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Organising body | J.League |
---|---|
Founded | 1992 |
Country | Japan |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 18 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | J2 League |
Domestic cup(s) | Emperor's Cup Fujifilm Super Cup |
League cup(s) | YBC Levain Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League |
Current champions | Kawasaki Frontale (4th title) (2021) |
Most championships | Kashima Antlers (8 titles) |
Top goalscorer | Yoshito Ōkubo (179 goals) |
TV partners | DAZN (Japan only) NHK YouTube (outside Japan) |
Website | www.jleague.jp/en/ (in English) |
Current: 2022 J1 League |
The J1 League (Japanese: J1リーグ, Hepburn: Jē-wan Rīgu), known as the Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 明治安田生命J1リーグ) for sponsorship reasons, [1] is the top level of the Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ, Nihon Puro Sakkā Rīgu) system. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. Until the 2014 season, it was known as the J League Division 1.
Before the inception of the J.League, the highest level of club football was the Japan Soccer League (JSL), which consisted of amateur clubs. [9] [10] Despite being well-attended during the boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s (when Japan's national team won the bronze Olympic medal at the 1968 games in Mexico), the JSL went into decline in the 1980s, in general line with the deteriorating situation worldwide. 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 association 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 former Japan Football League, 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.
J.League officially kicked off its first season with ten clubs in early 1993.
Despite the success in the first three years, in early 1996 the league attendance declined rapidly. In 1997 the average attendance was 10,131, compared to more than 19,000 in 1994. Notably, Arsène Wenger managed Nagoya Grampus Eight during this period.
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 association 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.
Second, the infrastructure of the league was heavily changed in 1999. The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL and one club from J.League to create a two division system. The top flight became the J.League Division 1 (J1) with 16 clubs while J.League Division 2 (J2) was launched with ten clubs in 1999. The former second-tier Japan Football League now became the third-tier Japan Football League.
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. Júbilo 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 the league abolished the split-season system starting from 2005.
Since the 2005 season, J.League Division 1 consisted of 18 clubs (from 16 in 2004) and the season format became more similar to European club football. The number of relegated clubs also increased from 2 to 2.5, with the 3rd-to-last club going into a promotion/relegation playoff with the third-placed J2 club. Since then, other than minor adjustments, the top flight has stayed consistent.
Japanese teams did not treat the AFC Champions League seriously in the early years, in part due to the distances travelled and teams involved. However, in the 2008 Champions League, three Japanese sides made the quarter-finals. [11]
However, in recent years, with the inclusion of the A-League in Eastern Asia, introduction to the Club World Cup, and increased marketability in the Asian continent, both the league and the clubs paid more attention to Asian competition. For example, Kawasaki Frontale built up a notable fan base in Hong Kong, owing to their participation in the Asian Champions League during the 2007 season. [12] Continuous effort led to the success of Urawa Red Diamonds in 2007 and Gamba Osaka in 2008. Thanks to excellent league management and competitiveness in Asian competition, the AFC awarded J.League the highest league ranking and a total of four slots starting from the 2009 season. The league took this as an opportunity to sell TV broadcasting rights to foreign countries, especially in Asia.
Also starting from the 2008 season, the Emperor's Cup Winner was allowed to participate in the upcoming Champions League season, rather than waiting a whole year (i.e. 2005 Emperor's Cup winner, Tokyo Verdy, participated in the 2007 ACL season, instead of the 2006 season). In order to fix this one-year lag issue, the 2007 Emperor's Cup winner, Kashima Antlers' turn was waived. Nonetheless, Kashima Antlers ended up participating in the 2009 ACL season by winning the J.League title in the 2008 season.
Three major changes were seen starting in the 2009 season. First, starting that season, four clubs entered the AFC Champions League. Secondly, the number of relegation slots increased to three. Finally, the AFC Player slot was implemented starting this season. Each club will be allowed to have a total of four foreign players; however, one slot is reserved for a player that derives from an AFC country other than Japan. Also, as a requirement of being a member of the Asian Football Confederation, in 2012 the J.League Club Licence became one criteria of whether a club was permitted to be promoted to a higher tier in professional level leagues. No major changes happened to J.League Division 1 as the number of clubs stayed at 18.
In 2015 the J.League Division 1 was renamed J1 League. Also, the tournament format was changed to a three-stage system. The season was split into first and second stages, followed by a third and final championship stage. The third stage was composed of three to five teams. The top point accumulator in each stage and the top three point accumulators for the overall season qualified. If both of the stage winners finished in the top three teams for the season, then only three teams qualified for the championship stage. These teams then took part in a championship playoff stage to decide the winner of the league trophy.
