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 Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche 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 coun ...

were the defending champions. Due to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's participation in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, there was an extended break to allow for preparation after the 14th-week matches on 17 and 18 May, with the league resuming on 15 July for four clubs who participated in the

2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...

to play rescheduled 12th-week matches, and 19 July for other 14 clubs. 2014 saw the league played via a home and away system over a single season for the last time until at least 2020. From 2015 the league will revert to an

Apertura and Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

system, with a multi-team play-off 'super stage' to decide the champions, similar to the format used when the J.League began. The league was won by

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

, who won their second J.League title following a 0–0 away draw against

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vortis ...

. They became the second league champions (after

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 Stadiu ...

) to win the first division after being promoted as second division champions.

Clubs

18 teams compete in this year's competition. Both

and

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

return to J1 after a single season outside the top flight; they finished as the

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 Y ...

champions and runners-up, respectively.

, who finished fourth in the regular season and won the promotion playoff, will make their top-flight debut, becoming the first club from

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'' (), '' ...

to do so. Those three teams replaced

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa 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 Hiratsuka ...

and

Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

; Júbilo were relegated from J1 for the first time after twenty seasons in the top tier, while Bellmare and Trinita were bumped down after cameo appearances in J1.

Foreign players

Managerial changes

League table

Positions by round

Results

Top scorers

Updated to games played on 8 December 2014
Source
J. League Data
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Awards

Individual

Best Eleven

* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.

Attendances

References

{{J1 League champions J1 League seasons 1