The 2020 J3 League, referred to as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 7th season of

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 ...

under its current name. On 19 March, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season.

Postponement of the beginning of the season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns, the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

(JFA) opted to postpone the beginning of the season, firstly established for 7 March. On 25 February, all J.League matches until 15 March were postponed in response 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 ...

. After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until 29 March. On March 19, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season. On 25 March, the league announced that the season would be suspended between 3 April and 6 May. On 3 April, it was decided to start over with the official game schedule, which aimed to gradually resume J3 from 25 April, J2 from 2 May, and J1 from 9 May. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, the schedule would have called for the season's resumption at least one month later and later in the month. On 29 May, J.League announced its decision to resume on 27 June. On 9 June, the schedules of the 2020 season were published. On 15 June, new dates were also published. The first 2 matches in each league (J3 1st-2nd section) were held without spectators. After 10 July, as a general rule, the maximum number of people were 5,000 (stadiums with lower capacity are those with less than 50% of the capacity of people watching; no away supporters allowed). After August, the maximum stadium capacity was 50%, and there would be "high alert spectator matches". After that, at the 11th J.League extraordinary executive committee meeting on 20 July, it was announced that the "super strict alert audience game" was extended to 10 August in view of the spread of coronavirus infection.

Clubs

2019 season saw two teams promoted to

J2 League 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 Yas ...

: Giravanz Kitakyushu won the championship after being for three seasons in the third tier, while

Thespakusatsu Gunma is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in Japan. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most ...

won promotion just in the last game of the season. From

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, there was a double automatic relegation for the second time: FC Gifu played their first season in J3 after being in the second division for the last 12 years, when

wasn't even on the cards. Alongside them, an incredible final day of the 2019 season pushed

Kagoshima United FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan that was formed from the merger of ''Volca Kagoshima'' and ''FC Kagoshima''. Both clubs played in the Kyushu Soccer League before the merger. Their top team ...

immediately back to J3, just one year after sealing their first-ever participation to the second tier. This is the last J3 League season that featured the U-23 teams from J1 League. On 5 June,

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

U-23 withdrew from the league. Also,

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 ...

saw the promotion of another club: after two fifth-placed performances,

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 ...

came third in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and booked their first professional season in their history.

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues, such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the

2021 J1 League The 2021 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league began on 26 February and ended ...

, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the 2021 J2 League (subject to licensing regulations).

FC Tokyo U-23 FC Tokyo Under−23 was a Japanese Association football, football club based in Tokyo. It was the reserve team of FC Tokyo and played in J3 League which they have done since their entry to the league at the beginning of the 2016 J3 League, 2016 sea ...

's withdrawal was approved at a board meeting held on 5 June, leaving the J3 League with 18 teams.

Top scorers

After matches played on 20 December 2020.

Attendances

References

External links

Official website
JLeague.jp {{Japanese Club Football, group=third J3 League seasons 3 J3