs the top three levels of the Japanese football pyramid. Usually clubs from the fourth level, Japan Football League, which is the top tier for amateur clubs, apply for the status; however, it is open for all amateur clubs down to Prefectural leagues. The applications are reviewed and inspected by a committee formed by the league. Since 2014 season, the Associate Membership is the main criteria for J3 promotion. The system allows the League to identify the such clubs, to provide necessary resources/advices, and to ease the transition to the professionalism.

Former Associate Membership Systems

1993–1998

Originally, when the professional league formed in 1993 with ten clubs, the league's intention was to keep the number of clubs to 10 for at least two to three years, and then gradually increase the roster to 16 by adding a club or two in year-to-year basis. However, the league had underestimated the demands; there were far more clubs seeking top-flight football then the league have anticipated. Thus, the league adopted associate membership system for the clubs in then the second-tier Japan Football League. Just like the current system, associate clubs finishing in the top two were allowed to be promoted to the league, given that they have passed the final inspection by the league. Associate members also had right to participate in Yamazaki Nabisco Cup games and reserve league games.

This system has been abolished in 1998 with the establishment of J. League Division 2 and dissolution of old JFL. Three remaining associate members were admitted to J2 and Honda FC decided to maintain amateur status and joined the newly created JFL.

Year Applied	Club Name	Year Admitted to J. League	Notes
1993	Bellmare Hiratsuka	1994	Promoted to J. League
	Júbilo Iwata	1994	Promoted to J. League
	Kashiwa Reysol	1995	Promoted to J. League
1994	Cerezo Osaka	1995	Promoted to J. League
	Kyoto Purple Sanga	1996	Promoted to J. League
	Tosu Futures	1999 (J2)	Taken over by Sagan Tosu. Promoted to J1 in 2012
1995	Avispa Fukuoka	1996	Promoted to J. League
1995	Vissel Kobe	1997	Promoted to J. League
1996	Consadole Sapporo	1998	Promoted to J. League
1996	Brummell Sendai	1999 (J2)	Promoted to Division 1 in 2002
1997	Kawasaki Frontale	1999 (J2)	Promoted to Division 1 in 2000
1997	Honda Motors	–	Later withdrew the membership due to lack of support from company and community

2006–2013

After its establishment in 1999, J. League Division 2 became the frontier of J. League expansion, feeding from the simultaneously established Japan Football League. In their first seven years of co-existence, every club that applied for promotion was individually examined by the league. Five teams were promoted this way, but as the number of applicants increased over time, in October 2005 the JFA initiated the establishment of the new association membership system in order to provide an incentive for amateur clubs to obtain a sound economical and business basis necessary to J. League membership.

The criteria for such membership were developed by joint JFA–J. League committee in early 2006. They covered various aspects of the club development, with the particular stress on organizational stability, adequate infrastructure, and support from the local government, sponsors, and community. Unlike the previous system, this membership has been targeted not only to JFL clubs, but to all amateurs club in the football pyramid, including Regional and Prefectural leagues.

Below is a list of criteria for associate membership in their last edition as of September 1, 2012.^[1]

Club Organization

Must be organized as a public corporation or NPO solely devoted to football.
- Company and university clubs do not qualify
- At least half of the shares of stock must be Japanese ownership
Must hire at least three administrative employees, one of which must be in a managerial position.
Must have a proper payroll system in accordance with Japanese law.
Must complete an annual tax audit.
Must be financially feasible.

(Note: The league recommends ¥1.5 million of capital by promotion to J2 and 5 million by the end of the third year in J2.)

Must secure sponsorship of at least ¥1 million.

Home Town

Must be approved by respective Prefectural Football Association.
Must be approved by the hometown government in writing.

Home Stadium/Training Facility

It must have a capacity of at least 10,000 and a natural grass pitch (in lieu of this, the club must have plans to build a stadium to these minimum requirements).
It must be located in the proposed hometown.
It must have a press box and a conference room for pre- and post-match news conferences.
The club must secure training facilities within the proposed hometown.

Others

The club must currently play in JFL, Regional League, or Prefectural League.
The club must aim for admission to J. League.
The club must have plans for a youth system.

