2020 J3 League

The 2020 J3 League, referred to as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J3リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J3 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 7th season of J3 League under its current name.

Meiji Yasuda J3 League
Season2020
Dates27 June – 20 December
ChampionsBlaublitz Akita
(2nd title)
PromotedBlaublitz Akita
SC Sagamihara
Relegatednone (for season 2020 only)
Matches played306
Goals scored791 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerKaito Taniguchi
Roasso Kumamoto
(18 goals)
Biggest home win5 - 0 Azul Claro Numazu v Cerezo Osaka U23
Highest scoring6-4 Kagoshima United v Gamba Osaka U23
5-5 Yokohama Sports & Culture Club v Gamba Osaka U23
Longest winning run9 Blaublitz Akita
27 June to 9 August 2020
Longest unbeaten run28 Blaublitz Akita
27 June to 18 November 2020
Highest attendance6,297
Nagano v Grulla 0-2
Lowest attendance0 (due to COVID-19)
Total attendance348,875 [1]
Average attendance1,140
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 20 December 2020.

Blaublitz Akita won the J3 title for the second time in their history. They were promoted to the 2021 J2 League alongside SC Sagamihara. Both teams won promotion for the J2 League for the first time.

Overview

On 19 March, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season.

This is last season to with three U-23 teams from J1 in 2020 season. J3 League has been scheduled for a reduction to 15 clubs before the 2021 season.

Postponement of the beginning of the season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns, the Japan Football Association (JFA) opted to postpone the beginning of the season, firstly established for 7 March.[2]

On 25 February, all J.League matches until 15 March were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until 29 March.[4] On March 19, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season.[5] On 25 March, the league announced that the season would be suspended between 3 April and 6 May.[6]

On 3 April, it was decided to start over with the official game schedule, which aimed to gradually resume J3 from 25 April, J2 from 2 May, and J1 from 9 May. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, the schedule would have called for the season's resumption at least one month later and later in the month.[7]

On 29 May, J.League announced its decision to resume on 27 June.[8] On 9 June, the schedules of the 2020 season were published.[9] On 15 June, new dates were also published. The first 2 matches in each league (J3 1st-2nd section) were held without spectators. After 10 July, as a general rule, the maximum number of people were 5,000 (stadiums with lower capacity are those with less than 50% of the capacity of people watching; no away supporters allowed). After August, the maximum stadium capacity was 50%, and there would be "high alert spectator matches".[10]

After that, at the 11th J.League extraordinary executive committee meeting on 20 July, it was announced that the "super strict alert audience game" was extended to 10 August in view of the spread of coronavirus infection.[11]

Changes from the previous season
Promoted from 2019 JFLPromoted to 2020 J2 LeagueWithdrawn / Disbanded
FC ImabariGiravanz Kitakyushu
Thespakusatsu Gunma		None

2019 season saw two teams promoted to J2 League: Giravanz Kitakyushu won the championship after being for three seasons in the third tier, while Thespakusatsu Gunma won promotion just in the last game of the season.[12] From second division, there was a double automatic relegation for the second time: FC Gifu played their first season in J3 after being in the second division for the last 12 years, when J3 League wasn't even on the cards. Alongside them, an incredible final day of the 2019 season pushed Kagoshima United FC immediately back to J3, just one year after sealing their first-ever participation to the second tier. This is the last J3 League season that featured the U-23 teams from J1 League. On 5 June, FC Tokyo U-23 withdrew from the league.

Also, Japan Football League saw the promotion of another club: after two fifth-placed performances, FC Imabari came third in 2019 and booked their first professional season in their history.[13]

Participating clubs
Locations of the 2020 J3 League teams
Greater Tokyo Area J3 League teams
Club NameHome TownStadiumCapacityLast seasonLicence
Azul Claro NumazuNumazuAshitaka Stadium10,000J3（12th）J3
Blaublitz AkitaAkitaSoyu Stadium20,125J3（8th）J2
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu[lower-alpha 1]Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium26,109 Relegated from J2 (22nd)J1
FC ImabariImabariArigato Service Dream Stadium5,000 Promoted from JFL（3rd）J2
Fukushima United FCFukushimaToho Stadium21,000J3（11th）J3
Gainare TottoriAll cities/towns in Tottori [lower-alpha 2]Axis Bird Stadium16,033J3（7th）J2
Iwate Grulla MoriokaAll cities/towns in IwateIwagin Stadium4,946J3（18th）J3
Kamatamare SanukiAll cities/towns in Kagawa [lower-alpha 3]Pikara Stadium30,099J3（14th）J2
Kagoshima UnitedKagoshimaShiranami Stadium19,934 Relegated from J2 (21st)J1
Kataller ToyamaAll cities/towns in Toyama[lower-alpha 4]Toyama Athletic Stadium25,251J3（4th）J1
Fujieda MYFCCities/towns in Shizuoka Prefecture[lower-alpha 5]Fujieda Soccer Field13,000J3（3rd）J3
Nagano ParceiroNaganoNagano U Stadium15,491J3（9th）J2
Roasso KumamotoKumamoto, KumamotoEgao Kenko Stadium32,000J3（5th）J1
SC SagamiharaSagamiharaGion Stadium15,300J3（15th）J2
Vanraure HachinoheEastern cities/towns in Aomori[lower-alpha 6]Prifoods Stadium5,200J3（10th）J3
YSCC YokohamaYokohamaNippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium15,454J3（13th）J3
Cerezo Osaka U-23Osaka & Sakai, OsakaKincho Stadium19,904J3（6th）-
Gamba Osaka U-23North cities in OsakaPanasonic Stadium Suita
Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium		39,694
21,000		J3（17th）-
  1. centering on Gifu
  2. centering on Tottori, Yonago, Kurayoshi, Sakaiminato
  3. centering on Takamatsu, Marugame
  4. centering on Toyama
  5. Fujieda, Shimada, Yaizu, Makinohara, Yoshida, Kawanehonmachi
  6. Hachinohe, Towada, Gonohe, Sannohe, Takko, Hashikami, Nanbu, Shingo, Oirase, Misawa, Shichinohe, Rokunohe, Tohoku, Noheji, Yokohama, Rokkasho