Despite the new multi-stage format being initially reported as locked in for five seasons, due to negative reaction from hardcore fans and failure to appeal to casual fans, after 2016 it was abandoned in favour of a return to a single-stage system. [13] From 2017, the team which accumulates the most points will be named champion, with no championship stage taking place at the season's end, and from 2018, the bottom two clubs are relegated and the 16th-placed club enters a playoff with the J2 club that wins a promotion playoff series. [14] If the J2 playoff winner prevails, the club is promoted, with the J1 club being relegated, otherwise the J1 club can retain its position in J1 League with the promotion failure of the J2 club.
In November 2017, Urawa Red Diamonds played the AFC Champions League final against Al Hilal. After a draw in the first leg, Urawa Red Diamonds won the second leg 1-0 and were crowned Asian Champions. In the past 10–15 years, Japanese clubs have risen not only continentally, but also internationally. Clubs Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds have been crowned Asian champions and participated in the Club World Cup, always targeting at least the semi-finals. Kashima Antlers were finalists of the 2016 edition and eventually lost to Real Madrid.
Year | Important events | No. J clubs | No. ACL clubs | Rel. slots |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 |
| |||
1990 |
| |||
1992 |
| |||
1993 |
| 10 | ||
1994 |
| 12 | ||
1995 |
| 14 | ||
1996 |
| 16 | ||
1997 |
| 17 | ||
1998 |
| 18 | ||
1999 |
| 16 | 2 | |
2000 | 16 | 2 | ||
2001 | 16 | 2 | ||
2002 | 16 | 2 | 2 | |
2003 |
| 16 | 2 | |
2004 |
| 16 | 2 | 0.5 |
2005 |
| 18 | 2 | 2.5 |
2006 |
| 18 | 2 | 2.5 |
2007 |
| 18 | 2 | 2.5 |
2008 |
| 18 | 2 + 1 | 2.5 |
2009 |
| 18 | 4 | 3 |
2010 | 18 | 4 | 3 | |
2011 |
| 18 | 4 | 3 |
2012 | 18 | 4 | 3 | |
2013 | 18 | 4 | 3 | |
2014 | 18 | 4 | 3 | |
2015 |
| 18 | 4 | 3 |
2016 |
| 18 | 4 | 3 |
2017 |
| 18 | 4 | 3 |
2018 |
| 18 | 4 | 2.5 |
2019 |
| 18 | 4 | 2.5 |
2020 |
| 18 | 3 | 0 |
2021 |
| 20 | 3 | 4 |
2022 |
| 18 | 3 | 2.5 |
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 tiebreakers are, in the following order:
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied for first place, both clubs will be declared as co-champions. The top three clubs will qualify to the following year's AFC Champions League, while the bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2. The third club will play a playoff against the J2 playoffs-winning team.
In addition to the prize, top 4 clubs are awarded with the following funds.
Club | Year joined | Seasons in J1 | Based in | First season in top flight | Seasons in top flight | Current spell in top flight | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kashima Antlers | 1993 | 29 | Southwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki | 1985/86 | 32 | 1993– | 2016 |
Avispa Fukuoka | 1996 | 10 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka | 1996 | 10 | 2021– | – |
Shonan Bellmare | 1994 | 13 | South and central cities/town in Kanagawa | 1972 | 31 | 2018– | 1981 |
Cerezo Osaka | 1995 | 20 | Osaka & Sakai, Osaka | 1965 | 46 | 2017– | 1980 |
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 1998 | 10 | All cities/towns in Hokkaidō | 1989/90 | 13 | 2017– | – |
Yokohama F. Marinos | 1993 | 29 | Yokohama, Yokosuka & Yamato | 1979 | 41 | 1982– | 2019 |
Kawasaki Frontale | 1999 (J2) | 18 | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | 1977 | 20 | 2005– | 2021 |
Gamba Osaka | 1993 | 28 | North cities in Osaka | 1986/87 | 35 | 2014– | 2014 |
Nagoya Grampus | 1993 | 28 | All cities/towns in Aichi | 1973 | 36 | 2018– | 2010 |
Júbilo Iwata | 1994 | 24 | Iwata, Shizuoka | 1980 | 33 | 2022– | 2002 |
Urawa Red Diamonds | 1993 | 28 | Saitama | 1965 | 54 | 2001– | 2006 |
Kashiwa Reysol | 1995 | 24 | Kashiwa, Chiba | 1965 | 48 | 2020– | 2011 |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 1993 (J) | 28 | Shizuoka | 1993 | 28 | 2017– | – |
Sagan Tosu | 1999 (J2) | 10 | Tosu, Saga | 2012 | 10 | 2012– | – |
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1993 | 27 | Hiroshima, Hiroshima | 1965 | 49 | 2009– | 2015 |
