Japanese football league system

The Japanese football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape just like the football league systems in the world.

The leagues are, as expected, bound by the principle of promotion and relegation; however, there are stringent criteria for promotion from the JFL to J2, which demands a club being backed by the town itself including the local government, a community of fans, corporate sponsors rather than a parent company or a corporation. There is no relegation provision from J2 to the JFL at the moment, since J.League and JFL are separate entities. Moreover, J2 is currently in the process of expansion, thus promotion to it is partially economic in nature.

However, once the J2 reaches to 22 clubs, relegation between J2 and JFL will start.

Overview

The top two levels of the Japanese football league system are operated by J. League, which consists of J. League Division 1 (J1) and J. League Division 2. All of the clubs in J. League are professional.

The third level, Japan Football League (JFL), is organized by the Japan Football Association, and is a semi-professional league consisting of amateur, professional, and university clubs from all over Japan.

At the fourth and fifth levels, nine parallel regional leagues are operated by nine different regional football associations. Some have multiple divisions. The regional associations are divided by political or geographical boundaries.

At the sixth level and below, parallel prefectural leagues are hosted by each of the 46 different prefectural football associations, again divided by political or geographical boundaries. Some have multiple divisions.

tructure

Level I & II: J. League

J. League governs the top two level of Japanese football pyramid and it consists of a total of 33 football clubs. All 33 clubs in J. League are fully professional and are divided into two divisions, J. League Division 1 (J1) and J. League Division 2 (J2). Eighteen (18) clubs make up the top flight and have access to the Asian premier football competition, AFC Champions League. On the other hand, Division 2 only has 15 clubs; however, this number is expected to increase to 22 in the near future.

J. League Division 1 (18 Clubs)

;Asian Qualification:Currently through the league games, only the J. League Champions is allowed to qualify to the AFC Champions League. The other means of qualification is the Emperor's Cup; however this also gives clubs below level I the possibility of qualification. If the league champions have already qualified through other means (i.e. Emperor's Cup Winners, ACL Defending Champions), the league runners-up receives the second qualification spot. From the 2009 season, runners-up and 3rd-place club may also qualify as the number of Japanese participants is expected to increase. ;Relegation (to J2):Currently, 2.5 clubs are relegated to J. League Division 2. The bottom two clubs, 17th- and 18th-placed clubs are automatically relegated. The 16th-placed club must enter and win a Promotion/Relegation Series to prevent their relegation.

J. League Division 2 (15 Clubs)

;Promotion (to J1):Two and a half (2.5) clubs have access to promotion. The champions and the runners-up of the Division 2 are guaranteed, given that they meet all the Division 1 criteria (In the past, no club have been denied promotion due to this). The 3rd placed club enters Promotion/Relegation Series.

;Relegation (to JFL):None

Level III: Japan Football League (18 Clubs)

The Japan Football League (JFL) is the third level in the Japanese football pyramid, and is known as the highest level for amateur club football. Unlike J. League, JFL is governed by Japan Football Association (JFA). It consists of amateur clubs such as university teams and company football clubs. Some professional clubs do exist as well. Usually these professional clubs are eyeing promotion to the professional league, J. League. Due to presence of these professional clubs, in reality the league has the semi-professional status.

;Promotion (to J2)::Clubs in JFL must meet following criteria to receive promotion to the professional league.;*Have J. League Associate Membership;*Finish in the top four in JFL.;*Pass the final inspection by the J. League professional committee

;Relegation (to Regional Leagues):The number varies from 0 to 2 depending on number of clubs promoted to the J. League Division 2 and/or number of club disbanded. Depending on the number, last-placed club may have to face promotion/relegation series to survive the relegation. Clubs will be relegated to their designated Regional League (i.e. a club from Tokyo will relegate to Kanto League, even if the promoted club is not from Kanto League).

Level IV/V: 9 Regional Leagues

In the modern Japan, the country is divided into 9 different regions. From North to South they are Hokkaido, Touhoku, Kantou, Tokai, Hokushin-etsu, Kansai, Shikoku, Chugoku, and Kyushu. Each region have its own football league, and they make up 9 parallel football leagues governed by designated regional FAs. Hokkaido, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Regional Leagues have only one division, where as others have two divisions. On top of that, Touhoku Division 2 is divided into Division 2 North and Division 2 South. Because of difference in the structures, each region has its own promotion and relegation regulation between the divisions. ;Promotion (to JFL):At the end of the year, champions and some runners-up from the 9 Regional Leagues qualify to the Annual National Tournament. The winners of the tournament and runners-up receive promotion to JFL. Occasionally, the 3rd-placed club receives promotion/relegation series match against last-placed JFL club or direct promotion depending on number of clubs promoted to J2 and clubs disbanded.;Relegation (to Prefectural Leagues):Different regulations for each Regional Leagues

Level VI+: 46 Prefectural Leagues & Hokkaido Blocks

Under the 9 regions, there are 47 prefectures. Hokkaido is by itself is a prefecture, thus the leagues in Hokkaido does not have a prefectural league and rather divided into 4 blocks (North, Central, East, and South); however, all other 46 prefectures has Prefectural leagues. Most if not all, of these leagues have multi-divisions.

;Promotion (to Regional League):Different regulations for each Regional Leagues.

External links

* [http://www.jfl-info.net/0193586/index.html Japan Football League page]
* [http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/jleague/index.html Structure (in English)]
* [http://furtho2.blog32.fc2.com/blog-entry-1069.html Japanese Non-League news (in English)]
* [http://www.jflnews.com/tiiki/index2008.html 2008 Japan Regional Promotion Playoff Series]
*Regional Leagues (all in Japanese):
** [http://www.tohoku-sl.jp/ Tohoku Football League]
** [http://www.kanto-sl.jp/ Kanto Football League]
** [http://www.hfl.jp/ Hokushin'etsu Football League]
** [http://www.kansaisl.jp/ Kansai Football League]
** [http://www.c-sl.net/ Chugoku Football League]
** [http://www.kyu-league.jp/ Kyushu Football League]

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Football in Japan
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J. League
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Japan Football League