The 33rd annual Japanese Regional Football League Competition took place from 21 November 2009 to 6 December 2009. It took place across the prefectures of

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture **Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan *** Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

, Toyama, Tottori,

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 ...

and Nagano. It is the tournament which decided promotion to the Japan Football League for the 2010 season. The top two teams in this competition (

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 ...

and Hitachi Tochigi Soccer Club) were given promotion to the Japan Football League. Third place

Zweigen Kanazawa Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, ''Tsuēgen Kanazawa'') is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japan's 2nd tier of professional league football. History The club was form ...

achieved promotion via a two-leg play off with F.C. Kariya.

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. 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 lose. If at the end of standard time the result is a tie, a penalty shoot-out 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 play off will be contested between top two teams.

Venues

;Preliminary round *Group A - Iwaki Greenfield, Iwaki,

Fukushima prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

*Group B - Takaoka Sports Core, Takaoka, Toyama prefecture *Group C - Tottori Athletics Stadium, Tottori, Tottori prefecture *Group D -

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 A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could poten ...

, Kōchi Prefecture ;Final round * Matsumotodaira Football Stadium, Matsumoto,

Nagano prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

Participating teams

9 Regional League champions

* Hokkaido: Satsudai Goal Plunderers * Tohoku: Grulla Morioka *

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 ' ...

: Yokohama Sports and Culture Club * Hokushinetsu: College of Upward Players in Soccer *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

: Sanyo Denki Sumoto Football Club * 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: Tokushima Vortis Second *

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 2008, are eligible for a second team to represent them. *Kanto: Hitachi Tochigi Soccer Club *Chugoku: NTN Okayama S.C. *Kyushu: Volca Kagoshima

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 ...

(Hokushinetsu) (winner) *

(Hokushinetsu) (runner-up)

Invited teams

AS Laranja Kyoto is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. They play in the Kansai Soccer League Division 2, having been shifting between Division 1 and Division 2 on recent times. The club aims to join the Japan Football L ...

(Kansai) * Hamamatsu University (Tokai)

Results

Preliminary round

Group A

----

Group B

----

Group C

----

Group D

----

Final Round

----

References

* Japan Football Association
The 33rd National Regional Football League Competition - Final Round
* Japan Football Association

* Japan Football Association

* The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

{{2009 in Japanese football

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

play