The , commonly known as the , is a

women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respectively. Teams are promoted and relegated between the divisions, and between the Nadeshiko League Division 2 and the fourth-level Japanese regional leagues, based on performance in the previous season. Prior to 2021, the Nadeshiko League occupied the top level of the Japanese women's football pyramid as well; that level is now represented by the fully professional

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 football league in Japan. The current ...

. Since 2008, the Nadeshiko League has been sponsored by , a

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

(

bento A is a Japanese-style single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch, typically including rice and packaged in a box with a lid (often a segmented box with different parts of the meal placed in different sections). Outside Japa ...

) company based in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

History

The Japan Women's Football League, or the L. League, was founded in 1989. The founding six clubs were Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza, Shinko Seiko FC Clair,

Nissan FC Ladies was a women's football team which played in Division 1 of Japan's Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the seco ...

, Shimizu FC Ladies, Prima Ham FC Kunoichi, and Tasaki-Shinju Kobe Ladies. From 1993 to 1999 it adopted an

Apertura and Clausura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split Season (sports), season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American soccer, football sports league, leagues in which the traditional association ...

system, similar to the J. League system of that era. From 2000 to 2003 the clubs were divided into East and West groups and then the top clubs of each would go into a championship group, with the bottom clubs in a relegation group. In 2004 the single-table format was brought back. Teams from this early era would host annual training camps to build skills and relationships with international women's football clubs, such as those in the United States and Australia. In 2004 the L. League acquired the nickname the Nadeshiko League. Nadeshiko is the name of the

dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...

flower and was chosen from suggestions by fans, signifying an ideal of a dutiful Japanese woman. In the 2004 season, the L. League added a second division, and until 2009 the league operated in the same way as the old

Japan Soccer League ; JSL) was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL Cup, JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professi ...

for men where the bottom club in the second division playing off against a regional league playoff winner. In 2010, the second division was divided into east and west groups of six teams each; the winners of each group were promoted to the first division. After

's World Cup win in 2011, the L. League saw an upsurge in popularity. In 2015, the league added a third division called the Nadeshiko was added, and the first and second divisions now had 10 teams each. In 2020, the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

announced that the newly established

will become the top level for women's football in Japan in 2021. The Nadeshiko League would then become the second to fourth levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid. After many top teams left for the WE League, the Nadeshiko League abolished the third division in 2021.

Structure

Since 2021, the Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions:

Clubs

Champions

Division 1

Bold indicate

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s with the

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" () or The JFA Empress's Cup (from 2024 onwards), is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be considered the female counterpart to t ...

=Wins by club

= Clubs in bold are those competing in Division 1 as of the 2023 season. Clubs in ''italics'' no longer exist. Notes

=Wins by region

Division 2

Challenge League

2024 season

Division 1

Division 2

Previous clubs

The following clubs have previously competed in the Nadeshiko League for at least one season.

Joined WE League in 2021

* Mynavi Sendai *

Urawa Reds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan, who p ...

Omiya Ardija Ventus is a Japanese professional women's association football team which plays in the WE League. History The team started in 1996 as an old girls' club for students of Jumonji Middle School in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. In 2014 they adopted the name "FC ...

(formerly FC Jumonji Ventus) * Elfen Saitama *

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

* NTV Tokyo Verdy Beleza *

Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara is a Japanese women's professional football club which plays in the WE League. Its hometown is Sagamihara, Kanagawa. History In the 2016 season, Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara finished the first place in the 2016 L. League Division 2 and cl ...

AC Nagano Parceiro AC Nagano Parceiro (AC長野パルセイロ, ''E Shī Nagano Paruseiro'') is a Japanese football club based in Nagano, capital of Nagano Prefecture. They play in the J3 League, Japanese third tier of professional football. Name origin The clu ...

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as cha ...

INAC Kobe Leonessa INAC Kobe(INAC神戸レオネッサ, Ainakku-Kōbe Reonessa) is a professional Japanese women's soccer, football club from Kobe, founded in 2001. INAC stands for International Athletic Club, while Leonessa means Lioness in Italian language, Ita ...

Joined WE League in 2023

Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies is a professional 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, which has been playing in the J.League since 1995, establ ...

Relegated to regional leagues

Je Vrille Kagoshima is a women's football club playing in Japan's football league, Challenge League. Its hometown is the city of Kagoshima, Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of ...

: relegated to

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

League from 2014 *

Shimizudaihachi Pleiades is a women's football (soccer), football club playing in Japan's football league, Tokai.League Div.1. Its hometown is Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu. Squad Current squad As of 7 June 2015 Honors Domestic competitions *Em ...

: relegated to Tokai League from 2015 * Mashiki Renaissance Kumamoto F.C.: relegated to

League from 2016

Defunct

* Fujita Soccer Club Mercury (affiliated with

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 Hiratsuk ...

) *

Nikko Securities Dream Ladies was a women's football team which played in Division 1 of Japan's Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the seco ...

* Nissan F.C. Ladies (affiliated with

Yokohama Marinos , stylised as Yokohama F·Marinos, is a Japanese professional 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 the country. Having w ...

) * OKI F.C. Winds *

Shiroki F.C. Serena was a women's football team based in Toyokawa City, Aichi Prefecture, which played in Division 1 of Japan's Nadeshiko League. It founded the league back in 1993. The team dissolved in March 1998. Results See also * Japanese women's club tea ...

* Suzuyo Shimizu F.C. Lovely Ladies (affiliated with

Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional association football, football club located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. S-Pulse is going to compete in the J1 League for the 2025 Season, after winning promotio ...

) * Tasaki Perule F.C. * Tokyo Shidax L.S.C. (formerly Shinko Seiko F.C. Clair) * Urawa Ladies F.C. *

TEPCO Mareeze was a women's football team which played in Division 1 of Japan's Nadeshiko League. It was a founding member of the league in 2000. The club was disbanded after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster; primary sponsor TEPCO is a Japanese elec ...

(dissolved after

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...

; many of the players moved to Vegalta Sendai Ladies) * Aguilas Kobe * Hoyo Sukarabu F.C.

Division 1 awards

Most Valuable Player

Top Goalscorers

Best Young Player

References

External links

Nadeshiko League Official website

NADESHIKO LEAGUE 1 at women.soccerway.com

NADESHIKO LEAGUE 2 at women.soccerway.com
{{Sports leagues in Japan

2 Football leagues in Japan Sports leagues in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan