2021 Japan Football League
The 2021 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第23回日本フットボールリーグ[第23回 JFL 2021], Hepburn: Dai Nijūsankai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu [Dai Nijūsankai JFL 2021]) was the eighth season of the nationwide fourth tier of Japanese football, and the 23rd season since the establishment of Japan Football League.
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 March – 5 December |
| Champions | Iwaki FC |
| Promoted | Iwaki FC |
| Relegated | FC Kariya |
| Matches played | 272 |
| Goals scored | 694 (2.55 per match) |
← 2020 2022 → | |
Clubs
For the first time, 17 clubs have taken part in the JFL season. Last year no relegations were in place in J3, the league had the intent of seeing two more teams joining from the start, but only Tegevajaro Miyazaki got promoted with one game to play and joined J3 for the 2021 season.[1][2]
Verspah Oita won the JFL for the first time in their history,[3] but were not promoted as they did not hold a J3 license. FC Tiamo Hirakata and FC Kariya won promotion to the JFL by qualifying in the top two spots of the 44th Regional Pro Series.[2] For the Hirataka-based side it was the first time in JFL, but Kariya are back after a twelve-year long hiatus. There are six teams eligible for promotion with J3 licenses; these are highlighted in green in the following table.
| Club Name | Home town | Stadium | Capacity | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda FC | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium | 2,506 | JFL (4th) | |
| Honda Lock | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | Hinata Athletic Stadium | 20,000 | JFL (12th) | |
| Iwaki FC | Iwaki, Fukushima | Iwaki Green Field | 5,600 | JFL (7th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| FC Kariya | Kariya, Aichi | Wave Stadium Kariya | 4,002 |  RPS 2nd | Winners of TASL and runners-up in 44th RPS |
| Kochi United SC | Kōchi, Kōchi | Kōchi Haruno Athletic Stadium | 25,000 | JFL (14th) | |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Okazaki, Aichi | Okazaki Ryūhoku Stadium | 5,000 | JFL (16th) | |
| Matsue City FC | Matsue, Shimane | Matsue Municipal Athletic Stadium | 24,000 | JFL (10th) | |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Kusatsu, Shiga | Higashiōmi Nunobiki Green Stadium | 5,060 | JFL (9th) | Applied for 100 Year Plan status |
| Nara Club | All cities/towns in Nara[lower-alpha 1] | Rohto Field Nara | 30,600 | JFL (13th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| F.C. Osaka | Higashiōsaka, Osaka | Hanazono Rugby Stadium 2nd Ground | 1,722 | JFL (8th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Aomori, Aomori | Kakuhiro Group Athletic Stadium | 20,809 | JFL (15th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| Sony Sendai | Tagajō, Miyagi | Miyagi Seikyō Megumino Soccer Stadium | 10,000 | JFL (3rd) | |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Suzuka, Mie | AGF Suzuka Athletic Stadium | 1,450 | JFL (5th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| FC Tiamo Hirakata | Hirakata, Osaka | Hirakata Municipal Athletic Stadium | 2,500 | RPS 1st | Winners of KSL and 44th RPS |
| Tokyo Musashino United FC | Musashino, Tokyo | Musashino Municipal Athletic Stadium | 5,188 | JFL (11th) | Renamed from "Tokyo Musashino City FC" |
| Veertien Mie | All cities/towns in Mie[lower-alpha 2] | Asahi Gas Energy Tōin Stadium | 5,142 | JFL (6th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| Verspah Oita | Yufu & Beppu, Ōita | Shōwa Denkō Soccer/Rugby Field | 4,700 | JFL (1st) | 2020 champions, 100 Year Plan status |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Kit manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Honda FC |  Hiroyuki Abe |  Umbro |
| Honda Lock SC | Yosuke Miyaji[4] |  Kappa |
| Iwaki FC | Yuzo Tamura |  Under Armour |
| FC Kariya | Kazuhiro Murata | bonera |
| Kochi United SC | Akihiro Nishimura | bonera |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Hiroyasu Ibata |  ATHLETA |
| Matsue City FC | Noriaki Sanenobu | soccer junky |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Hiroshi Otsuki | JOGARBOLA |
| Nara Club |  Julián Marín Bazalo | SQUADRA |
| F.C. Osaka | Shinya Tsukahara | bonera |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Ryo Adachi | Umbro |
| Sony Sendai FC | Gen Nakamura | Umbro |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Yasutoshi Miura | ATHLETA |
| FC Tiamo Hirakata | Yoshizumi Ogawa | JOGARBOLA |
| Tokyo Musashino United FC | Hisayuki Ikegami | Yonex |
| Veertien Mie | Yoshihiko Yamamoto | Lwond |
| Verspah Oita | Takashi Yamahashi | YASUDA |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
| Veertien Mie | Nobuhiro Ueno |
Sacked | 21 June 2021 | 21 June 2021 | 12th | Yoshihiko Yamamoto |
22 June 2021 | 22 June 2021 | [5] |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Mila Martínez |
Mutual consent | 5 July 2021 | 5 July 2021 | 14th | Tsukasa Ozawa (interim) |
5 July 2021 | 5 July 2021 | [6] |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Tsukasa Ozawa (interim) |
Interim completed | 15 July 2021 | 15 July 2021 | 11th | Yasutoshi Miura |
15 July 2021 | 15 July 2021 | [7] |
| FC Kariya | Koji Kadota (interim) |
Sacked | 16 July 2021 | 16 July 2021 | 17th | Ryo Iizuka |
16 July 2021 | 16 July 2021 | [8] |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Ryuji Kitamura |
