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The J.League announced that three Japan Football League (JFL) clubs have been licensed to participate in the 2016 edition of the MEIJI YASUDA J3 League. Azul Claro Numazu, Nara Club and Kagoshima United FC were all awarded J3 Hundred Year Vision licences on Thursday. These side will be eligible for promotion to the J.League’s third division shou…

Kashiwa Reysol on Thursday announced that the club’s Fan Appreciation Day will be held on October 31. 2015 Fan Club members as well as junior high and elementary school students are eligible to attend the event at Kashiwa Stadium beginning from 14:00 JST. AFC Champions League quarter-finalists Reysol lost 3-1 to competition semi-finalists Gamba …

Urawa Reds striker Shinzo Koroki came back to haunt Kashima Antlers on Saturday, scoring the winner against his old club as his side came away with a vital 2-1 win. Mihailo Petrovic’s Reds faced the daunting trip to Kashima Stadium to play the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League second stage joint leaders, and any doubts about the difficulty of their tasks were…

The J.League and Iran Pro League held a joint marketing workshop earlier this month at the National Football Center in Tehran. 70 marketing directors from 60 Iranian professional clubs participated at the September 7 event, with the happenings covered by local television. From 9:00 until 17:00 local time, J.League Managing Director Daisuke Nakanishi a…

Urawa Reds on Thursday announced they will begin selling “Mystery Tickets” for their October 3 match against Sagan Tosu. Fans who purchase Ura-waza (‘underhanded trick’) category tickets will have their seating area for the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League fixture determined on the day of the match via lottery. 200 tickets began going on…

FC Tokyo on Wednesday announced that their forward Nathan Burns has been called up for Australia’s upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifier. The reigning Asian Cup champions will face Jordan away on October 8, in what will be their only fixture of the next international break. “I’m always happy to have been chosen for the national team and …

Yokohama F. Marinos were named champions of the 2015 J.League Under-17 Challenge Cup, held between September 21 and 23. The debut edition of the tournament had featured the five group stage winners of the 2015 J.League U-16 Challenge League. F.Marinos, Kashima Antlers, JEF United Chiba, Matsumoto Yamaga and Choburi FC all received the recognition of p…

Bottom-side Montedio Yamagata narrowly missed securing a priceless victory at Matsumoto Yamaga after being pegged back by a late goal for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday. It was the hosts, however, who went ahead in the re-arranged MEIJI YASUDA J1 League matchday 9 encounter initially through Yuzo Iwakami, the midfielder running onto Kim Bo-kyung’s pass in…

Nagoya Grampus on Tuesday confirmed that striker Kensuke Nagai will miss up to four weeks of action after dislocating his right shoulder. The 26-year-old picked up the injury in his club’s recent 6-1 loss to Kawasaki Frontale but still played the full match, although an examination afterwards revealed the full extent. Nagai is now expected to mi…

Nagoya Grampus on Tuesday announced that Danilson will require six weeks to recover from a torn left hamstring. The midfielder suffered the injury after coming on as a substitute in Grampus’ 6-1 loss at Kawasaki Frontale last Saturday on matchday 11 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League second stage. Danilson’s latest setback is a particular blow …

Sagan Tosu on Monday announced the wife of striker Kei Ikeda had given birth to their new son last Saturday. “I wish to express my gratefulness to my wife and new son,” the 28-year-old told the club’s official website. Ikeda, who joined Sagan in 2009 after graduating from Ryutsu Keizai University, has one goal in 20 appearances this …

Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Monday announced that a select 7,000 fans who attend their match against FC Tokyo on October 3 will receive a “Mazda Roadster Original Towel Muffler”. The towels will be distributed by the club’s official shirt sponsor at every entry gate for home fans at Edion Stadium beginning from 17:00.  Meanwhile, sea…

As expected, Daisuke Nasu will be suspended for Urawa Reds’ key trip to play Kashima Antlers this Saturday. The J.League on Monday confirmed the list of sanctioned players for matchday 12 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League second stage this weekend. Veteran Reds centre-back Nasu reached the yellow card limit after picking up a booking in his side&rsq…

FC Tokyo have announced they will sell merchandise commemorating the 350th J1 League appearance of striker Ryoichi Maeda. Fans will be able to order blankets, tote bags and a folding fan from the official club shop and online store until September 30. Former Japan striker Maeda became the 43rd player to achieve the appearance milestone on Saturday in …

Sanfrecce Hiroshima raised 508,216 yen before their match against Sagan Tosu on Saturday night in support of flood relief efforts in eastern Japan. The club appealed to fans for donations in support of areas of the country affected by Typhoon #18, which killed two and forced evacuations across the Kanto and Tohoku areas. The donations will be delivere…

Nagoya Grampus defeated Ryukoku University 3-2 in a training match played at the club’s Toyota Sports Center training ground on Sunday. Midfielder Teruki Tanaka scored in each 35-minute half, while 18-year-old striker Koki Sugimori added a goal of his own shortly into the second half. After Saturday’s 6-1 loss at Kawasaki Frontale, Grampus…

Shu Kurata turned up with another vital goal for Gamba Osaka on Sunday, as they earned a last-gasp 1-1 draw at Matsumoto Yamaga on matchday 11 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League. Just three weeks after he struck his side’s winner against Shonan Bellmare, the 26-year-old decisively came off the bench to secure a stoppage-time fightback at Matsumotodaira …

Kawasaki Frontale striker Yoshito Okubo became the fourth player in J.League history to score 150 goals in the J1 League. The Japan veteran moved into the illustrious company of Marquinhos, Hisato Sato and Masashi Nakayama with his hat-trick against Nagoya Grampus on Saturday. His third career hat-trick also moved him into the lead of the first divisi…

Shonan Bellmare on Saturday made the first set of announcements regarding their Girl’s Festa, which will be held on October 3. The event will coincide with their match against Montedio Yamagata on matchday 13 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League’s second stage. Thirty pairs of Shonan Girls Tickets, exclusively available to female fans, will be so…

Yoshito Okubo has gone clear at the top of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League scoring charts following his hat-trick in Kawasaki Frontale’s 6-1 win over Nagoya Grampus on Saturday. 2014’s top scorer moved ahead of Takashi Usami, who is due to play for Gamba Osaka on Sunday, in this season’s standings on 19 goals - already one more than he manag…