NEWS

Saying goodbye to any season comes with another bid farewell - to retiring players who have been a joy to watch for years.Yoshito Okubo is stepping away after 21 magical seasons. The forward began his professional journey at Cerezo Osaka, making it perfect for him to have finished his career with the Sakura in 2021. In between, he played in Spain’s LaLiga a…

Every new season brings new teams, as clubs are promoted from J2 up to the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE. This season, Júbilo Iwata and Kyoto Sanga F.C. are making the leap, which means the top flight gets a pair of exciting club cultures, fanbases and, of course, stadiums.A stadium isn’t just a concrete set of risers and seats with a pitch in the middle. It is a …

The four MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE clubs to qualify for AFC Champions League 2022 learned their initial path in the competition after Monday’s draw.Kawasaki Frontale were placed in Pot 1, making them the top seeded team in their group. They have been placed in Group I, where they will be joined by China’s Guangzhou FC and Malaysia’s Johor Sarul Ta’zim. The fina…

Kazuyoshi Miura has agreed to a loan deal that will see him join Suzuka Point Getters for the 2022 season. King Kazu will be 55 years old when the season begins, further extending his record as the world’s oldest professional footballer.The legendary King Kazu began his professional career in 1986, when he debuted for Brazilian side Santos at the age of 19.…

Thai superstar Chanathip Songkrasin has joined back-to-back MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE champions Kawasaki Frontale.The 28-year-old attacker comes to Frontale from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, where he spent five seasons. Chanathip scored 14 goals and added 20 assists in 115 league appearances with Consadole and earned both club Player of the Year and J.LEAGUE Be…

On behalf of the entire J.LEAGUE, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year.Last year, with various parts of Japan affected by the declaration of a state of emergency since the beginning of the year, it remained challenging to hold sporting events, making it necessary for sports organizations to adapt and navigate our way through the ever-changing situation.Des…

A trio of J.League players are leaving their clubs for Scotland, as Yokohama F·Marinos’ Daizen Maeda, Kawasaki Frontale’s Reo Hatate and Gamba Osaka’s Yosuke Ideguchi will all head to Celtic F.C. in the January transfer window, subject to international clearance.After securing former Yokohama F·Marinos manager Ange Postecoglou and former Vissel Kobe forward…

The opening match will be held on Friday night between the reigning champions Kawasaki Frontale and F.C.Tokyo on February 18th, 2022.2022 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUEOpening match (Matchweek 1)FRIDAY, 18 FEBRUARYKawasaki Frontale vs. F.C.TokyoSATURDAY, 19 FEBRUARY or SUNDAY, 20 FEBRUARYYokohama F･Marinos vs.Cerezo OsakaShonan Bellmare vs. Kashiwa ReysolShimizu S-…

The J.League has announced that the FUJI FILM SUPER CUP 2022 will be held on 12 February, 2022 (Sat) at the Nissan Stadium.The match will feature the 2021 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE champions Kawasaki Frontale and the 101th Emperor’s Cup winners Urawa Reds.Competition: FUJI FILM SUPER CUP 2022Partner: FUJIFILM Business Innovation CorporationDate and Kick-off ti…

The four teams that will represent Japan in the 2022 AFC Champions League are set, with Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F·Marinos, Vissel Kobe and Urawa Reds all playing for continental glory next year.Frontale qualified for the competition by winning the 2021 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE. It marked the second season in a row and fourth time in five years that they w…

Urawa Reds are the Emperor’s Cup champions for a record eighth time thanks to Tomoaki Makino’s heroics at the death. Makino answered Oita Trinita’s 90th-minute equalizer with a dramatic winner in the third minute of stoppage time to deliver the trophy back to the Reds.Urawa started the match on the front foot, scoring after just six minutes. Takahiro Sekine…

The final match of the 2021 Japanese professional season is upon us, and it pits Urawa Reds against Oita Trinita in the prestigious Emperor’s Cup final. The ultimate match of the year will not only see a team write their name into the history books as the winner of a trophy that dates back a century, but also book a spot in next season’s AFC Champions Leagu…

The J.LEAGUE and FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corporation are pleased to announce an extension of their Super Cup Partner Agreement. Beginning in 2022, the competition will be named the FUJIFILM SUPER CUP and it will be held in mid-February.FUJIFILM has been a name partner of the Super Cup since it was first held in 1994 and the 2022 edition will mark their…

Thai defender Theerathon Bunmathan has been transferred from Yokohama F･Marinos to Buriram United F.C. of the Thai League, putting an end to four successful seasons in the J.League.During Bunmathan’s time in Japan he became the first Southeast Asian player to win a J1 League title, helping Marinos to their 2019 success, and helped spur a remarkable surge in…

Kawasaki Frontale are back-to-back MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE champions and Emperor’s Cup holders. Oita Trinita were just relegated from the top flight and playing in their first-ever Emperor’s Cup semi-final. Their clash looked like a massive mismatch, but it proved to be a massive upset as Trinita toppled mighty Frontale to advance to the final.Trinita’s defe…

Leandro Damião has been named J1 Konami Monthly MVP for November and December, giving him the final award for the season. The Kawasaki Frontale frontman’s furious finish to the campaign powered him to joint Top Scorer for the year and that hot streak made him the league’s top player for the last month of the campaign as well.The Brazilian scored six goals i…

Nagoya Grampus have made a managerial change, parting ways with Massimo Ficcadenti and replacing him with F.C.Tokyo’s Kenta Hasegawa.Ficcadenti had been the boss at Nagoya since the fall of 2019, when he took over Grampus for the end of the season. He instilled a strong defensive mindset at the club and no club in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE allowed fewer go…

The J.LEAGUE season may be over, but there is still one giant competition left to finish - the Emperor’s Cup. Four teams remain in the tournament, with a pair of semi-finals this weekend set to further whittle the challengers down to two.Kawasaki Frontale vs. Oita TrinitaThere could not be two more different teams left in this competition than this pair. Fr…

Over 63,000 fans were packed into Nissan Stadium and millions around the world were glued to their screens for some final day J.League drama as the ball rolled enticingly into Theerathon Bunmathan’s path.The Thai superstar pulled back his wand of a left foot and let fly, the pace on the strike ferocious and cannoning off a defender before looping over the g…

Another thrilling J.League season concluded at the start of December, with Kawasaki Frontale creating more history in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League as they claimed their fourth league triumph in five years.Toru Oniki’s side successfully defended their 2020 title and added to those won in 2017 and 2018 in swashbuckling style, sweeping to a record 92 points at t…