New associate membership system lasted for eight years and came to its logical finish after the number of J2 clubs had reached 22 (the original target) in 2012 season. The next year saw the establishment of J3 League which incorporated most of the remaining associate members.

Since 2006, 29 clubs have applied for the J. League associate member status and 25 have received it, though for many clubs more than one application was necessary. Of those 25 that received the status, 11 were promoted to J2; 9 more were admitted to J3 League in 2013; and 5 remaining members (along with three pending applications) transitioned to the new 100 Year Plan status in 2014. The table below summarizes the history of associate membership applications and J. League promotions/admissions. Promotions listed were to J2, unless indicated otherwise.

Grey – membership declined
Light green – remaining members, transformed into a 100 Year Plan status in 2014

Applied	Club Name	League^†	Home Town	Application Results	Year Admitted to J. League	Notes
August 2006	Rosso Kumamoto	JFL	Kumamoto, Kumamoto	Approved	2007	Renamed to Roasso Kumamoto upon promotion to J2.
August 2006	Tochigi SC	JFL	Utsunomiya, Tochigi	Declined		Reapplied in January 2007
January 2007	FC Gifu	JFL	Gifu, Gifu	Approved	2007	Conditionally approved initially. Financial improvement required before promotion to J2.
	Gainare Tottori	JFL	All cities/towns in Tottori	Approved	2010
	Tochigi SC	JFL	Utsunomiya, Tochigi	Approved	2008
	Perada Fukushima	Tohoku League D2	Fukushima, Fukushima	Declined		Renamed to Fukushima United FC. Reapplied in June 2013
July 2007	Fagiano Okayama	Chugoku League	All cities/towns in Okayama	Approved	2008	First Regional league club to be approved
January 2008	New Wave Kitakyushu	JFL	Kitakyushu, Fukuoka	Approved	2009	Renamed to Giravanz Kitakyushu before promotion to J2
	Kataller Toyama	JFL	Toyama, Toyama	Approved	2008
	FC Ryukyu	JFL	All cities/towns in Okinawa	Declined		Reapplied in January 2011
January 2009	Machida Zelvia	JFL	Machida, Tokyo	Approved	2011	Relegated to JFL in 2012, re-admitted to J3 in 2013
January 2009	V-Varen Nagasaki	JFL	All cities/towns in Nagasaki	Approved	2012
January 2010	Matsumoto Yamaga	JFL	Matsumoto, Nagano	Approved	2011
January 2010	SC Sagamihara	Kanagawa prefectural league D1	Sagamihara, Kanagawa	Approved	2013 (J3)	First Prefectural league club to be approved
April 2010	Zweigen Kanazawa	JFL	Kanazawa, Ishikawa	Not accepted		Incomplete documentation. Reapplied in January 2011
December 2010	Kamatamare Sanuki	JFL	All cities/towns in Kagawa	Approved	2013
January 2011	FC Ryukyu	JFL	All cities/towns in Okinawa	Declined		Further improvement needed. Reapplied in June 2013
January 2011	Zweigen Kanazawa	JFL	Kanazawa, Ishikawa	Declined		Further improvement needed. Reapplied in November 2012
November 2011	Nagano Parceiro	JFL	Nagano, Nagano	Approved	2013 (J3)
November 2012	Zweigen Kanazawa	JFL	All cities/towns in Ishikawa	Approved	2013 (J3)
November 2012	Blaublitz Akita	JFL	All cities/towns in Akita	Approved	2013 (J3)
June 2013	Veertien Kuwana	Mie prefectural league D2	Kuwana, Mie	Not accepted		Incomplete documentation
	YSCC Yokohama	JFL	Yokohama, Kanagawa	Approved	2013 (J3)
	Grulla Morioka	Tohoku League D1	Morioka, Iwate	Approved	2013 (J3)	The only associate member to be admitted directly from Regional League skipping JFL participation
	Renofa Yamaguchi	Chūgoku League	All cities/towns in Yamaguchi	Approved		Promoted to J3 in 2014
	Fukushima United	JFL	Fukushima, Fukushima	Approved	2013 (J3)
	FC Ryukyu	JFL	All cities/towns in Okinawa	Approved	2013 (J3)
	Fujieda MYFC	JFL	Fujieda, Shizuoka	Approved	2013 (J3)
	Vanraure Hachinohe	Tohoku League D1	Hachinohe, Aomori	Approved
	Tonan Maebashi	Kantō League	Maebashi, Gunma	Approved
	Azul Claro Numazu	Tōkai League	Numazu, Shizuoka	Approved
	Nara Club	Kansai League D1	Nara, Nara	Approved
	MIO Biwako Shiga	JFL	Kusatsu, Shiga	Pending		Application transitioned to 100 Year Plan status
	Tochigi Uva	JFL	Tochigi, Tochigi	Pending		Application transitioned to 100 Year Plan status, the status was granted in May 2014
	Suzuka Rampole	Tōkai League	Suzuka, Mie	Pending		Application transitioned to 100 Year Plan status

