2020 J2 League

The 2020 J2 League, also known as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, will be the 28th season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league will start on 21 February 2020. For this season, the league was planned to have season break to avoid clash with 2020 Summer Olympics due to be starting from June to August, as the Olympics have been postponed to a year.[1]

Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Season2020
Dates20 February
27 June - 20 December 2020
ChampionsTokushima Vortis (1st title)
PromotedTokushima Vortis
Avispa Fukuoka
Relegatednone (for season 2020 only)
Matches played462
Goals scored1,119 (2.42 per match)
Top goalscorerPeter Utaka
(22 goals)
Biggest home win6-0 F.C. Ryukyu v Ehime F.C.
JEF United Chiba v Zweigen Kanazawa
Biggest away win1-6 Matsumoto Yamaga v F.C. Ryukyu
Highest scoring3-5 Albirex Niigata v Zweigen Kanazawa
Longest winning run12 Avispa Fukuoka
Longest unbeaten run15 Avispa Fukuoka
Longest winless run11 Renofa Yamaguchi
Longest losing run7 Renofa Yamaguchi
Highest attendance14,526 Júbilo Iwata v Montedio Yamagata
Lowest attendance0 Due to Covid-19
Total attendance1,269,962
Average attendance2,754
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 20th December 2020.

Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On February 25, all J.League matches until March 15 were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until March 29.[3] 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.[4] On March 25, a further announcement declared that the league would be suspended from April 3 to May 6.[5]

On April 3, a decision to start over the official game schedule, which aims to gradually resume J3 from April 25, J2 from May 2, and J1 from May 9. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, but it will resume it at least one month later and later in the month.[6]

On May 29, the J.LEAGUE announced to resume matches on June 27.[7] On June 9, a further announcement about the schedule of the 2020 season.[8] On June 15, a new announcement about the New dates. The first 2 rounds of matches in each league (J2 2nd-3rd series) will be held without spectators. After July 10th, as a rule, the maximum number of people will be 5,000, (stadiums with less capacity are those with less than 50% of the capacity of people, will forbid away supporters). After August, the maximum stadium capacity will be 50%, and it will be a “high alert spectator match”.[9]

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

Clubs
Locations of the 2020 J2 League teams
Greater Tokyo Area J2 League Teams

After spending only one season in J2, Kashiwa Reysol were crowned champions and were promoted to 2020 J1 League along with the runners-up Yokohama FC. The 2019 J3 League champions Giravanz Kitakyushu and runners-up Thespakusatsu Gunma entered the league as the promoted teams, replacing Kagoshima United and FC Gifu who were relegated to 2020 J3 League. Those teams that qualified for promotion playoffs in 2019 were unable to defeat their opponent and thus remain in 2020 J1 League season.

Giravanz Kitakyushu return to J2 after spending three seasons in J3, while Thespakusatsu Gunma return after spending two seasons.

Meanwhile, Matsumoto Yamaga and Júbilo Iwata will join 2020 J2 League as relegated teams from 2019 J1 League having placed 17th and 18th respectively.

Club Name Home Town Stadium Capacity Last season licence
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seiro, Niigata Denka Big Swan Stadium 42,300 J2 (10th) J1
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Level5 Stadium 22,563 J2 (16th) J1
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime[lower-alpha 1] Ningineer Stadium 20,000 J2 (19th) J1
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama[lower-alpha 2] City Light Stadium 20,000 J2 (9th) J1
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu 15,066 Promoted from J3 (Champions) J1
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba Fukuda Denshi Arena 18,500 J2 (17th) J1
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka Yamaha Stadium 15,165 Relegated from J1 (18th) J1
Kyoto Sanga Cities/towns in Kyoto[lower-alpha 3] Sanga Stadium by Kyocera 21,600 J2 (8th) J1
Machida Zelvia Machida, Tokyo Machida Athletic Stadium 10,600 J2 (18th) J1
Matsumoto Yamaga Cities/towns in Nagano[lower-alpha 4] Sunpro Alwin 20,396 Relegated from J1 (17th) J1
Mito HollyHock Cities/towns in Ibaraki[lower-alpha 5] K's denki Stadium Mito 12,000 J2 (7th) J2
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata[lower-alpha 6] ND Soft Stadium 20,315 J2 (6th) J1
Omiya Ardija Saitama, Saitama NACK5 Stadium Omiya 15,500 J2 (3rd) J1
Renofa Yamaguchi All cities/towns in Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium 20,000 J2 (15th) J1
FC Ryukyu All cities/towns in Okinawa[lower-alpha 7] Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium 25,000 J2 (14th) J1
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi Tochigi Green Stadium 18,025 J2 (20th) J1
Thespakusatsu Gunma All cities/towns in Gunma[lower-alpha 8] Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma 15,253 Promoted from J3（2nd） J1
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima[lower-alpha 9] Pocarisweat Stadium 20,441 J2 (4th) J1
V-Varen Nagasaki All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture[lower-alpha 10] Nagasaki Athletic Stadium 20,246 J2 (12th) J1
Ventforet Kofu All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture[lower-alpha 11] Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium 17,000 J2 (5th) J1
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970 J2 (13th) J1
Zweigen Kanazawa All cities/towns in Ishikawa[lower-alpha 12] Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium 20,000 J2 (11th) J1
  1. centering on Matsuyama
  2. centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
  3. Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyotanabe, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba, Fukuchiyama, Maizuru, Ayabe
  4. Matsumoto, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Omachi, Ikeda, Ikusaka, Minowa, Asahi
  5. Mito, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Tokai
  6. centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
  7. centering on Okinawa
  8. centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
  9. centering on Tokushima, Naruto, Mima, Matsushige, Itano, Aizumi, Kitajima
  10. centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
  11. centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
  12. centering on Kanazawa, Nonoichi, Kahoku, Tsubata, Tsubata

