J.League 2024 and beyond

Overseas Football
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From J1, the bottom 3 teams are relegated down to J2.

From J2 up to J1, the 1st and 2nd place teams automatically earn promotion. Teams 3 to 6 have a playoff for the 3rd promotion slot.

This season is the first year that J2 will have three relegation slots down to J3. Promotion is now the same too, the top 2 teams go from J3 up to J2, and 3rd through 6th playoff. (With the condition that the team that earns the promotion holds a J2 license, if they don’t have that qualification, they can’t be promoted).

From J3 down into the Japan Football League, there is the possibility that as many as two clubs will be relegated to the JFL. Promotion from the JFL is conditional on holding a valid J3 license. If the JFL champions hold a license, the club will be automatically promoted and the J3’s 20th-placed team will be automatically relegated. If the JFL runners-up hold a license, the club will need to play promotion/relegation play-offs against J3’s 19th or 20th-placed team for the season, depending on whether the JFL champions hold the J3 license.

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Thanks :blush:

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Two weekends and one midweek round of results to catch up and chew on today!

Match of the round must surely go to Kashima Antlers 3-3 Tokyo Verdy. Antlers led 3-0 with twenty minutes to go, and Verdy managed goals in the 69th, 81st, and 93rd minute for an incredible fightback point. Langerak of course played the full game for Nagoya Grampus, Mitch Duke came on as an 83rd minute sub for Machida Zelvia and contributed by getting booked in the 90th.

J1 League Round 13 results:

Albirex Niigata 2-4 Urawa Red Diamonds (24,652)
Jubilo Iwata 0-3 Sagan Tosu (9,162)
Kyoto Sanga 2-3 Avispa Fukuoka (9,498)
Shonan Bellmare 0-0 FC Machida Zelvia (11,519)
Kawasaki Frontale 3-0 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (20,611)
Nagoya Grampus 0-1 Gamba Osaka (30,613)
Cerezo Osaka 1-4 Vissel Kobe (21,148)
FC Tokyo 3-3 Kashiwa Reysol (22,325)
Kashima Antlers 3-3 Tokyo Verdy (18,803)

Mitch Duke once again came on late in the game, in the 74th minute this week. His contribution was more valuable than the week before, hitting the 93rd minute winner for the impossibly high flying Zelvia team. Harry Kewell’s Yokohama F. Marinos are anything but high flying, a 3-1 loss to Albirex Niigata sees them far down the ladder at this stage.

J1 League Round 14 results:

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1-0 Jubilo Iwata (7,702)
Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 Shonan Bellmare (7,530)
Tokyo Verdy 0-0 Gamba Osaka (13,445)
FC Machida Zelvia 2-1 Cerezo Osaka (6,546)
Albirex Niigata 3-1 Yokohama F. Marinos (15,065)
Nagoya Grampus 3-1 FC Tokyo (14,553)
Vissel Kobe 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka (10,961)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-3 Kashima Antlers (25,302)
Sagan Tosu 5-2 Kawasaki Frontale (6,222)
Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 Kyoto Sanga (20,737)

Mitch Duke got on for the last 20 minutes of FC Machida Zelvia’s astonishing demolition derby win against Tokyo Verdy.

J1 League Round 15 results:

Avispa Fukuoka 0-3 Cerezo Osaka (9,327)
Sagan Tosu 0-2 Nagoya Grampus (8,325)
FC Machida Zelvia 5-0 Tokyo Verdy (12,027)
Jubilo Iwata 1-1 Urawa Red Diamonds (20,861)
Kyoto Sanga 0-5 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (12,753)
Kashima Antlers 1-0 Vissel Kobe (20,390)
FC Tokyo 1-1 Yokohama F. Marinos (30,411)
Gamba Osaka 3-1 Kawasaki Frontale (24,754)
Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (11,170)
Shonan Bellmare 2-1 Albirex Niigata (11,427)

J1 League Round 15 standings:

  1. FC Machida Zelvia - 32
  2. Vissel Kobe - 29
  3. Kashima Antlers - 29
  4. Gamba Osaka - 25
  5. Nagoya Grampus - 25
  6. Urawa Red Diamonds - 24
  7. Cerezo Osaka - 23
  8. FC Tokyo - 23
  9. Sanfrecce Hiroshima - 22
  10. Kashiwa Reysol - 21
  11. Avispa Fukuoka - 19
  12. Tokyo Verdy - 18
  13. Yokohama F. Marinos - 17
  14. Kawasaki Frontale - 16
  15. Albirex Niigata - 16
  16. Jubilo Iwata - 15
  17. Sagan Tosu - 14
  18. Shonan Bellmare - 14
  19. Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo - 11
  20. Kyoto Sanga - 9

J2 League Round 15 results:

Vegalta Sendai 2-1 Thespa Gunma (11,956)
Shimizu S-Pulse 4-0 Kagoshima United (13,863)
Iwaki FC 1-2 Renofa Yamaguchi (3,457)
Roasso Kumamoto 0-0 Yokohama FC (2,998)
Montedio Yamagata 0-1 Mito Hollyhock (8,829)
Fujieda MYFC 1-0 Blaublitz Akita (3,249)
Tokushima Vortis 1-0 Tochigi SC (3,880)
V-Varen Nagasaki 0-0 Fagiano Okayama (4,905)
Oita Trinita 2-2 Ehime FC (8,790)
Ventforet Kofu 2-2 JEF United Chiba (9,245)

J2 League Round 16 results:

Montedio Yamagata 0-2 Blaublitz Akita (8,229)
Mito Hollyhock 1-1 Oita Trinita (4,220)
Thespa Gunma 0-1 Iwaki FC (3,690)
JEF United Chiba 7-1 Ehime FC (9,538)
Yokohama FC 2-0 Shimizu S-Pulse (12,735)
Tokushima Vortis 1-2 Roasso Kumamoto (4,302)
Kagoshima United 0-3 V-Varen Nagasaki (6,471)
Renofa Yamaguchi 2-1 Fujieda MYFC (4,368)
Fagiano Okayama 2-0 Ventforet Kofu (8,798)
Tochigi SC 1-2 Vegalta Sendai (7,034)

J2 League Round 16 standings:

  1. Shimizu S-Pulse - 37
  2. V-Varen Nagasaki - 33
  3. Vegalta Sendai - 29
  4. Yokohama FC - 28
  5. Renofa Yamaguchi - 27
  6. Fagiano Okayama - 27
  7. Iwaki FC - 26
  8. JEF United Chiba - 24
  9. Ventforet Kofu - 22
  10. Blaublitz Akita - 22
  11. Oita Trinita - 22
  12. Ehime FC - 21
  13. Fujieda MYFC - 20
  14. Mito Hollyhock - 18
  15. Tokushima Vortis - 18
  16. Montedio Yamagata - 17
  17. Roasso Kumamoto - 17
  18. Kagoshima United - 13
  19. Tochigi SC - 12
  20. Thespa Gunma - 6

J3 League Round 13 results:

FC Osaka 0-1 FC Ryukyu (1,741)
FC Imabari 0-2 Kataller Toyama (4,451)
Vanraure Hachinohe 4-1 Iwate Grulla Morioka (2,217)
Fukushima United 2-1 Nara Club (1,168)
Omiya Ardija 0-2 Matsumoto Yamaga (10,928)
YSCC Yokohama 0-0 SC Sagamihara (1,717)
Kamatamare Sanuki 1-0 Azul Claro Numazu (1,472)
Tegevajaro Miyazaki 0-1 AC Nagano Parceiro (819)
Zweigen Kanazawa 3-3 Gainare Tottori (8,142)
FC Gifu 0-1 Giravanz Kitakyushu (2,715)

J3 League Round 14 results:

FC Imabari 1-2 Fukushima United (3,300)
Iwate Grulla Morioka 0-1 YSCC Yokohama (975)
Matsumoto Yamaga 1-1 Giravanz Kitakyushu (6,941)
AC Nagano Parceiro 1-2 Zweigen Kanazawa (3,937)
Nara Club 2-1 FC Gifu (1,808)
Kamatamare Sanuki 0-2 Omiya Ardija (1,859)
Kataller Toyama 2-0 FC Osaka (2,656)
FC Ryukyu 2-1 Tegevajaro Miyazaki (2,508)
Gainare Tottori 0-3 SC Sagamihara (1,589)
Azul Claro Numazu 0-0 Vanraure Hachinohe (2,139)