^† Listed is the league the club participated at the time of application, not necessary the league that the club currently belongs to.

100 Year Plan status (since 2014)

For the short time after the establishment of J3 League in 2014, the league designated J3 clubs as "associate members," as opposed to "full members" of J1 and J2. In order to avoid confusion with associate membership system for future participants, it was decided to change the name of the latter status to "100 Year Plan" status. The J. League later abolished the associate membership naming for J3 clubs, but the new name for future members remained.

Participation Criteria

The criteria for the 100 Year Plan status are largely similar to associate membership of the past, though they are generally more relaxed because of less strict regulations for J3 participation in comparison with J2. Below are the criteria for 2014 season.^[2]

Club Organization

Must be organized as a public corporation or NPO solely devoted to football and exist in this status for no less than one year
- The majority of the shares or stock must be Japanese owned
Must employ at least four administrative employees, one of whom must have managerial position
Must have proper payroll system according to Japanese law
Must have proper financial management and conduct annual tax audit
Must hold intellectual rights for the club name, logo, and all associated trademarks

Home Town and Stadium/Training Facility

Must be approved by respective Prefectural Football Association
Must be approved by the hometown government in writing
Home stadium must be located in the proposed hometown
Must secure training facilities within the proposed hometown

Others

Must currently play in JFL, Regional League, or Prefectural League
Must aim for eventual admission to J. League
Must have a working soccer school/youth system that exists for no less than one year

Criteria for J3 promotion

The 100 Year Plan status alone is only a prerequisite for J3 promotion, and the club must comply with additional requirements in order to receive J3 license necessary for promotion.^[3]

Must hold a 100 Year Plan status
Must have a stadium that complies with J3 standards (capacity 5,000 or above) and passes the league examination
Must pass a J3 licensing examination by the league
Must finish within top 4 of JFL, and either 1st or 2nd among other 100 Year Plan holders
Must have average attendance of home games no less than 2,000 spectators, with significant effort demonstrated to reach 3,000
Must have annual revenue of at least ¥150 million, and no excessive debt

Application History

Green – promoted to J. League
Gold – current members
Grey – membership declined
White – application pending

Applied	Club Name	League^†	Home Town	Application Results	Year Admitted to J. League	Notes
June 2014	Renofa Yamaguchi	Chūgoku League	All cities/towns in Yamaguchi	Approved	2014	Former associate member

	Vanraure Hachinohe	Tohoku League D1	Hachinohe, Aomori	Approved		Former associate member
	Tonan Maebashi	Kantō League	Maebashi, Gunma	Approved		Former associate member
	Azul Claro Numazu	Tōkai League	Numazu, Shizuoka	Approved		Former associate member
	Nara Club	Kansai League D1	Nara, Nara	Approved		Former associate member
	Tochigi Uva	JFL	Tochigi, Tochigi	Approved		Application transitioned from associate membership
	MIO Biwako Shiga	JFL	Kusatsu, Shiga	Pending		Application transitioned from associate membership
Suzuka Rampole	Tōkai League	Suzuka, Mie	Pending		Application transitioned from associate membership
November 2014	Kagoshima United	JFL	Kagoshima, Kagoshima	Approved