The 32nd annual

Japanese Regional Football League Competition The Japanese Regional Champions League ( ja, 全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ, ''Zenkoku Chiiki Sakkā Championzu Rīgu''), known before 2016 as Japan Regional Football League Competition, is a nationwide play-off tournament m ...

took place from 22 November 2008 to 30 November 2008. It took place across the prefectures of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Kōchi Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...

, Tottori and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. It is the tournament which decided promotion to the

Japan Football League The 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. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

for the 2009 season. As three teams were promoted from the Japan Football League to

J. League Division 2 The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Ya ...

, the top three teams in this competition were promoted:

Machida Zelvia is a Japanese football club based in Machida, Tokyo. History Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest number of J. League players though its football scho ...

V-Varen Nagasaki is a Japanese J2 League football club based in Nagasaki. The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC till they merged with Kunimi FC in 2004 and adopted the present name in 2005. The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in 20 ...

and Honda Lock.

Tournament outline

Preliminary round – Four groups of four teams play each other once in a

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

. The top-placed team in each group advances to the final round. In the final round, the four winners from the preliminary round play each other once in a round-robin tournament. Three points are awarded for a win in standard time and zero for a loss. If at the end of standard time the result is a tie, a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

is held; the winning team is awarded 2 points and the losing team 1. If the number of points are the same, the league position is ordered by goal difference, then the number of goals scored, and finally the result between the respective teams. If the 1st-place position cannot be decided by these factors, a playoff will be contested between the top two teams.

Venues

Preliminary round

*Group A -

Honjō Athletic Stadium is a small athletic and multi-purpose stadium (capacity 10,202), opened in 1990 at Honjō Park in Ohiraki, Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. Association football It was the designated home stadium for Giravanz Kitakyushu ...

Kitakyushu city is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...

Fukuoka prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

*Group B -

Kochi Haruno Athletic Stadium Kochi Haruno Athletic Stadium (高知県立春野総合運動公園陸上競技場), is a multi-purpose stadium in Haruno, Kōchi, Japan. It is currently used mostly for amateur level football matches. A few J1 League, J2 League and Emperor's Cup ...

, Haruno,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

*Group C -

Tottori Bank Bird Stadium The is a 16,033-capacity multi-purpose stadium in Tottori, Tottori. The stadium is home to J3 League side Gainare Tottori. The stadium hosted Ecuador's national selection during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It was formerly known as Tottori Stadium. ...

Tottori city is the capital and the largest city of Tottori Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. Within Japan the city is best known for its sand dunes which are a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from outside the prefecture. The sand du ...

Tottori prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hirosh ...

*Group D - Coca-Cola West Sports Park,

Final Round

* Ishigaki Island Soccer Park Anma, Ishigaki city,

Okinawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

Participating teams

9 Regional League champions

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Norbritz Hokkaido commonly known as Norbritz Hokkaido (ノルブリッツ北海道, ''Noruburittsu Hokkaidō'') is a Japanese football club from Ebetsu, Hokkaido, within the Sapporo metropolitan area. They play in the Hokkaido League, the regionalized fifth leve ...

* Tohoku:

Grulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, wh ...

Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

* Hokushinetsu:

Nagano Parceiro Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

Tokai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

: Banditonce Kakogawa * Chugoku:

Renofa Yamaguchi is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Yamaguchi (city), Yamaguchi, the capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, the second tier of professional football in Japanese association foot ...

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

Kamatamare Sanuki Kamatamare Sanuki (カマタマーレ讃岐、Kamatamare Sanuki) is a football club based in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. They entered the J League in 2014 aft ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

: Okinawa Kariyushi

Runner-Up from selected leagues

Regional Leagues whose representative reached the final round in 2007, are eligible for a second team to represent them. This would normally be four teams, however this year there were only three. *Kansai: Ain Food *Chugoku: Sagawa Express Chugoku *Kyushu:

High performing teams in the
All Japan Senior Football Championship The , officially called the All Japan Adults Football Tournament, is a football (soccer) cup competition in Japan. It is run by the Japan Football Association. As it only involves non-league teams (teams not affiliated to either J.League or the ...

NEC Tokin TOKIN Corporation is a Japanese electrical and electronic industrial and automotive parts manufacturing company. Since April 2017 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of KEMET Corporation. Previously it was named and was part of the NEC Group. ...

(Tohoku) (runner up) * Honda Lock (Kyushu) (third place) *

Matsumoto Yamaga or Simply Matsumoto Yamaga FC (松本山雅, ''Matsumoto Yamaga Efu Shī'') is the Japanese football (soccer) club based in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. The club currently play in the J3 League after relegation from J2 League at the end of the ...

(Hokushinetsu) (fourth place)

were originally announced to participate, however due to poor business performances from their parent company, their entry was withdrawn and replaced by fourth place

Invited teams

* Tochigi Uva (Kanto) *

Yazaki Valente is a global automotive parts supplier with a focus on wire harnesses, instruments and components such as connectors and terminals. The company's origin and headquarters are in Japan, but in 2011, roughly 90% of its employees were outside the home ...

(Tokai)

Results

Preliminary round

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

Final Round

References

* Japan Football Association
The 32nd National Regional Football League Competition - Schedule and Results
* Japan Football Association

* Japan Football Association

* The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

{{2008 in Japanese football

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...