Kyoto Sanga | 1996 | 11 | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | 1996 | 11 | 2022– | – |
FC Tokyo | 1999 (J2) | 21 | Chofu | 2000 | 21 | 2012– | – |
Vissel Kobe | 1997 | 23 | Kobe, Hyōgo | 1997 | 23 | 2014– | – |
Source for teams participating: [16]
Primary venues used in the J1 League:
Club | Year Joined | Seasons in J1 | Based in | First season in top flight | Seasons in top flight | Last spell in top flight | Last title | Current league |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albirex Niigata | 1999 (J2) | 14 | Niigata & Seirō, Niigata | 2004 | 14 | 2004–2017 | – | J2 |
Omiya Ardija | 1999 (J2) | 12 | Saitama | 2005 | 12 | 2016–2017 | – | J2 |
Yokohama Flügels | 1993 | 6 | Yokohama, Kanagawa | 1985/86 | 11 | 1988/89–1998 | – | Defunct |
JEF United Chiba | 1993 | 17 | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | 1965 | 44 | 1965–2009 | 1985/86 | J2 |
Oita Trinita | 1999 (J2) | 11 | All cities/towns in Ōita | 2003 | 11 | 2019–2021 | – | J2 |
Montedio Yamagata | 1999 (J2) | 4 | All cities/towns in Yamagata | 2009 | 4 | 2015 | – | J2 |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 2013 (J2) | 1 | All cities/towns in Nagasaki | 2018 | 1 | 2018 | – | J2 |
Vegalta Sendai | 1999 (J2) | 14 | Sendai, Miyagi | 2002 | 14 | 2010–2021 | – | J2 |
Ventforet Kofu | 1999 (J2) | 8 | All cities/towns in Yamanashi | 2006 | 8 | 2013–2017 | – | J2 |
Tokyo Verdy | 1993 | 14 | Tokyo | 1978 | 28 | 2008 | 1994 | J2 |
Tokushima Vortis | 2005 (J2) | 2 | All cities/towns in Tokushima | 2014 | 2 | 2021 | – | J2 |
Matsumoto Yamaga | 2012 (J2) | 2 | Central cities/village in Nagano | 2015 | 2 | 2019 | – | J3 |
Yokohama FC | 2001 (J2) | 3 | Yokohama, Kanagawa | 2007 | 3 | 2020–2021 | – | J2 |
Clubs in bold compete in top flight for the 2022 season.
Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kashima Antlers | 8 | 3 | 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 | 1993, 1997, 2017 |
Yokohama F. Marinos | 4 | 4 | 1995, 2003, 2004, 2019 | 2000, 2002, 2013, 2021 |
Kawasaki Frontale | 4 | 3 | 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 | 2006, 2008, 2009 |
Júbilo Iwata | 3 | 3 | 1997, 1999, 2002 | 1998, 2001, 2003 |
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3 | 2 | 2012, 2013, 2015 | 1994, 2018 |
Gamba Osaka | 2 | 3 | 2005, 2014 | 2010, 2015, 2020 |
Tokyo Verdy | 2 | 1 | 1993, 1994 | 1995 |
Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 5 | 2006 | 2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2016 |
Nagoya Grampus | 1 | 2 | 2010 | 1996, 2011 |
Kashiwa Reysol | 1 | 0 | 2011 | |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | 1 | 1999 | |
Vegalta Sendai | 0 | 1 | 2012 | |
FC Tokyo | 0 | 1 | 2019 |
Only four clubs have never been relegated from J1. Among those, only two clubs – Kashima Antlers and Yokohama F. Marinos – have been participating in every league season since its establishment in 1993. Sagan Tosu were promoted to the first division in 2012, and remain there ever since. The former J.League club Yokohama Flügels never experienced relegation before their merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999.
JEF United Chiba holds the record for the longest top flight participation streak of 44 consecutive seasons in the first divisions of JSL and J.League that lasted since the establishment of JFL in 1965 and ended with their relegation in 2009. The longest ongoing top flight streak belongs to Yokohama F. Marinos who play in the top flight since 1982 (40 seasons as of 2020).
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.
Throughout 1999 to 2003 seasons, two bottom 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 the 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 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 determine 16th placed club, overall standing was used instead of stage standing.
For two seasons starting in 2015, three bottom clubs were relegated based on overall standings.
For the next four seasons, 2005 to 2008, the number of relegating clubs was increased to 2.5, with two clubs from each division being promoted and relegated directly, and two more (15th in J1 and 3rd in J2) competed in Promotion/Relegation Series.