Appointed technical director | 20 July 2021 | 31 July 2021 | 11th | Hiroyasu Ibata |
27 July 2021 | 1 August 2021 | [9] |
| FC Kariya | Ryo Iizuka (interim) |
Interim completed | 2 August 2021 | 2 August 2021 | 17th | Kazuhiro Murata |
2 August 2021 | 2 August 2021 | [10] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iwaki FC[lower-alpha 1] (C, P) | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 28 | +37 | 71 | Promotion to J3 League[lower-alpha 2] |
| 2 | Honda FC | 32 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 69 | 25 | +44 | 67 | |
| 3 | Verspah Oita[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 24 | +22 | 62 | |
| 4 | Suzuka Point Getters[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 50 | |
| 5 | Matsue City | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 50 | |
| 6 | Sony Sendai | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 48 | |
| 7 | F.C. Osaka[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 48 | |
| 8 | Tiamo Hirakata | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 48 | |
| 9 | ReinMeer Aomori[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 45 | |
| 10 | Nara Club[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 43 | |
| 11 | Veertien Mie[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 40 | |
| 12 | MIO Biwako Shiga[lower-alpha 1] | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 37 | |
| 13 | Kochi United | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 33 | |
| 14 | Maruyasu Okazaki | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 33 | |
| 15 | Tokyo Musashino United | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 32 | |
| 16 | Honda Lock (O) | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 48 | −22 | 27 | Qualification for relegation play-offs[lower-alpha 3] |
| 17 | FC Kariya (R) | 32 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 26 | 55 | −29 | 18 |
Updated to match(es) played on 28 November 2021. Source: JFL website (in Japanese)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head results (a. points, b. goal difference, c. goals scored); 5) number of wins; 6) disciplinary points; 7) play-off (if necessary)[11]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head results (a. points, b. goal difference, c. goals scored); 5) number of wins; 6) disciplinary points; 7) play-off (if necessary)[11]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- J.League 100 Year Plan clubs
- Promotion was conditional on holding a J3 license (marked in bold in the table), finishing in the top 4 of the JFL, and finishing in the top 2 of the J.League 100 Year Plan clubs.
- Relegation will occur as follows.
In case of 1 team promoted to J3: Japan Regional Football Champions League winners will play the 17th-placed team in JFL, and runners-up will also play the 16th-placed team in JFL.
Regional Leagues Relegation Playoffs
2021 JFL·Regional Leagues Playoffs (Japanese: 2021年度JFL·地域リーグ入れ替え戦)
| Honda Lock (2021 JFL 16th) | 3 – 2 | FC Ise-Shima (2021 Japan Regional Football Champions League runners-up) |
|---|---|---|
| Arashi Tamaki (8 minutes); Tomoki Mera (11 minutes); Ken Takahashi (20 minutes) | JFL Official | Miki Uematsu (84 minutes); Elichi Nakata (87 minutes) |
Honda Lock remains in the JFL; FC Ise-Shima remains in the Tōkai Adult Soccer League Division 1.
| FC Kariya (2021 JFL 17th) | 0 – 4 | Criacao Shinjuku (2021 Japan Regional Football Champions League winners) |
|---|---|---|
| JFL Official |
FC Kariya was relegated to the Tōkai Adult Soccer League Division 1; Criacao Shinjuku was promoted to the JFL.
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 28 November 2021.[12]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki Okazaki |
Honda FC | 16 |
| 2 | Motoki Fujiwara |
Sony Sendai FC | 12 |
| Reon Kodama |
Honda FC | ||
| Ryo Sato |
FC Tiamo Hirakata | ||
| Kohei Matsumoto |
FC Tiamo Hirakata | ||
| 6 | Daigo Furukawa |
Iwaki FC | 11 |
See also
- League
- Japanese association football league system
- J.League
- 2021 J1 League (Tier 1)
- 2021 J2 League (Tier 2)
- 2021 J3 League (Tier 3)
- 2021 Regional Champions League (play-offs for promotion to JFL)
- 2021 Regional Leagues (Tier 5/6)
- Cup(s)
- 2021 Fuji Xerox Super Cup (Super Cup)
- 2021 Emperor's Cup (National Open Cup)
- 2021 J.League YBC Levain Cup (League Cup)
References
- "Ｊリーグ入会（Ｊ３）について：Ｊリーグ.jp".
- "【ＪＦＬオフィシャルサイト】お知らせ「第２３回日本フットボールリーグ新入会チームについて」". www.jfl.or.jp.
- "ヴェルスパ大分がJFL初優勝。テゲバジャーロ宮崎はJ3昇格に王手". フットボールチャンネル.
- "Honda Lock SC Manager". hondalock-sc.info. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- "Coach contract cancelled, new coach appointed". www.veertien.jp. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- "Coach Milagros Martínez Dominguez's departure notice". Suzuka Point Getters. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "Announcement of head coach and GM Yasutoshi Miura's inauguration". Suzuka Point Getters. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "Coach Kadoda sacked". fckariya.jp. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- "Announcement of head coach Hiroyasu Ibata's appointment" (Press release). Maruyasu Okazaki. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "New coach announced". fckariya.jp. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- "第２３回 日本フットボールリーグ(2021)" (in Japanese). Japan Football League.
- "日本フットボールリーグオフィシャルWebサイト【得点Ｒ】".
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