Japan Football League


The Japan Football League, also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League, and the top tier of amateur football in the country. Despite its officially amateur status the league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership among its ranks.

Relationship and position of J. League and Japan Football League(JFL)

According to the official document published in December 2013 when the J3 League was established, the J3 League was the 3rd level of the J.League. The J.League and non-J.League amateur leagues have different hierarchical structures, and the J3 League was ranked on the same level as the JFL. In addition, the JFL itself has the same recognition in the material showing the league composition on the official website.。Therefore, the JFL is treated as equal to J3 in theory, but in practice it is considered equivalent to a 4th division.

History

The Japan Football League started from the 1999 season when the second division of J.League was also born. Until then, J.League consisted of only one division and the former JFL was the second highest division. Out of 16 teams who played the last season of the former JFL, 9 decided and were accepted to play in J2 and the other 7 teams as well as Yokogawa Electric, the winners of the Regional League Promotion Series, formed the new Japan Football League. These 8 teams together with Yokohama FC that was allowed to participate as a special case after the merger of Yokohama Flügels and Yokohama Marinos competed in the inaugural 1999 season.
The 9 teams that competed in the first season were as follows: Denso SC, Honda Motors, Jatco SC, Kokushikan University F.C., Mito HollyHock, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Sony Sendai, Yokohama FC and Yokogawa Electric.
In the second season the number of clubs was increased from 9 to 12, reaching 16 in 2001. In 2002 it was briefly 18 clubs before going back to 16 the next season and settling for good at 18 in 2006. For the 2012 season it had 17 clubs due to the late withdrawal of Arte Takasaki.
The league suffered another contraction after 2013 season, as 10 of its 18 teams joined the newly created J3 League. It also moved a tier down the pyramid, making it fourth-tier league since 2014.
Four former JFL clubs have competed in the top flight: Yokohama FC, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Matsumoto Yamaga, and V-Varen Nagasaki.

Overview

JFL clubs may be affiliated to companies, or be entirely autonomous clubs or reserve teams of these. Until 2010, university clubs were recommended by the Japan University Football Association and played off against bottom JFL teams for entrance. B-teams are allowed to participate but only A-squads of truly autonomous clubs are eligible for J.League Associate Membership, and with it, promotion to J.League.

Promotion from JFL

A club that satisfies the following criteria will be promoted to J.League Div. 2 :
With the establishment of the J3 League in the 2014 season, the top 2 requirements are no longer necessary should a team that is approved by J.League Committee and is a J.League Associate Member. However, they start in the J3 instead. The JFL is the highest tier of amateur level football in Japan again, but they still serve the purpose of helping potential J.League clubs to participate in the J3.

Relegation from JFL

Up to two teams at the bottom of the league may face a direct relegation or relegation/promotion play-off against the teams finishing at the top of the Regional League promotion competition. The number of the teams who need to compete in the play-off varies depending on the number of the teams that are promoted to J3 or withdrawn from the JFL.

Emperor's Cup eligibility

Until 2008, only the club at the top of the standings at half-season was qualified for the Emperor's Cup, entering it at the third round along with the clubs in J2, but the allotment was widened to the top three clubs in 2010 due to the expansion of J2. Every other club must qualify through a qualifying cup in their own prefecture and then must enter at the first round.
In 2015, only the winner of the apertura qualified.

JFL XI

In 1999 and since 2014, a JFL XI team has played off-season matches against guest teams. The 2016 season also featured an JFL East vs JFL West all-star encounter.

2020 season

Competition format

The league follows a one-stage double round-robin, wherein the team finishing at the top of the table following the season is declared the champion. From 2014 to 2018 it used the Apertura and Clausura system, with two winners of each stage contesting the championship in the playoff. From 2019 it used the single table with double round-robin system to 30 matches.

Participating clubs

Club NameFirst Season
in JFL		Seasons
in JFL		Home TownCurrent Spell
in JFL		Last
title		Qualifiable base
for J.League
Honda FC199922Hamamatsu, Shizuoka1999–2019No
Iwaki FC20201Iwaki, Fukushima2020– –Yes
200514Miyazaki, Miyazaki2009– –No
Maruyasu Okazaki20147Okazaki, Aichi2014– –No
Matsue City FC20192Matsue, Shimane2019– –Yes
MIO Biwako Shiga200813Kusatsu, Shiga2008– –Yes
Nara Club20156Nara, Nara2015– –Yes
FC Osaka20156Higashiosaka, Osaka2015– –Yes
Kochi United SC20201Kochi, Kochi2020- –Yes
ReinMeer Aomori20165Aomori, Aomori2016– –Yes
Sony Sendai199922Miyagi Prefecture1999–2015No
Tegevajaro Miyazaki20183Miyazaki, Miyazaki2018– –Yes
Tokyo Musashino City199922Musashino, Tokyo1999– –Yes
Suzuka Point Getters20192Suzuka, Mie2019– –Yes
Veertien Mie20174Kuwana, Mie2017– –Yes
Verspah Oita20129Ōita, Ōita2012– –No