J3 League Round 14 standings:

  1. Omiya Ardija - 33
  2. FC Ryukyu - 23
  3. Azul Claro Numazu - 22
  4. SC Sagamihara - 22
  5. Zweigen Kanazawa - 22
  6. FC Osaka - 21
  7. Kataller Toyama - 21
  8. Fukushima United - 20
  9. AC Nagano Parceiro - 20
  10. Matsumoto Yamaga - 20
  11. FC Imabari - 20
  12. FC Gifu - 19
  13. YSCC Yokohama - 17
  14. Gainare Tottori - 17
  15. Giravanz Kitakyushu - 15
  16. Vanraure Hachinohe - 15
  17. Nara Club - 15
  18. Kamatamare Sanuki - 11
  19. Tegevajaro Miyazaki - 10
  20. Iwate Grulla Morioka - 9
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So tight in J3.

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Ardija are way too good to be there, they’ll cruise back up. It’s a battle amongst everyone else for second place.

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Some fantastic games in J.League Cup last night.

Kataller Toyama (currently 7th in J3) defeated J1 champions Vissel Kobe 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. (att: 8,223)

Sanfrecce Hiroshima made it hard for themselves but defeated Tokyo Verdy 3-2. (att: 6,150)

J2 side V-Varen Nagasaki ended Urawa Reds cup, winning 1-0 (att: 7,827)

The Machida Zelvia miracle continues, they brushed aside Kashima Antlers 2-0, with Mitch Duke scoring both goals. (att: 4,537)

Pretty straightforward victory for Nagoya Grampus, beating J2 Yokohama FC 3-1. (att: 3,423)

It was a 92nd minute winner for Kashiwa Reysol in the all-J1 match against Avispa Fukuoka. (att: 3,848)

Cerezo Osaka travelled down to Okinawa and came back with a 1-0 win over J3 side FC Ryukyu. (att: 7,034)

J2 team Blaublitz Akita held Albirex Niigata scoreless over 90 minutes, but two goals in extra time saw Albirex through (att: 2,810)

FC Tokyo survived copping a 91st minute equaliser against Sagan Tosu to go on and win 5-4 on penalties. (att: 2,868)

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo fans will be happy to see their team advance, but maybe not so happy with the fact that J3 team AC Nagano Parceiro took them to penalties, Sapporo winning the shootout in the “Winter Olympics derby” 5-3. (att: 4,800)

The cup moves into its next phase now the mini tournaments are finished. 10 teams remain in the competition at this stage. They’ll play a home and away playoff, and the five winning teams will join Yokohama F. Marinos, Ventforet Kofu and Kawasaki Frontale in the last eight, the Prime Round.

Playoff round (5th and 8th of June)

Kataller Toyama (J3) vs Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (J1)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (J1) vs FC Tokyo (J1)
V-Varen Nagasaki (J2) vs Albirex Niigata (J1)
FC Machida Zelvia (J1) vs Cerezo Osaka (J1)
Nagoya Grampus (J1) vs Kashiwa Reysol (J1)

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FC Tokyo v Gamba Osaka about to kick off on Optus Sports. They are also showing some K league later on as well. Well worth keeping Optus connected even though the EPL has finished

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Catch up on last weekend results and standings before we get stuck into another good weekend of J.League.

I talk about Machida Zelvia every week, because they keep surprising me every week. They did it again, this time scoring a 96th minute winner to defeat Urawa Reds in front of almost 40k crowd. Mitch Duke played the last 30 minutes. A thriller for Jubilo Iwata fans, down 2-0 early to Shonan Bellmare only to see two goals in the last 10 minutes end with Jubilo 3-2 winners.

