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J.LEAGUE announced the change of competition format of the 2020 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP on the account of the COVID-19 outbreak. The details of change are as follows: ■Change of the Competition Format  New format -Group Stage 16 teams (15 J1 teams* and J2 team Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.**) will play in a round-robin format in 4 groups.  Top te…

J.LEAGUE announced that F.C. Tokyo U-23 will withdraw from the 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE after the third extraordinary board of directors held today. ■Reason of withdrawal Due to the spread of the COVID-19, matches will be held in a tight schedule and it is difficult for F.C.Tokyo to ensure booking of stadiums for its home games after the league start…

text by Yoichi Igawa ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ PART 1 After his retirement from professional football, Fernando Torres has returned to Spain but still remains closely connected with Sagan Tosu, his last club, as an advisor. On 23rd August 2019, he played his very last game against Vissel Kobe, in which his friends Andres Iniesta and David Villa, saw off…

　J.LEAGUE held an extraordinary executive committee on 29th May and J.LEAGUE Chairman Mitsuru Murai spoke to the media, about the resumption/opening dates of the J.LEAGUE. 　“Today, we decided on the schedule for the resumption/opening of the J.LEAGUE. We will resume the MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE and start the MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE on the weekend of 2…

J.LEAGUE announced to resume the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE on 4 July and the MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE on 27 June. The MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE will also start on 27 June. The matches will be held without spectators but the league will continue preparations to allow spectators to the stadiums in the future, taking into account the situation with the COVID-19 in …

text by Yoichi Igawa ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ PART 1 It’s mid-September 2019 in Iwata, Shizuoka, and the weather is still warm and humid like mid-summer. The air-conditioned interview room with a nice view of Jubilo Iwata’s training pitch is basking in the warm sun. “Hello!” After Krzysztof Kamiński enters the room, it fee…

　On 22 May, J.LEAGUE announced an agreement on a "special sponsorship" with Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company (President: Akio Negishi; Head Office: Tokyo, Japan), in addition to its existing title partner agreement. 　Since 2015, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company has not only supported the J.LEAGUE as a title partner, but has also sign…

Comment by J.LEAGUE Chairman Mitsuru Murai: “To our fans and supporters, 　Today, the state of emergency has been fully lifted. 　I would like to sincerely thank all the fans and supporters across the country, who have been practicing “STAY HOME” to prevent infection. 　Clubs are starting to resume their training by taking safety …

Shunsuke Nakamura started his professional career in 1997. After developing into a top young player at Toko Gakuen High School in Kanagawa, he signed a professional contract with Yokohama Marinos (currently: Yokohama F.Marinos), the club where he had played when in junior high school. Since his rookie year, Nakamura was a regular starter and scored goals…

Shinji Kagawa signed a professional contract with Cerezo Osaka when he was only 16, still in his second year of high school. He did not get to play in any match in 2006, his rookie season, but he made his debut against Sagan Tosu in April 2007 after his club had been relegated to J2 (the Japanese second division). The young starlet started to increase hi…

Keisuke Honda spent his early days in Gamba Osaka’s academy, and enrolled in Seiryo High School (Ishikawa prefecture) when he failed to get promoted from Gamba’s junior youth team to the youth team. After significant improvement during his high school days, Honda signed a professional contract with Nagoya Grampus upon graduation. In 2005, his…

text by Yoichi Igawa ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ PART 1 I asked a question to Chanathip in Japanese, which his interpreter then translated into Thai. The Thailand superstar smiled and thought about the question for a while, before staring into my eyes and replying. Just like his gaze, I’m sure he must have trained and played football uprightly si…

This year’s MEIJI YASUDA J1 League is being on hold since late February because of COVID19. While teams are forced to limit their activities, players are training at home, preparing for the restart. Meanwhile, “J.LEAGUE CHAT,” an online talk between J.League international players was held on YouTube: "J.LEAGUE International"! …

“It was one of the best decisions of my career.” This is what Jay Bothroyd said of his move to Japan in 2015. As usual, the tone of his voice was clear and slightly high. The Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo striker then smiled, raised his eyebrows and the corners of his mouth, and shrugged softly - habits of his when he answers questions - as if t…

Starting on May 9, the J.League official SNS will stream 2019 season's full matches. (*Unavailable in some regions including Japan) These 20 best matches will be rerun. Watch them here! J.League Official YouTube account (International) https://www.youtube.com/jleagueinternational J.League Official facebook account (English) https://www.f…

J.LEAGUE announced to suspend matches below on account of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and to prevent cluster of the coronavirus from expanding further. The resume of matches scheduled on and beyond 13 June has not yet been determined and further announcement will be made as soon as the decision is made. ■Matches Suspended …

1994 FIFA World Cup champion Leonardo joined the J.League in the summer of the same year. As the successor of Zico at Kashima Antlers, the Brazilian international midfielder did not disappoint the Japanese fans. The most memorable individual moment of his experience in J.League came when he scored an amazing goal against Yokohama Flügels on November…

In 1994, the J.League was divided into two stages. Suntory Series (First Stage) winners Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Nicos Series (Second Stage) winners and defending champions Verdy Kawasaki faced each other in two Championship finals. Verdy Kawasaki won the first leg 1-0 away from home but struggled in the second leg. While Hiroshima aggressively tried to p…

The 2015 season was the first campaign since 2004 in which clubs competed over two stages. At the end of the season, the "Championship Stage” was played among winners of half-season and highly ranked teams on overall standings. The qualified clubs were Urawa Reds who won the First Stage and came in second on the overall standings, Sanfrecce Hi…

It was the most important game in the history of Cerezo Osaka. On the final day of the 2005 J1 League, after climbing to the top of the table, they hosted FC Tokyo at Nagai—their home stadium. Three points would have secured them their first league title. With Gamba Osaka only a point behind in second place, a draw could mean a good chance that Cerezo…