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Azul Claro Numazu Japan Masataka Imai Japan Masayuki Tokutake Germany Puma
Blaublitz Akita Japan Ken Yoshida Japan Naoyuki Yamada Brazil ATHLETA
FC Gifu Serbia Zdravko Zemunović Japan Tadashi Takeda United States New Balance
FC Imabari Spain Lluís Planagumà Japan Keishi Kusumi Germany Adidas
Fukushima United Japan Takeo Matsuda Japan Ryosuke Tamura Denmark hummel
Gainare Tottori Japan Riki Takagi Japan Masataka Kani Germany Puma
Iwate Grulla Morioka Japan Yutaka Akita Japan Shun Morishita United States Under Armour
Kagoshima United FC North Korea Kim Jong-song Japan Noriyuki Sakemoto Germany Puma
Kamatamare Sanuki Japan Kazuhito Mochizuki Japan Akira Takeuchi Brazil ATHLETA
Kataller Toyama Japan Ryo Adachi Japan Junya Imase Japan GOLDWin
Fujieda MYFC Japan Nobuhiro Ishizaki Japan Takuya Sugimoto Japan gol.
Nagano Parceiro Japan Yuji Yokoyama Japan Nobuyuki Abe Brazil Penalty
Roasso Kumamoto Japan Takeshi Oki Japan Tomotaka Okamoto Germany Puma
SC Sagamihara Japan Fumitake Miura Japan Seitaro Tomisawa Japan gol.
Vanraure Hachinohe Japan Masafumi Nakaguchi Japan Teppei Chikaishi Brazil ATHLETA
YSCC Yokohama Japan/Germany Yuki Stalph Japan Koichi Miyao Japan younger
Cerezo Osaka U-23 Japan Kazuhiro Murata none Germany Puma
Gamba Osaka U-23 Japan Hitoshi Morishita none England Umbro

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Cerezo Osaka U-23 Japan Kazuhiro Murata Appointed Academy Deputy Director and U-18 Head Coach 28 July 2020[14] Japan Yoshiaki Maruyama 28 July 2020[15]
FC Gifu Serbia Zdravko Zemunović Change of director 25 September 2020[16] Japan Kenji Nakada 25 September 2020[16]

League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues,[17] such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the 2021 J1 League, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the 2021 J2 League (subject to licensing regulations).

FC Tokyo U-23's withdrawal was approved at a board meeting held on 5 June, leaving the J3 League with 18 teams.[18]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Blaublitz Akita (C, P) 34 21 10 3 55 18 +37 73 Promotion to 2021 J2 League
2020 Emperor's Cup quarter-finals
2 SC Sagamihara (P) 34 16 13 5 43 35 +8 61 Promotion to 2021 J2 League[lower-alpha 1]
3 Nagano Parceiro 34 17 8 9 45 26 +19 59
4 Kagoshima United 34 18 4 12 55 43 +12 58
5 Gainare Tottori 34 17 6 11 47 37 +10 57
6 FC Gifu 34 16 8 10 50 39 +11 56
7 FC Imabari 34 15 10 9 39 27 +12 55
8 Roasso Kumamoto 34 16 6 12 56 47 +9 54
9 Kataller Toyama 34 15 5 14 52 43 +9 50
10 Fujieda MYFC 34 14 7 13 48 44 +4 49
11 Iwate Grulla Morioka 34 11 9 14 36 47 −11 42
12 Azul Claro Numazu 34 12 5 17 36 40 −4 41
13 Fukushima United 34 11 6 17 46 55 −9 39
14 Gamba Osaka U-23 34 9 8 17 43 55 −12 35
15 Vanraure Hachinohe 34 8 9 17 42 56 −14 33
16 Kamatamare Sanuki 34 7 10 17 33 52 −19 31
17 YSCC Yokohama 34 5 12 17 37 66 −29 27
18 Cerezo Osaka U-23 34 5 10 19 28 61 −33 25
19 FC Tokyo U-23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
Updated to match(es) played on 20 December 2020. Source: 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goal scored; 6) Number of wins; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fair-play points
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. Only teams that hold a J2 licence are eligible for promotion.

