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J.League Female Manager Miki Sato will attend the upcoming MEIJI YASUDA J2 League match between V-Varen Nagasaki and Roasso Kumamoto, the league have announced. Sato will join club mascot Vivi-kun in greeting supporters outside the ground before Sunday’s fixture. In addition to making other promotional appearances during the day, she will also a…

Urawa Reds on Thursday announced that striker Zlatan Ljubijankic had been selected to Slovenia’s squad ahead of their upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. Slovenia, who are currently third in Group E with 12 points, are to host Lithuania before traveling to San Marino in their final two group stage games. Despite being unable to get on the scores…

The J.League has announced that it will suspend the use of vanishing spray for the remainder of the 2015 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League and J2 League seasons. Used until recently by match officials to mark the boundaries of player walls at free-kicks on the pitch, all cans of vanishing spray has now been subject to a manufacturer recall. Several units of the …

Japan’s squad for its upcoming 2018 world Cup qualifier was released by the Japan Football Association on Thurday. 12 current J.League are amongst the 23 called up by Samurai Blue coach Vahid Halilhodzic who will aim to snatch leadership of Group E from next opponents Syria. The team will face their rivals in Oman, before traveling to Tehran for…

Gamba Osaka manager Kenta Hasegawa’s has confirmed his side’s goal is to win the AFC Champions League this season. The Japanese champions are preparing to face Chinese counterparts Guangzhou Evergrande in the AFC Champions League semi-final clash on Wednesday. And Hasegawa insists his men deserve to be there despite seeing Gamba go without…

The J.League on Tuesday announced the results of Club License applications for the 2016 seasons. The Club License system was established in 2012 in order to ensure that all participating J.League clubs are held to strict criteria in areas such as facilities, youth systems and finances. The results for 2016 are as follows: J1 Club License (37 clubs)…

Guangzhou Evergrande coach Luiz Felipe Scolari rued having to start the AFC Champions League semi-final encounter with Gamba Osaka on home soil ahead of Wednesday’s first leg.  The former World Cup winner joined the Chinese club in June, tasked with bringing a second continental title to Tianhe Stadium. He has succeeded in taking his side t…

Shonan Bellmare defeated Japan Football League side Honda FC 1-0 in a closed-door training match on Sunday. The result came a single day after the Bellmare’s 1-1 draw against Yokohama F. Marinos on matchday 12 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League second stage. Bellmare are in eighth place overall this season and are scheduled to host fellow promoted si…

Sagan Tosu on Monday announced that their 2015 home finale against Vegalta Sendai has been designated a “DHC Special Match”. The MEIJI YASUDA J1 League matchday 16 fixture on November 7 will see the Kyushu club play in front of their supporters at Best Amenity Stadium for the final time of the 2015 season. A detailed announcement of events…

Jin Hanato fired in a hat-trick as Yokohama F. Marinos put eight goals past Keio University without reply on Sunday. Defender Jun Amano and midfielder Jungo Fujimoto scored in the first of two 45-minute halves, before the floodgates opened in the second period. Striker Hanato produced a dominant performance with his three goals after the break, while …

FC Tokyo defender Yuhei Tokunaga became the 82nd player to reach 300 J.League appearances on Saturday. The 32-year-old achieved the milestone in his club’s 1-0 in over Matsumoto Yamaga after spending his entire career in the Japanese capital, where he made his professional debut in 2003. Amongst the silverware Tokunaga has won at Ajinomoto Stadi…

Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday announced the extension of their “Advisory Club” relationship with Japan Football League (JFL) outfit Nara Club through to January 31, 2016. Via the agreement, Frontale have aided Nara Club in the fields of growing grassroots support and advising on staff training. Earlier this week, the J.League revealed that…

Albirex Niigata on Saturday announced the auction of training apparel autographed by first-team players. The online bidding for the sets, which each include a shirt and shorts, will begin on October 10 and conclude at the end of October 18. All items will start at 5,000 yen, with the raised in 1,000 yen increments. Albirex are 15th overall in the M…

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…