J1 League Round 16 results:

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 0-3 Kashima Antlers (12,651)
Jubilo Iwata 3-2 Shonan Bellmare (13,491)
Kawasaki Frontale 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol (21,598)
Albirex Niigata 1-2 Avispa Fukuoka (20,197)
Vissel Kobe 0-1 Tokyo Verdy (22,104)
FC Tokyo 0-1 Gamba Osaka (27,972)
Nagoya Grampus 1-1 Kyoto Sanga (23,405)
Cerezo Osaka 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (19,670)
Urawa Red Diamonds 1-2 FC Machida Zelvia (39,460)

J1 League Round 16 standings:

  1. FC Machida Zelvia - 35
  2. Kashima Antlers - 32
  3. Vissel Kobe - 29
  4. Gamba Osaka - 28
  5. FC Tokyo - 26
  6. Nagoya Grampus - 26
  7. Urawa Red Diamonds - 24
  8. Cerezo Osaka - 24
  9. Sanfrecce Hiroshima - 23
  10. Avispa Fukuoka - 22
  11. Kashiwa Reysol - 22
  12. Tokyo Verdy - 21
  13. Yokohama F. Marinos - 20
  14. Jubilo Iwata - 18
  15. Kawasaki Frontale - 17
  16. Albirex Niigata - 16
  17. Sagan Tosu - 14
  18. Shonan Bellmare - 14
  19. Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo - 11
  20. Kyoto Sanga - 10

J2 League Round 17 results:

Ehime FC 0-0 Tochigi SC (3,253)
Fujieda MYFC 1-1 Kagoshima United (2,465)
V-Varen Nagasaki 1-0 JEF United Chiba (6,228)
Ventforet Kofu 1-2 Yokohama FC (7,738)
Vegalta Sendai 1-4 Fagiano Okayama (11,807)
Blaublitz Akita 1-1 Thespa Gunma (3,948)
Iwaki FC 1-1 Tokushima Vortis (3,707)
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 Mito Hollyhock (17,584)
Roasso Kumamoto 0-1 Montedio Yamagata (4,586)
Oita Trinita 0-0 Renofa Yamaguchi (8,421)

J2 League Round 17 standings:

  1. Shimizu S-Pulse - 40
  2. V-Varen Nagasaki - 36
  3. Yokohama FC - 31
  4. Fagiano Okayama - 30
  5. Vegalta Sendai - 29
  6. Renofa Yamaguchi - 28
  7. Iwaki FC - 27
  8. JEF United Chiba - 24
  9. Blaublitz Akita - 23
  10. Oita Trinita - 23
  11. Ventforet Kofu - 22
  12. Ehime FC - 22
  13. Fujieda MYFC - 21
  14. Montedio Yamagata - 20
  15. Tokushima Vortis - 19
  16. Mito Hollyhock - 18
  17. Roasso Kumamoto - 17
  18. Kagoshima United - 14
  19. Tochigi SC - 13
  20. Thespa Gunma - 7

J3 League Round 14 results:

FC Imabari 1-2 Fukushima United (3,300)
Iwate Grulla Morioka 0-1 YSCC Yokohama (975)
Matsumoto Yamaga 1-1 Giravanz Kitakyushu (6,941)
AC Nagano Parceiro 1-2 Zweigen Kanazawa (3,937)
Nara Club 2-1 FC Gifu (1,808)
Kamatamare Sanuki 0-2 Omiya Ardija (1,859)
Kataller Toyama 2-0 FC Osaka (2,656)
FC Ryukyu 2-1 Tegevajaro Miyazaki (2,508)
Gainare Tottori 0-3 SC Sagamihara (1,589)
Azul Claro Numazu 0-0 Vanraure Hachinohe (2,139)

J3 League Round 14 standings:

  1. Omiya Ardija - 33
  2. FC Ryukyu - 23
  3. Azul Claro Numazu - 22
  4. SC Sagamihara - 22
  5. Zweigen Kanazawa - 22
  6. FC Osaka - 21
  7. Kataller Toyama - 21
  8. Fukushima United - 20
  9. AC Nagano Parceiro - 20
  10. Matsumoto Yamaga - 20
  11. FC Imabari - 20
  12. FC Gifu - 19
  13. YSCC Yokohama - 17
  14. Gainare Tottori - 17
  15. Giravanz Kitakyushu - 15
  16. Vanraure Hachinohe - 15
  17. Nara Club - 15
  18. Kamatamare Sanuki - 11
  19. Tegevajaro Miyazaki - 10
  20. Iwate Grulla Morioka - 9
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It continues to be a bit of a tough time for Harry Kewell and Yokohama F. Marinos on the domestic front, a 3-2 loss to Kashima Antlers sees them sitting very uncomfortably in 13th place. Although they have 2 games in hand as a result of their ACL commitments, even two wins would only see them up to 7th place.

