2014 Japan Football League

The 2014 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第16回日本フットボールリーグ, Hepburn: Dai Jūrokkai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu) was the first season of the nationwide fourth tier of the Japanese football, and the 16th season since the establishment of Japan Football League. The first stage of the season commenced from 16 March to 8 June, and the second stage of the season commenced on 19 July, and ended on 9 November, while post-season championship playoffs were held on 23 and 30 November.[1]

Japan Football League
Season2014
ChampionsHonda FC
5th JFL title
1st D4 title
PromotedRenofa Yamaguchi
Matches played182
Goals scored492 (2.7 per match)
Top goalscorerKazuhito Kishida (17 goals)
Highest attendance4,569
Renofa vs Honda FC
Lowest attendance145
Maruyasu vs Yokogawa
Average attendance859
← 2013
2015 →

Honda FC defeated SP Kyoto FC in the final series, winning their first title since 2008, and fifth in JFL overall. Meanwhile, Renofa Yamaguchi won promotion to J3 League after it has finished 4th in the table and fulfilled all licensing criteria set by J. League.

Clubs

After 10 of 18 teams were set to leave JFL for newly created J3, the league announced that it would suffer a contraction and only 14 teams would participate in 2014.[2] The league would accommodate all winners of the Regional League promotion series and would accept applications from another Regional clubs that are willing to participate in the nationwide league. On 4 December 2013 the league announced the final list of promoted teams.[3]

Club Name Home Town Notes
Azul Claro Numazu Numazu, Shizuoka J. League 100 Year Plan club status holders, promoted from Tōkai Soccer League
Fagiano Okayama Next Okayama, Okayama 2013 Chūgoku Soccer League champions, 2nd place in Regional promotion play-offs
Honda FC Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
Kagoshima United Kagoshima, Kagoshima A new club, created on merger of Volca Kagoshima and FC Kagoshima, 2013 Kyushu Soccer League respective champions and runners-up
Honda Lock Miyazaki, Miyazaki
Maruyasu Okazaki Okazaki, Aichi Promoted from Tōkai Soccer League. Renamed from Maruyasu Industries SC
MIO Biwako Shiga Kusatsu, Shiga
SP Kyoto FC Mukō, Kyoto Renamed from Sagawa Printing SC
Renofa Yamaguchi Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi 100 Year Plan club, promoted from Chūgoku Soccer League
Sony Sendai Tagajō, Miyagi
Tochigi Uva Tochigi, Tochigi 100 Year Plan club status approved 20 May 2014
Vanraure Hachinohe Hachinohe, Aomori 100 Year Plan club
Verspah Oita Ōita, Ōita Renamed from Hoyo Oita
Yokogawa Musashino Musashino, Tokyo

Change in rules

The league will turn to two-stage format, similar to the one J. League had in its early years and is planning to reintroduce in 2015. Two single round-robin stages will be held, and winners of each stage will determine the champion in the post-season home and away championship playoffs. If the same team manages to win both stages, no playoffs will be held, and they will be automatically declared champions.[1]

No relegation is expected to take place in 2014 season, as the league anticipates expansion to 16 teams in 2015.

According to updated J. League Terms, in order to be promoted to J3 League the clubs must comply the following requirements:[4]

  • Play in JFL for at least one season before promotion
  • Hold a J. League 100 Year Plan club status
  • Finish in top 4 of the combined JFL table, and finish either 1st or 2nd among associate members
  • Have an average home attendance of at least 2,000; with significant effort recognized toward reaching 3,000 spectators
  • Have an annual operating revenue of 150 million yen
  • Pass the J3 licensing examination conducted by J. League

First stage

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Honda FC (A) 13 11 1 1 36 11 +25 34 Qualification for championship play-offs
2 Kagoshima United 13 11 1 1 23 5 +18 34
3 SP Kyoto FC 13 9 0 4 21 12 +9 27
4 Sony Sendai 13 8 2 3 26 12 +14 26
5 Verspah Oita 13 6 5 2 17 9 +8 23
6 Renofa Yamaguchi 13 7 1 5 25 13 +12 22
7 Azul Claro Numazu 13 3 5 5 11 14 −3 14
8 Yokogawa Musashino 13 3 3 7 14 18 −4 12
9 Vanraure Hachinohe 13 3 3 7 11 18 −7 12
10 Fagiano Okayama Next 13 2 5 6 10 22 −12 11
11 Tochigi Uva 13 2 4 7 9 19 −10 10
12 Honda Lock 13 2 4 7 11 24 −13 10
13 MIO Biwako Shiga 13 2 3 8 9 32 −23 9
14 Maruyasu Okazaki 13 1 5 7 11 25 −14 8
Updated to match(es) played on 8 June 2014. Source: Japan Football League
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal differential; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head results; 5th disciplinary points; 6th draw.
(A) Advance to a further round.

