The was the third season of the nationwide fourth tier of

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 ...

ese

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 ...

, and the 18th season since the establishment of Japan Football League.

Clubs

Sixteen clubs participated in this season of Japan Football League. The list was announced on 9 December 2015. A place for

2016 Emperor's Cup The was the 2016 edition of the annual Japanese national cup tournament, which was held from 27 August 2016 to its final on 1 January 2017. Kashima Antlers won their fifth title after a 2–1 defeat of Kawasaki Frontale in the final after extra ...

will be given to the winners of the first stage of the 2016 JFL.

Change in rules

The tournament continued with the system introduced in 2014: Two single round-robin stages are held, and winners of each stage determine the champion in the post-season home and away championship playoffs. If the same team manages to win both stages, no playoffs will be held, and they will be automatically declared champions. The two worst performing teams by aggregated results of both stages are relegated to the

Regional Leagues In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and replaced by the top two performers of the Regional League promotion series. However, if one or two teams are admitted to J3 or withdrawn at the end of the season, the number of relegated clubs are reduced accordingly. According to updated J.League Terms, the clubs must comply the following requirements to be promoted to

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

: *Play in JFL for at least one season before promotion *Hold a

J.League 100 Year Plan club status J.League 100 Year Plan club status, is a status given to Japanese non-league football clubs. The applicant must have an intention to become a professional club and to join the professional league, J.League, that governs the top three levels of the ...

*Finish in top 4 of the combined JFL table ''and'' finish either 1st or 2nd among associate members. *Have an average home attendance of at least 2,000; with significant effort recognized toward reaching 3,000 spectators *Have an annual operating revenue of 150 million yen *Pass the J3 licensing examination conducted by J.League

First stage

Second stage

Championship play-offs

The championship play-offs were held after the season between two winners of each stage. Ryutsu Keizai Dragons, the winners of the first stage, hosted the first leg on 26 November, and

Honda FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was founded as Honda Motor, Honda works team in 1971. They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 i ...

who won the second stage hosted the second leg on 4 December. ---- ----

Overall table

This table is used to determine J3 promotion candidates. To qualify for promotion, a club must hold a 100 Year Plan status, obtain J3 license (marked in bold in the table), and finish both in the top 4 of the JFL, and either 1st or 2nd among the promotion-eligible clubs.

Top scorers

Updated to games played on 13 November 2016.
Source
JFL Stats & Data - Ranking:Goals

Attendance

Promotion from Regional Leagues

FC Imabari FC Imabari (''FC今治'') is a Japanese football club based in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. They play in the J3 League. History The club was founded in 1976 and were promoted to the Shikoku Football League in 2001. From 2009 to 2011 they were own ...

and

Veertien Mie Veertien Mie (ヴィアティン三重) is a Japanese football club based between Kuwana and Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. History "Veertien" means "fourteen" in Dutch, after Johan Cruijff's playing numbe ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Japanese Club Football, group=fourth

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...