Most successful clubs

Clubs in bold compete in JFL as of 2020 season. Clubs in italic no longer exist.
ClubWinnersRunners-upWinning seasonsRunners-up seasons
Honda FC
9
4
2001, 2002, 2006, 2008,
2014, 2016, 2017, 2018,
2019		1999, 2000, 2003, 2004
Sagawa Shiga
3
1
2007, 2009, 20112010
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
2
1
2003, 20042001
Yokohama FC
2
0
1999, 2000
Nagano Parceiro
1
2
20132011, 2012
Ehime FC
1
0
2005
Gainare Tottori
1
0
2010
V-Varen Nagasaki
1
0
2012
Sony Sendai
1
1
20152019
Sagawa Express Tokyo022002, 2006
YKK AP
0
1
2005
Rosso Kumamoto
0
1
2007
Tochigi SC
0
1
2008
Tokyo Musashino City
0
1
2009
Kamatamare Sanuki
0
1
2013
SP Kyoto FC
0
1
2014
Vanraure Hachinohe
0
1
2015
Ryutsu Keizai Dragons
0
1
2016
ReinMeer Aomori
0
1
2017
FC Osaka
0
1
2018

Third-tier league: 1999–2013

Fourth-tier League: 2014–

From 2014 to 2018 the Japan Football League switched to the Apertura and Clausura format to determine the champions, reverting to a single stage in 2019.
SeasonChampionsRunners-upPromoted to J3 after the seasonPromoted from Regional Leagues before the seasonRelegated to Regional Leagues after the season
2014Honda FC SP Kyoto FC Renofa YamaguchiFagiano Okayama Next
Kagoshima United
Vanraure Hachinohe
Azul Claro Numazu
Maruyasu Industries SC
Renofa Yamaguchi		-
2015Sony Sendai Vanraure Hachinohe Kagoshima UnitedNara Club
FC Osaka
Ryutsu Keizai Dragons		SP Kyoto FC
2016Honda FC Ryutsu Keizai Dragons Azul Claro NumazuReinMeer Aomori
Briobecca Urayasu		Fagiano Okayama Next
2017Honda FC ReinMeer Aomori -FC Imabari
Veertien Mie		Briobecca Urayasu
Tochigi Uva
2018Honda FC FC Osaka Vanraure HachinoheCobaltore Onagawa
Tegevajaro Miyazaki		Cobaltore Onagawa
2019Honda FCSony SendaiFC ImabariMatsue City FC
Suzuka Unlimited		Ryutsu Keizai Dragons
2020Iwaki FC
Kochi United SC

A = Apertura champion, C = Clausura champion, 1 = Won both stages, 2 = Earned the second most points total in the overall table if 1 applies.

JFL records and statistics

In bold the ones who are actually playing in JFL. In italic the ones who are still active in other league.
#PlayerCapsCareer
1Daiki Koyama3892000–2002, 2004–2017
2Gen Nakamura3742003–2017
3Kazuhisa Hamaoka3382001–2005, 2007, 2010–2013, 2014–2016
4Takuya Tomiyama3331999–2012
5Masayuki Ishii3141999–2010
6Takahito Seta3132008–2018
7Junya Nitta3071999–2011
8Hiroshi Otsuki3042004–2014
9Takahiro Tsuchiya3012002–2018
10Nobumitsu Yamane2941999–2001, 2003–2012

#PlayerGoalsCareer
1Junya Nitta1461999–2011
2Tatsuya Furuhashi1221999–2004, 2014–
3Kodai Suzuki1112000–2010
4Sho Gokyu1042006–2007, 2009–2013, 2015
5Mitsuru Hasegawa1032001–2008
6Masatoshi Matsuda1002014–2015
7Gen Nakamura942003–2017
8Takehiro Hayashi911999–2004
9Tomohito Ito71
10Shoma Mizunaga702005–2006, 2009–2012, 2018–