Results
Home \ Away AZU FAN HON KGU LOC MAR MIO PRK REN SON UVA YMC VAN VRS
Azul Claro Numazu 0–1 3–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–0
Fagiano Okayama Next 2–2 0–5 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1
Honda FC 0–0 2–1 2–1 5–0 3–1 3–1 3–1
Kagoshima United 4–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 4–0 2–1
Honda Lock 1–1 1–1 2–3 3–1 0–4 0–1
Maruyasu Okazaki 1–2 1–4 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–1
MIO Biwako Shiga 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–4 1–0 0–3 1–5
SP Kyoto FC 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–1
Renofa Yamaguchi 1–0 4–0 1–2 1–1 5–0 2–0 2–0
Sony Sendai 2–0 3–5 0–0 0–1 3–0 1–0 3–1
Tochigi Uva 2–2 0–2 0–1 2–0 0–5 0–0
Yokogawa Musashino 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–1
Vanraure Hachinohe 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 0–0
Verspah Oita 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 8 June 2014. Source: Japan Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Round 1 match between Vanraure and Sony was postponed to 17 April due to heavy snow.

Second stage

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 SP Kyoto FC (A) 13 11 1 1 37 8 +29 34 Qualification for championship play-offs
2 Renofa Yamaguchi 13 9 2 2 26 14 +12 29
3 Kagoshima United 13 7 2 4 22 14 +8 23
4 Yokogawa Musashino 13 6 5 2 17 13 +4 23
5 Sony Sendai 13 5 5 3 19 17 +2 20
6 Honda FC 13 5 4 4 22 17 +5 19
7 Vanraure Hachinohe 13 5 3 5 19 14 +5 18
8 Azul Claro Numazu 13 5 3 5 15 21 −6 18
9 Honda Lock 13 5 2 6 20 28 −8 17
10 MIO Biwako Shiga 13 4 1 8 15 18 −3 13
11 Fagiano Okayama Next 13 3 3 7 14 24 −10 12
12 Verspah Oita 13 2 4 7 13 19 −6 10
13 Tochigi Uva 13 2 3 8 7 18 −11 9
14 Maruyasu Okazaki 13 2 2 9 12 33 −21 8
Updated to match(es) played on 9 November 2014. Source: Japan Football League
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal differential; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head results; 5th disciplinary points; 6th draw.
(A) Advance to a further round.

Results
Home \ Away AZU FAN HON KGU LOC MAR MIO PRK REN SON UVA YMC VAN VRS
Azul Claro Numazu 0–0 0–4 3–4 1–2 2–1 3–2 2–1
Fagiano Okayama Next 0–1 6–1 0–4 0–7 0–0 1–2 2–1
Honda FC 2–0 2–1 2–3 0–1 2–2 2–1
Kagoshima United 0–0 1–2 2–2 0–3 1–0 2–0 2–0
Honda Lock 1–0 3–2 1–4 2–4 0–3 2–1 3–3
Maruyasu Okazaki 1–1 1–5 2–1 1–2 0–4 1–4 0–1
MIO Biwako Shiga 0–1 1–2 0–2 1–2 1–0 2–1
SP Kyoto FC 4–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–3
Renofa Yamaguchi 1–1 2–1 1–4 4–1 0–1 1–0
Sony Sendai 3–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–2
Tochigi Uva 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–4 0–1 0–1 1–0
Yokogawa Musashino 1–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–2
Vanraure Hachinohe 2–0 5–2 4–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1
Verspah Oita 1–0 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–1 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on 9 November 2014. Source: Japan Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship play-offs

The championship play-offs was held after the season between two winners of each stage. Honda FC, the winners of the first stage, will host the first leg on 23 November, and SP Kyoto FC who won the second stage will host the second leg on 29 November.[1][5]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Honda FC 5–4 SP Kyoto FC 2–2 3–2
Honda FC2–2SP Kyoto FC
Hosokai  37'
Harada  71'		 Report  6' Kurosu
 84' Saito
Attendance: 1,408
Referee: Shū Kawamata
SP Kyoto FC2–3Honda FC
Horikawa  5'
Sato  52'		 Report  37' Harada
 80' Hosokai
 86' Kurimoto
Attendance: 1,288
Referee: Naohito Ogawa

Honda FC won the series 5–4 on aggregate and thus won their 5th JFL title.

Overall table

This table was used to determine J3 promotion candidates. To qualify for promotion, a club must hold a 100 Year Plan status (marked in bold in the table), and finish both in Top-4 of the JFL, and either 1st or 2nd among the promotion-eligible clubs.