In 2009, the pro/rele series were abandoned and three teams are directly exchanged between divisions. In 2012, promotion playoffs were introduced in J2, allowing teams that finished from 3rd to 6th to compete for J1 promotion place. For the 2018 and 2019 seasons and from 2022, the bottom two teams are relegated and the entry playoff has the 16th team play the J2 playoff winner.
No teams descended to J2 after the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and its effects. [17] Instead, four relegations were in place for the 2021 season to bring back the number of teams from 20 to 18. [18]
Year | 17th place | 18th place | 19th place | 20th place |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Tokushima Vortis | Oita Trinita | Vegalta Sendai | Yokohama FC |
* Bold designates relegated clubs;
† Won the Pro/Rele Series or entry playoff;
‡ Lost the Pro/Rele Series or entry playoff and relegated
All J1 matches are streamed live through DAZN until 2028 season, with selected matches also televised live plus highlights of other matches also available on public broadcaster NHK. [19]
The league is currently covered internationally (excluding China) by NHK World Premium (Japanese audio only) [20] and Dentsu. [21] [22]
Country/region | Broadcaster |
---|---|
![]() | Optus Sport [23] |
![]() | Sportdigital DACH |
![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() | Astro SuperSport, SPOTV |
![]() | |
![]() | K-Ball CHN FTA and pay (regional television) IPTV
Streaming |
Balkans | Sport Klub |
![]() | i-Cable |
![]() | MNC Sports, SPOTV |
![]() | FreeSports [24] |
![]() | |
![]() | Sport 5 |
![]() | TDM |
![]() | Dubai Sports beIn sport Alkass |
![]() | ELTA |
![]() | Siamsports (stream selected matches), PPTV (Selected matches) |
![]() | FanCode app [25] |
^CHN – as main distributor, including J2 matches
^DACH – starting from MW2 in 2020 season
Nagoya Grampus is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the club shares its home games between Mizuho Athletic Stadium and the much larger Toyota Stadium in the suburb of Toyota.
Urawa Red Diamonds, colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), are a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name comes from the former city of Urawa, now part of Saitama.
Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country.
Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara Ward, in the central area of Kawasaki.
The Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name Antlers is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese e-commerce company.
Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium, also known as "Hitachidai". Reysol is a portmanteau of the Spanish words Rey and Sol, meaning "Sun King". The name alludes to their parent company Hitachi, whose name means "rising sun" in Japanese. The club was formed in 1940 and was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, they have spent nice in the top tier of Japanese football. They have been Japanese League champions twice in 1972 and 2011, and have won three League Cups in 1976, 1999 and 2013, and three Emperor's Cups in 1972, 1975 and 2012.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country.
JEF United Chiba, full name JEF United Ichihara Chiba and also known as JEF Chiba, is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. Of its club name, JEF is taken from the JR East and Furukawa Electric companies and United is meant to represent the unity of the club and its home city. Also, JEF United is the only team in J.League which corporate name survived the transition from the JSL in 1992, as J.League mandated that "corporate teams are not allowed in the J.League", and that any corporate teams need to adapt a hometown.
The J.League, officially Japan Professional Football League is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. It is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life and thus officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J.League.
Japan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936. JSL was the first-ever national league of an amateur team sport in Japan.
Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two teams became known together as Yokohama F. Marinos. However, many Flügels fans refused to support the new Marinos and created their own club, Yokohama FC, as they felt that the Flügels had been dissolved rather than merged with.
The 2007 J.League Division 1 season was the 15th season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 3 and ended on December 1.
The 2009 J.League Division 1 season is the 45th season of the top-flight club football in Japan and the 17th season since the establishment of J1 League. The season started on March 7, 2009 and ended on December 5, 2009.
The 2011 Kashima Antlers season was Kashima Antlers's 19th season in J.League Division 1 and 23rd season overall in the top flight. It also included the 2011 J.League Cup, 2011 Emperor's Cup, and the 2011 AFC Champions League. They finished the season 6th in the championship and lost the chance to break the record of 7 championships they share with Tokyo Verdy.
The 2013 J.League Division 1 season was the 48th season of Japanese top-flight football and 21st since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on 2 March and finished on 7 December.
Japanese football in 2013.
The 2014 J.League Division 1 season was the 49th season of top-flight football in Japan, and the 22nd since the establishment of the J.League in 1993. The season began on 1 March and ended on 8 December. Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions.
The 2013 Sagan Tosu season was Sagan Tosu's second season in J.League Division 1 after being promoted for J.League Division 2 in 2011. They finished the season in twelfth position, whilst participating in the J.League Cup group stages and reaching the Semifinal of the Emperor's Cup.
Japanese football in 2014.