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J.LEAGUE announced to cancel the eSports competition "EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series eJ.LEAGUE", following to the Electronic Arts' decision to cancel all EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series events due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. ■Announcement by Electonic Arts Inc.  

・Team Cho Kwi-jae, the manager who led Shonan Bellman for several seasons, left upon accusations of power harassment during the last season. The team’s form was negatively affected by the managerial change, and Shonan were caught in a fight to avoid relegation. Although they managed to survive by winning the playout game, it surely was a tough year f…

The latest results from COVID-19 testing done by the J.LEAGUE is as per below. Testing period: 18 June – 21 June 【Results】 Total 3,070 Negative 3,058 Positive*1 0 Testing is ongoing*2 12 *1 confirmed by a doctor *2 includes unconfirmed due to lack of sampling ■PCR t…

・Team Yokohama FC struggled at the beginning of the past season in J2, but things started to click when manager Takahiro Shimotaira took charge after Match-day 13. They registered 19 wins, seven draws and three losses in the following 29 matches, and finished second after Kashiwa Reysol, to earn a spot in J1 for the first time in 13 years. In addition to …

J.LEAGUE announced that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will not be implemented in the 2020 season. The decision has been made at the sixth board of directors held today in consideration of its tight schedule and limited number of referees.  

Yuto Nagatomo was an ordinary football boy during his high-school days, but when he started to play full-back at Meiji University, he developed dramatically and was suddenly called up for the Japan U-22 selection. He signed a professional contract with FC Tokyo in 2008 while he was still a student at Meiji, and immediately won a starting spot as the seas…

Shinji Ono played for Feyenoord for five seasons and contributed to their victory in the UEFA Cup in the 2001/02 season. He then moved to German side VfL Bochum for the 2007/08 season and later also played for Western Sydney Wanderers, in Australia. The Japanese attacking genius who brought his football around the world, had started his professional care…

・Team The unique and entertaining style of football Yokohama FM have been working on under Ange Postecoglou blossomed last year, during the manager’s second season in charge. Especially in the final part of 2019, F.Marinos overwhelmed the opposition and won the league for the fourth time in their history, their first championship in 15 years. To d…

・Team In 2019 Kawasaki won the Levain Cup for the first time, but failed to defend their league title and finished fourth due to a poor start of the season. They adopted a new 4-3-3 system this year to further improve their chances to win back the title. Many of the new signings are rookies, a sign that the club considers their existing squad strong eno…

・Team FC Tokyo had a great start last season and was one of the protagonists of the title race until the very end. Although they finished below champions Yokohama F.Marinos, the second-place finish marked the best campaign in the history of the club. In order to win the league for the first time, the capital’s club added to the roster two Brazilia…

・Team Kashiwa dominated last year’s J2, the Japanese second division, to achieve a speedy comeback to the top flight. This year, they hope to repeat their 2011 season when they incredibly won J1 in the season following promotion.  The team is led by manager Nelsinho, just like in that historic season, and was reinforced in each position with qu…

J.LEAGUE announced the start of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on all registered players in the league, officials, etc., prior to the resume/start of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE, MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE and MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE, using saliva. The PCR testing will be done as one measure to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible on the p…

text by Yoichi Igawa ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ■Part 1■ After hearing of the contract renewal between Mitchell Langerak and Nagoya Grampus in December 2019, there must have been quite a few relieved fans of the club. Since joining in January 2018, the Australian goalkeeper had established himself as first choice between the posts and made many great sav…

・Team In the past year Urawa Reds reached the AFC Champions League final; however, they struggled in the domestic league, fighting to avoid relegation for part of the season. Despite their troubles, Reds did not hire much reinforcements for 2020, and the signing of Leonardo from Albirex Niigata was the most notable addition. The Brazilian striker could pl…

・Team Kashima Antlers came close to every title last season; J.League, Levain Cup, Emperor’s Cup and ACL Champions League. However, in the end, they could not clinch any of them. To make a fresh start, the club appointed former Brazilian international Zago as new manager went through a drastic renovation of their squad. Their defensive line in par…

・Team After the six-year reign of Susumu Watanabe, Vegalta Sendai started this season under a new manager: Takashi Kiyama. The former Yamagata boss demands hard work from his team: defending with high intensity and attacking speedily will at be the core of this year’s Vegalta. Confidence in their defense comes from the presence of Simão Mat…

J.LEAGUE announced the 2020 J.LEAGUE International Youth Cup will not be held in the 2020 season. The decision has been made along with the cancellation of the J YOUTH CUP, a nationwide tournament in the youth category, taking account the situation of the COVID-19 crisis and the safety of all those involved. J.LEAGUE will further work to design a plan f…

J.LEAGUE announced the new match schedules for the 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE and 2020 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP. Please see below links for details. The first 2 matches in each league (J1 2nd-3rd sec. J2 2nd-3rd sec. and J3 1st-2nd sec.) will be held without spectators. 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE 2020 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGU…

・Team Sapporo finished fourth two years ago, when Mihailo Petrovic took charge, but dropped to the 10th place in 2019, after losing steam towards the end of the year. They still reached the Levain Cup final for the first time in their history and put up a good fight, although they were defeated by Kawasaki Frontale in the end. The last two seasons valid…

text by Yoichi Igawa ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ■Part 1■ Thanks to his explosive physical strength and adhesive marking ability, Simao Mate became the talisman of Vegalta Sendai’s backline in 2019. As his first season in the J1 League it took some time for him to adjust new surroundings, but after returning to the starting 11 early in the summer Ve…