Top scorers

After matches played on 20 December 2020.[19]

Rank Player Club Goals
1
 Japan Kaito Taniguchi Roasso Kumamoto
18
2
 Japan Tsugutoshi Oishi Fujieda MYFC
14
Japan Takuya Miyamoto YSCC Yokohama
4
 Nigeria Ismaila Fukushima United FC
13
Brazil Rômulo SC Sagamihara
6
 Japan Tsubasa Yoshihira Fujieda MYFC
11
Japan Hayato Asakawa Roasso Kumamoto
8
 Japan Ryota Nakamura Blaublitz Akita
10
Japan Shoji Toyama Gamba Osaka U-23
Japan Hayate Take Kataller Toyama
Japan Shota Kawanishi FC Gifu
Japan Naoki Sanda Nagano Parceiro
Japan Yosuke Kamigata Vanraure Hachinohe

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 FC Gifu 44,942 5,222 0 2,644 −60.2%†
2 Nagano Parceiro 41,629 6,297 0 2,449 −18.4%†
3 Kagoshima United FC 37,635 3,990 0 2,214 −61.7%†
4 Roasso Kumamoto 29,111 3,435 0 1,712 −69.1%†
7 Kataller Toyama 20,681 2,592 0 1,217 −55.5%†
5 FC Imabari 23,042 2,139 0 1,355 −56.3%‡
6 Blaublitz Akita 20,761 2,226 0 1,221 −22.5%†
10 Kamatamare Sanuki 14,767 1,506 0 869 −58.9%†
11 Gainare Tottori 13,731 1,451 0 808 −63.8%†
13 Vanraure Hachinohe 11,316 1,066 0 666 −62.2%†
8 Azul Claro Numazu 15,720 1,890 0 925 −62.6%†
12 Fujieda MYFC 11,617 1,271 0 683 −60.7%†
9 SC Sagamihara 15,609 2,664 0 918 −68.1%†
14 YSCC Yokohama 10,597 1,109 0 623 −43.1%†
16 Fukushima United 9,902 1,369 0 582 −53.1%†
15 Gamba Osaka U-23 10,120 2,526 0 595 −52.9%†
17 Cerezo Osaka U-23 9,511 1,672 0 559 −53.3%†
18 Iwate Grulla Morioka 8,184 1,024 0 481 −64.8%†
League total 348,875 6,297 0 1,140 −52.4%†

Updated to games played on 20 December 2020
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Last year in J2 League
‡ Last year in Japan Football League.

See also

References
  1. "2020 Attendance". data.j-league.or.jp. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. "２０２０Ｊリーグ 明治安田生命Ｊ１リーグ 第7節～第12節 明治安田生命Ｊ２リーグ 第8節～第12節 明治安田生命Ｊ３リーグ 第5節～第6節 ＪリーグYBCルヴァンカップ グループステージ 第4節～第6節 開催延期のお知らせ" (Press release). 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. "2020Jリーグ 明治安田生命J1リーグ 第2節～第4節 明治安田生命J2リーグ 第2節～第4節 明治安田生命J3リーグ 第1節～第2節 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ グループステージ第2節～第3節 開催延期のお知らせ" (Press release) (in Japanese). 日本プロサッカーリーグ. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  4. "J.LEAGUE to Extend Suspension of Matches" (Press release). Official. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. "J. League to skip relegation as schedule threatened by coronavirus" (Press release). The Japan Times. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  6. "J.LEAGUE Further Extends Suspension of Matches" (Press release). Official. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. "再開の日程は白紙に。第5回新型コロナウイルス対策連絡会議会見レポート" (Press release) (in Japanese). 日本プロサッカーリーグ. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. "About the resumption/opening dates of the J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. "About schedule announcements of the 2020 J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  10. "2020 J.LEAGUE Match Schedules" (Press release). Official. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  11. "【Jリーグ】超厳戒態勢を8月10日まで延長。観客5000人以下の継続を決定" (Press release) (in Japanese). サッカーマガジン. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  12. "ギラヴァンツ北九州がJ3初優勝。ザスパクサツ群馬が2位に浮上して最終節へ". Football Channel (in Japanese). 1 December 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  13. "Ｊリーグ入会審査（Ｊ３）結果について" (Press release). J.League. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. "セレッソ大阪U-23 村田一弘監督 退任のお知らせ" (Press release). セレッソ大阪. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  15. "セレッソ大阪U-23 丸山良明新監督 就任のお知らせ" (Press release). セレッソ大阪. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  16. "監督交代のお知らせ" (Press release). FC岐阜. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  17. "J.LEAGUE to Change Format in the 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  18. "ＦＣ東京Ｕ－２３ Ｊ３リーグへの参加辞退について" (Press release) (in Japanese). 日本プロサッカーリーグ. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  19. "STATS & DATA » GOALS / MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE". J.League. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2020-08-04.

Official website, JLeague.jp (in English)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.