Machida Zelvia finally hit a real speedbump, 3-1 losers at home to Albirex Niigata. Mitch Duke came on for the last 20 minutes.

It was definitely one of Tokyo Verdy’s finest days back in the top flight, putting 5 past hapless Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Nagoya Grampus and Mitch Langerak were out of the chase early, 2-0 down after 20 minutes to Kawasaki Frontale, and an 89th minute goal was their only joy in the 2-1 loss.

J1 League Round 17 results:

Sagan Tosu 0-1 FC Tokyo (7,528)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-0 Jubilo Iwata (25,517)
Kashima Antlers 3-2 Yokohama F. Marinos (52,860)
FC Machida Zelvia 1-3 Albirex Niigata (10,411)
Shonan Bellmare 1-2 Gamba Osaka (11,006)
Urawa Red Diamonds 1-1 Vissel Kobe (45,976)
Kyoto Sanga 1-1 Cerezo Osaka (14,160)
Tokyo Verdy 5-3 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (16,301)
Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 Nagoya Grampus (19,463)
Kashiwa Reysol 0-2 Avispa Fukuoka (8,198)

J1 League Round 17 standings:

  1. FC Machida Zelvia - 35
  2. Kashima Antlers - 35
  3. Gamba Osaka - 31
  4. Vissel Kobe - 30
  5. Sanfrecce Hiroshima - 26
  6. FC Tokyo - 26
  7. Nagoya Grampus - 26
  8. Urawa Red Diamonds - 25
  9. Cerezo Osaka - 25
  10. Avispa Fukuoka - 25
  11. Tokyo Verdy - 24
  12. Kashiwa Reysol - 22
  13. Yokohama F. Marinos - 20
  14. Kawasaki Frontale - 20
  15. Albirex Niigata - 19
  16. Jubilo Iwata - 18
  17. Sagan Tosu - 14
  18. Shonan Bellmare - 14
  19. Kyoto Sanga - 11
  20. Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo - 11

Yokohama FC fans must have enjoyed their team scoring a 96th minute winner against Ehime FC, but that wasn’t the latest winner of the round, V-Varen Nagasaki broke the hearts of Mito Hollyhock fans with a winner in the 13th minute of stoppage time.

J2 League Round 18 results:

Fujieda MYFC 2-1 Ventforet Kofu (4,413)
Oita Trinita 1-2 Tokushima Vortis (7,038)
JEF United Chiba 2-1 Fagiano Okayama (10,276)
Yokohama FC 2-1 Ehime FC (5,414)
Iwaki FC 1-2 Vegalta Sendai (4,849)
Mito Hollyhock 2-3 V-Varen Nagasaki (3,262)
Thespa Gunma 0-0 Montedio Yamagata (2,995)
Renofa Yamaguchi 2-0 Shimizu S-Pulse (7,269)
Kagoshima United 0-0 Blaublitz Akita (6,526)
Tochigi SC 1-3 Roasso Kumamoto (3,417)

J2 League Round 18 standings:

  1. Shimizu S-Pulse - 40
  2. V-Varen Nagasaki - 39
  3. Yokohama FC - 34
  4. Vegalta Sendai - 32
  5. Renofa Yamaguchi - 31
  6. Fagiano Okayama - 30
  7. JEF United Chiba - 27
  8. Iwaki FC - 27
  9. Blaublitz Akita - 24
  10. Fujieda MYFC - 24
  11. Oita Trinita - 23
  12. Ventforet Kofu - 22
  13. Ehime FC - 22
  14. Tokushima Vortis - 22
  15. Montedio Yamagata - 21
  16. Roasso Kumamoto - 20
  17. Mito Hollyhock - 18
  18. Kagoshima United - 15
  19. Tochigi SC - 13
  20. Thespa Gunma - 8

Former Perth Glory player Ryo Nagai scored the winner for his new club Giravanz Kitakyushu as they beat Gainare Tottori 1-0.

