The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the

Japanese association football league system The Japanese association football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape similar to football league systems in many other countries around the world. The leagues are bound by the principle of promotion and relegation; however, there are s ...

, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership among its ranks.

Relationship and position of J. League and Japan Football League (JFL)

According to the official document published in December 2013 when the J3 League was established, the J3 League was the 3rd level of the J.League. The J.League and non-J.League amateur leagues have different hierarchical structures, and the J3 League was ranked on the same level as the JFL. In addition, the JFL itself has the same recognition in the material showing the league composition on the official website. Therefore, the JFL is treated as equal to J3 in theory, but in practice it is considered equivalent to a 4th division.

History

The Japan Football League started from the 1999 season when the second division of J.League (J2) was also born. Until then, J.League consisted of only one division and the former JFL was the second highest division. Out of 16 teams who played the last season of the former JFL, 9 decided and were accepted to play in J2 and the other 7 teams as well as

Yokogawa Electric is a Japanese multinational electrical engineering and software company, with businesses based on its measurement, control, and information technologies. It has a global workforce of over 19,000 employees, 84 subsidiary and 3 affiliated compa ...

, the winners of the Regional League Promotion Series, formed the new Japan Football League. These 8 teams together with

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was formed by fans of Yokoh ...

that was allowed to participate as a special case after the merger of

Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two te ...

and

Yokohama Marinos is a Japanese People, Japanese professional association football, football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in Japan, football in t ...

competed in the inaugural 1999 season. The 9 teams that competed in the first season were as follows: Denso SC, Honda Motors, Jatco SC, Kokushikan University F.C.,

Mito HollyHock is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mit ...

, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Sony Sendai,

and

. In the second season the number of clubs was increased from 9 to 12, reaching 16 in 2001. In 2002 it was briefly 18 clubs before going back to 16 the next season and settling for good at 18 in 2006. For the 2012 season it had 17 clubs due to the late withdrawal of

Arte Takasaki was a Japanese football club based in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, formerly of the Japan Football League. Their team colours were black and red. ''Arte'' means art in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. History The club was founded as Makkī F.C. K ...

. The league suffered another contraction after 2013 season, as 10 of its 18 teams joined the newly created J3 League. It also moved a tier down the pyramid, making it fourth-tier league since 2014. Four former JFL clubs have competed in the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

(2007, 2021 & 2023), Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (2014 & 2021 as Tokushima Vortis), Matsumoto Yamaga (2015 & 2019), and

V-Varen Nagasaki is a Japanese J2 League football club based in Nagasaki. The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC till they merged with Kunimi FC in 2004 and adopted the present name in 2005. The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in ...

(2018).

Overview

JFL clubs may be affiliated to

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, or be entirely autonomous clubs or reserve teams of these. Until 2010, university clubs (which as a rule do not play in the Japanese football league system) were recommended by the Japan University Football Association and played off against bottom JFL teams for entrance. B-teams are allowed to participate but only A-squads of truly autonomous clubs are eligible for J.League associate membership, and with it, promotion to J.League.

Promotion from JFL

A club that satisfies the following criteria will be promoted to J.League Div. 2 (for the 2012 and 2013 seasons): * Have J.League associate membership * Finish the season in the top two in JFL **If only the champion is an associate member, it will be automatically promoted. **If both the champion and runner-up are associate members, the champion will be automatically promoted and the runner-up will play a Promotion/Relegation Series against the second-to-last club in the J2. **If only the runner-up is an associate member, it will play the Promotion/Relegation Series against the last club in the J2. * Pass the final inspection by the J.League Committee. With the establishment of the J3 League in the 2014 season, the top 2 requirements are no longer necessary should a team that is approved by J.League Committee and is a J.League associate member. However, they start in the J3 instead. The JFL is the highest tier of amateur level football in Japan again, but they still serve the purpose of helping potential J.League clubs to participate in the J3. At a J.League board meeting in August 2021, 60 clubs, of which 20 are J3, were targeted for the entire league, and a possibility that J3 will have exceeded 20 clubs by the 2023 season was brought up. Mitsuru Murai, the J.League chairman, revealed that he was discussing how to adjust to 20 clubs. At this time, he was asked, "If there is a possibility of the 3league having 21 teams, is it okay to understand that there are teams that will fall from J3 to JFL?" While under consideration, he admitted that the J3 and JFL were considering the introduction of relegation to the latter league as early as after the 2022 season. Later in November, Murai announced that promotion from and relegation to the JFL had been planned for the end of 2023.

Relegation from JFL

Up to two teams at the bottom of the league may face a direct relegation or relegation/promotion play-off against the teams finishing at the top of the Regional League promotion competition. The number of the teams who need to compete in the play-off varies depending on the number of the teams that are promoted to J3 or withdrawn from the JFL.

Emperor's Cup eligibility

Until 2008, only the club at the top of the standings at half-season (17 matches completed) was qualified for the Emperor's Cup, entering it at the third round along with the clubs in J2, but the allotment was widened to the top three clubs in 2010 due to the expansion of J2. Every other club must qualify through a qualifying cup in their own prefecture and then must enter at the first round. In 2015, only the winner of the apertura (first half) qualified.

JFL XI

In 1999 (

Bangabandhu Cup The Bangabandhu Cup, also known as the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, is an international football tournament organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as a tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is the founding father of Bangladesh ...

) and since 2014, a JFL XI team has played off-season matches against guest teams. The 2016 season also featured an JFL East vs JFL West all-star encounter.

2023 season

Competition format

The league follows a one-stage double round-robin, wherein the team finishing at the top of the table following the season is declared the champion. From 2014 to 2018 it used the Apertura and Clausura system, with two winners of each stage contesting the championship in the playoff. From 2019 it used the single table with double round-robin system to 30 matches.

Participating clubs

*''Pink background denotes clubs that were most recently promoted from

Japanese Regional Leagues are a group of parallel association football leagues in Japan that are organized on the regional basis. They form the fifth tier of the Japanese association football league system below the nationwide Japan Football League. Overview Japan is ...

through the Regional League promotion tournament.'' *''"Qualifiable base for J.League" indicates the club has the basic prerequisites for 100 Year Plan status. Clubs who actually hold the status are denoted in bold.''

Stadiums (2023)

Primary venues used in the JFL:

Former clubs

*''Pink background denotes clubs that were most recently promoted to J3 League.''

Championship, promotion and relegation history

Most successful clubs

Clubs in bold compete in JFL as of 2023 season. Clubs in ''italic'' no longer exist.

Third-tier league: 1999–2013

Fourth-tier league: 2014–

From 2014 to 2018 the Japan Football League switched to the Apertura and Clausura format to determine the champions. In 2019 the single-table format returned.

JFL records and statistics

. In bold the ones who are actually playing in JFL. In ''italic'' the ones who are still active in other league.

References

External links

Official website

JFL Official Channel

2010 JFL season
{{Football in Japan 4 Fourth level football leagues in Asia Semi-professional sports leagues Sports leagues established in 1999 1999 establishments in Japan