On 21 October the J. League has examined clubs in order to determine J3 promotion eligibility. Among existing 100 Year Plan clubs only Azul Claro Numazu and Renofa Yamaguchi passed all tests, making them the only clubs theoretically eligible for promotion.[6]

On 19 November J. League officially admitted Renofa Yamaguchi to participate in next year J3 League.[7]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 SP Kyoto FC 26 20 1 5 58 20 +38 61
2 Kagoshima United 26 18 3 5 45 19 +26 57
3 Honda FC (C) 26 16 5 5 58 28 +30 53
4 Renofa Yamaguchi (P) 26 16 3 7 51 27 +24 51 Promotion to 2015 J3 League
5 Sony Sendai 26 13 7 6 45 29 +16 46
6 Yokogawa Musashino 26 9 8 9 31 31 0 35
7 Verspah Oita 26 8 9 9 30 28 +2 33
8 Azul Claro Numazu 26 8 8 10 26 35 −9 32
9 Vanraure Hachinohe 26 8 6 12 30 32 −2 30
10 Honda Lock 26 7 6 13 31 52 −21 27
11 Fagiano Okayama Next 26 5 8 13 24 46 −22 23
12 MIO Biwako Shiga 26 6 4 16 24 50 −26 22
13 Tochigi Uva 26 4 7 15 16 37 −21 19
14 Maruyasu Okazaki 26 3 7 16 23 58 −35 16
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2014. Source: Japan Football League
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal differential; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head results; 5th disciplinary points; 6th draw
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Kazuhito Kishida Renofa Yamaguchi
17
2 Takaki Fukumitsu Verspah Oita
13
3 Yuta Uchino Sony Sendai
12
4 Daiki Kagawa Honda FC
11
5 Kazuma Sato SP Kyoto FC
10
6 Gen Nakamura Sony Sendai
9
7 Akira Akao Kagoshima United
8
Noriaki Fujimoto SP Kyoto FC
8
Daisuke Kurosu SP Kyoto FC
8
10 Kiichi Iga Honda FC
7
Taishi Kusaka Maruyasu Okazaki
7
Makoto Nakasuji Kagoshima United
7
Tatsuya Saito MIO Biwako Shiga
7
Hiroya Yamada Kagoshima United
7

Source: Japan Football League
Updated to games played on 9 November 2014

Attendance
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Renofa Yamaguchi 29,856 4,568 701 2,297 +58.4%†
2 Kagoshima United 23,722 3,542 483 1,825 +163.7%‡
3 Azul Claro Numazu 23,096 2,968 309 1,777 +121.0%†
4 Honda FC 13,186 3,116 324 1,014 +34.5%†
5 Vanraure Hachinohe 9,918 1,604 230 763 +27.6%†
6 Yokogawa Musashino 9,613 1,227 335 739 −4.0%†
7 MIO Biwako Shiga 8,374 1,713 224 644 +18.6%†
8 Tochigi Uva 7,017 1,474 215 540 −10.6%†
9 Sony Sendai 6,724 920 268 517 −19.6%†
10 Fagiano Okayama Next 5,865 759 249 451 n/a†
11 SP Kyoto FC 5,133 626 234 395 −2.5%†
12 Honda Lock 4,895 546 222 377 −26.5%†
13 Maruyasu Okazaki 4,662 1,176 145 359 n/a†
14 Verspah Oita 4,332 842 154 333 0.0%†
League total 156,393 4,568 145 859 −35.0%†

Updated to games played on 9 November 2014
Source: Japan Football League (1st stage, 2nd stage)
Notes:
† Team played previous season in Regional Leagues.
‡The average attendance of Kagoshima United is compared to combined averages of its predecessors, FC Kagoshima and Volca Kagoshima

Promotion from Regional Leagues

As the league plans to expand to 16 teams for 2015 season, two promotion slots were available for the winners of the Regional League promotion series. In the final group tournament that took place from 22 to 24 November Nara Club and FC Osaka finished first and second, respectively, and won promotion to 2015 JFL.

Due to promotion of Renofa Yamaguchi to J3 League, one additional promotion spot become available. On 10 December it was awarded to Club Dragons from Kansai League D2 who finished third in the Regional Promotion series.[8]

References
  1. "第１６回日本フットボールリーグ大会方式変更のお知らせ！" [Announcement on format change of the 16th Japan Football League]. Japan Football League. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. "２０１４年度　第１６回日本フットボールリーグ チーム数についてのお知らせ" [Announcement on number of teams for 2014 JFL season]. Japan Football League. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  3. "お知らせ「第１６回日本フットボールリーグ新入会チーム決定！」" [Announcement on the decision on admission of new teams for 16th JFL season!]. Japan Football League. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  4. J リーグ規約 [J. League Terms] (PDF) (in Japanese), J. League, February 2014, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2014, retrieved 24 February 2014
  5. "第１６回ＪＦＬ チャンピオンシップ【16th JFL Championship】" (in Japanese). Japan Football League. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  6. ２０１５シーズン　Ｊ３リーグ参加クラブに関する「スタジアム要件」および「ライセンス基準」の審査結果について [Results of club examination and J3 licensing for 2015 season] (in Japanese). J. League. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  7. Ｊ３入会承認！ [Approval of J3 membership!] (in Japanese). Renofa Yamaguchi. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  8. "お知らせ「第１７回日本フットボールリーグ新入会チーム決定！」" [Announcement on teams participating in 17th JFL]. Japan Football League. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
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