J3 League Round 15 results:

Omiya Ardija 4-1 AC Nagano Parceiro (6,800)
Matsumoto Yamaga 1-2 FC Imabari (6,518)
Vanraure Hachinohe 2-2 Zweigen Kanazawa (1,645)
Fukushima United 0-1 Kamatamare Sanuki (776)
YSCC Yokohama 0-2 Tegevajaro Miyazaki (923)
SC Sagamihara 2-1 Iwate Grulla Morioka (1,580)
Azul Claro Numazu 1-0 Kataller Toyama (1,520)
Giravanz Kitakyushu 1-0 Gainare Tottori (3,640)
FC Osaka 0-0 Nara Club (6,459)
FC Gifu 2-2 FC Ryukyu (3,926)

J3 League Round 15 standings:

  1. Omiya Ardija - 36
  2. Azul Claro Numazu - 25
  3. SC Sagamihara - 25
  4. FC Ryukyu - 24
  5. Zweigen Kanazawa - 23
  6. FC Imabari - 23
  7. FC Osaka - 22
  8. Kataller Toyama - 21
  9. Fukushima United - 20
  10. FC Gifu - 20
  11. AC Nagano Parceiro - 20
  12. Matsumoto Yamaga - 20
  13. Giravanz Kitakyushu - 18
  14. YSCC Yokohama - 17
  15. Gainare Tottori - 17
  16. Vanraure Hachinohe - 16
  17. Nara Club - 16
  18. Kamatamare Sanuki - 14
  19. Tegevajaro Miyazaki - 13
  20. Iwate Grulla Morioka - 9
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Are there any clubs in Japan that are always in the top positions?

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Historically, Kashima Antlers have been pretty much one of the strongest teams since J.League started in 1993.

They have been champions 8 times and they are one of only two clubs who were never relegated from J1 (Yokohama F. Marinos the other)

Urawa Reds are the biggest club but they never actually really win things. Tokyo Verdy were powerful in the 90s but really fell away.

In recent years, Kawasaki Frontale had a golden age where they have won 10 trophies in the last 8 years.

Overall in the league it is pretty competitive, in total 11 different clubs have won the J.League since it started. Kashiwa Reysol even were J1 champions in 2011, just one year after winning J2 and getting promotion back into the top tier.

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How much grace will the ACL get Kewell? And will his repeated dummy spits cancel that out?

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He probably isn’t in much danger this season, F. Marinos didn’t really look like much in Ange’s first season in charge, they finished 12th (28 points behind the league champions) but he won them the J1 the next season.

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Thanks for your response.

Is the japanese league overall more appealing than the Chinese league to investors and prestige or would it be pretty much even stevens?

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I think Chinese league has lost all its prestige by now.

J.League seems to be pretty well established and respected as far as leagues go, they started professional competition only in 1993 with one division of 10 teams. This season there are now 3 divisions each with 20 teams and connection between the 3rd division and the semi-pro 4th tier with strict regulations about promotion between leagues. Clubs need to prove they fulfil a set of criteria, financial and professional, before being given a license to earn promotion.

I don’t know much about the investment side of things, but I would say the stability of J.League must look good to sponsors and investment. A lot of the older established clubs used to be owned by the big companies in Japan and carried their names until the professional era and they needed to rebrand. Those companies often still have a connection to the club, sponsorship or heritage.

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The first leg of J.League Cup playoff round was on Wednesday. The five teams that win this two-legged round move into the Prime Round (which is basically just the QF to F of the competition), along with Yokohama F.Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale and Ventforet Kofu.

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1-1 Kataller Toyama (4,922)
FC Tokyo 1-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7,265)
Albirex Niigata 2-1 V-Varen Nagasaki (7,325)
Cerezo Osaka 1-3 FC Machida Zelvia (7,327)
Kashiwa Reysol 1-1 Nagoya Grampus (4,372)

The second leg will be on Sunday. No J1 this weekend because of international football, but there will be J2 and J3 as well as the J.League Cup so I have plenty to keep me entertained.

