The 2020

Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football Sports league, league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese association football ...

was the 32nd season of the

, the main league for women's association football in Japan. It was also the 16th season in its current format. The league was originally scheduled to begin on 2 May 2020 but was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The league was finally rescheduled to begin on 18 July 2020 with the first two rounds of matches played behind closed doors.

Division 1

The season started on 18 July 2020 and ended in November 2020 with the play-offs to be held days later. Prior to the league start date, PCR were carried out on all the players and staffs of the teams participating in the leagues to check their health conditions, almost all test cases came out negative

Urawa Reds Ladies , known for sponsorship reasons as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies, is a women's football (soccer), football club playing in Japan's football league, WE League. Its hometown is the city of Saitama, Saitama, Saitama in Saitama Prefect ...

won their fourth

title and therefore will earn the right to participate in the

2021 AFC Women's Club Championship The 2021 AFC Women's Club Championship (also known as the AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 Pilot Tournament (West)) was the second edition of AFC's premier women's club football competition, held between 7 and 13 November. Four clubs from f ...

. This is its final year as the highest division of the Japan women's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league system as the

WE League The , officially the , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top flight of women's association football in Japan, starting from the 2021–22 season. It is the first fully-professional women's soccer league in Japan. History On 3 J ...

is set to commence next year. Similar to the men's

J. League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...

in 1992 and the English women's

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

in 2011, not all Division 1 clubs will be admitted to the new league.

Teams

The league was contested by 10 teams, debutants

Ehime is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokush ...

winners of the 2019 Nadeshiko League Division 2 and runners up

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

replaced Nittidai and

AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies is a women's football club based in Nagano and affiliated with AC Nagano Parceiro. The team currently plays in the WE League, the highest division of women's football in Japan. Kits Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors Staff Managerial his ...

, who were relegated from the 2019 Nadeshiko League Division 1.

Table

Results

Positions by round

Attendance

Average attendance

Highest attendance

Statistics

Topscorers

Awards

Best XI

Division 2

The season began on 18 July 2020.

Teams and format

10 teams contested the league, Jumonji Ventus were promoted while Shizuoka Sangyo were relegated from the previous season, additionally Nittaidai and Nagano Parceiro Ladies also joined from the Nadeshiko League Division 1.

League table

Results

Statistics

Top scorers

Awards

Challenge League

12 teams contested the third tier, divided into two groups of 6 each for East and West. Newly promoted clubs were Shizuoka SSU Asregina (formerly Iwata Bonita) and

Fukuoka J. Anclas Fukuoka J. Anclas is a Japanese women's football club from Fukuoka. Founded in 1986, it has played in the Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko Leagu ...

, both returning to the national tiers, and Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls,

Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies is a women's football club based in Sakai and Osaka, Osaka. The team currently plays in the WE League, the top division of women's football in Japan. History Cerezo Osaka Ladies was founded in 2005. Cerezo Osaka Ladies joined to WE League fr ...

's B-team.

Teams

Challenge League Championship

---- ''JFA Academy wins the title.''

Challenge League Third Place

---- ''Speranza is promoted to the Nadeshiko League.''

References

External links

2020 Nadeshiko League Division 1
at Soccerway. {{L. League seasons Nadeshiko League seasons 1 L

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 ...