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The J2 and J3 league results I’ll post up in a separate post, right now take a look at the J.League Cup playoff round 2nd leg matches.

Kataller Toyama (J2) 1-2 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (J1) (2-3 agg)

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (J1) 3-1 FC Tokyo (J1) (5-2 agg)

V-Varen Nagasaki (J2) 1-1 Albirex Niigata (J1) (2-3 agg)

FC Machida Zelvia (J1) 2-2 Cerezo Osaka (J1) (5-3 agg)

Nagoya Grampus (J1) 1-0 Kashiwa Reysol (J1) (2-1 agg)

We are back for the next round in September. These are the remaining teams (and the years of previous times they have lifted this cup, for anyone who wants to get behind an underdog)

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (never)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (2022)
Albirex Niigata (never)
FC Machida Zelvia (never)
Nagoya Grampus (2021)
Yokohama F. Marinos (2001)
Kawasaki Frontale (2019)
Ventforet Kofu (never)

I’m surprised that half of the teams remaining have never won a J.League Cup, and the other half have only ever won once!

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It’s the second round of my favourite competition in football tonight, the Emperor’s Cup.

I can’t believe the first round escaped me last month, so here it is. An amazing competition that is open to all football teams in Japan, from J1 right now to university and amateur clubs.

The Emperor’s Cup this year will be made up of:

19 J1 League teams (Urawa Reds being banned from the competition this year because of their fan behaviour last year)
20 J2 teams

2 amateur teams (one more than usual, taking the place of Urawa)

47 teams from J3 and down, one representative per prefecture.

Taking a look at the fixtures and results from the first round. Let’s hope some of these lower tier teams can create a few cupsets from the 2nd round on.

104th Emperor’s Cup Round 1:

(Toyama) Kataller Toyama 3-0 Kansai University (Osaka)
(Iwate) Iwate Grulla Morioka 3-1 Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth (Hokkaido)
(Ibaraki) University of Tsukuba 1-0 Meiji University (Amateur representative)
(Tokushima) FC Tokushima 0-1 {a.e.t} J-Lease FC (Oita)
(Kagoshima) NIFS Kanoya 0-3 Giravanz Kitakushu (Fukuoka)
(Okayama) Mitsubishi Mizushima 3-4 {a.e.t} Kamatamare Sanuki (Kagawa)
(Nara) Nara Club 3-2 Kyoto Sangyo University (Kyoto)
(Kochi) Kochi United 1-0 Belugarosso Iwami (Shimane)
(Aomori) Vanrauare Hachinohe 2-0 Briobecca Urayasu (Chiba)
(Wakayama) Arterivo Wakayama 1-2 Japan Soccer College (Niigata)
(Fukui) Fukui United 0-3 Omiya Ardija (Omiya)
(Kumamoto) Tokai University Kumamoto 0-4 Mitsubishi Nagasaki (Nagasaki)
(Gifu) FC Gifu 1-0 Azul Claro Numazu (Shizuoka)
(Fukushima) Fukushima United 9-0 Oyama SC (Yamagata)
(Miyazaki) Tegevajaro Miyazaki 4-0 Kawasoe Club (Saga)
(Miyagi) Sony Sendai 3-1 Tonan Maebashi (Gunma)
(Mie) Veertien Mie 1-0 FC Imabari (Ehime)
(Shiga) Biwako Seikei Sport College 0-1 Chukyo University (Aichi)
(Tottori) Gainare Tottori 1-1 (3-4 penalties) Baleine Shimonoseki (Yamaguchi)
(Kanazawa) Zweigen Kanazawa 1-1 (3-4 penalties) Konan University (Hyogo)
(Nagano) Nagano Parceiro 7-0 Saruta Kogyo (Akita)
(Hiroshima) Fukuyama City 3-0 Okinawa SV (Okinawa)
(Tochigi) Tochigi City 1-0 Yokogawa Mushashino (Tokyo)
(Kanagawa) SC Sagamihara 3-0 YGU Pegasus (Yamanashi)

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99

What did the Urawa fans do to get banned? I thought Japanese fans were all above board

100

They are like the RBB + SUS of Japan.

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