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Albirex Niigata Albert Puig [11] Adidas
Avispa Fukuoka Shigetoshi Hasebe[12] YONEX
Ehime FC Kenta Kawai[13] Mizuno
Fagiano Okayama Kenji Arima[14] Penalty
Giravanz Kitakyushu Shinji Kobayashi[15] Penalty
JEF United Chiba Yoon Jong-hwan[16] Kappa
Júbilo Iwata Fernando Jubero[17] Puma
Kyoto Sanga Noritada Saneyoshi[18] Puma
Machida Zelvia Ranko Popović [19] SVOLME
Matsumoto Yamaga Keiichiro Nuno[20] Adidas
Mito HollyHock Tadahiro Akiba[21] GAViC
Montedio Yamagata Kiyotaka Ishimaru[22] Penalty
Omiya Ardija Takuya Takagi[23] Under Armour
Renofa Yamaguchi Masahiro Shimoda[24] Finta
FC Ryukyu Yasuhiro Higuchi[25] sfida
Tochigi SC Kazuaki Tasaka[26] ATHLETA
Thespakusatsu Gunma Ryosuke Okuno [27] Kelme
Tokushima Vortis Ricardo Rodríguez[28] Mizuno
V-Varen Nagasaki Makoto Teguramori[29] Umbro
Ventforet Kofu Akira Ito[30] Mizuno
Tokyo Verdy Hideki Nagai [31] ATHLETA
Zweigen Kanazawa Masaaki Yanagishita[32] Adidas

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Matsumoto Yamaga Keiichiro Nuno Dismissal 25 September 2020[33] Kei Shibata 25 September 2020[34]
Júbilo Iwata Fernando Jubero Dismissal 1 October 2020[35] Masakazu Suzuki 2 October 2020[36]

Foreign players

As of 2020 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[37] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.

  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former players
Montedio Yamagata Vinícius Araújo Min Seong-jun
Mito HollyHock Halef Pitbull
Tochigi SC Woo Sang-ho Han Yong-thae
Thespakusatsu Gunma
Omiya Ardija Nermin Haskić Vitālijs Maksimenko Filip Kljajić Ippei Shinozuka Ibba Laajab
JEF United Chiba Alan Pinheiro Kléber Jang Min-gyu Jason Geria Hebert
Tokyo Verdy Leandro Klebinho Matheus Vidotto
Machida Zelvia Alen Mašović Ri Han-jae Dorian Babunski Jeong Chung-geun Stefan Šćepović Erick Noriega
Ventforet Kofu Dudu Rafael Marques
Matsumoto Yamaga Augusto César Serginho Alvaro Jael Han Yong-thae
Albirex Niigata Jong Tae-se Silvinho Gonzalo González Pedro Manzi Mauro dos Santos Fábio
Zweigen Kanazawa Rodolfo Lucão
Jubilo Iwata Lulinha Lukian Juan Forlín Fozil Musaev
Kyoto Sanga Renan Mota Juninho Jordy Buijs Peter Utaka
Fagiano Okayama Paulinho Léo Mineiro Lee Yong-jae Yu Yong-hyeon Lee Kyeong-tae Choi Jung-won Hadi Fayyadh
Renofa Yamaguchi Renan Henik Iury Sandro
Tokushima Vortis Diego Dušan Cvetinović
Ehime FC Sisi
Avispa Fukuoka Douglas Grolli Jon Ander Serantes Carlos Gutiérrez Juanma Emil Salomonsson
Giravanz Kitakyushu
V-Varen Nagasaki Caio César Freire Luan Víctor Ibarbo Edigar Junio
FC Ryukyu Felipe Tavares Danny Carvajal Lee Ji-seong Ri Yong-jik

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,[38] 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). It was also announced that the J1/J2 play-offs will not be held.[39]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Tokushima Vortis (C, P) 42 25 9 8 67 33 +34 84 Promotion to 2021 J1 League and 2020 Emperor's Cup quarter-finals
2 Avispa Fukuoka (P) 42 25 9 8 51 29 +22 84 Promotion to 2021 J1 League
3 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 23 11 8 66 39 +27 80
4 Ventforet Kofu 42 16 17 9 50 41 +9 65
5 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 19 8 15 59 51 +8 65
6 Júbilo Iwata 42 16 15 11 58 47 +11 63
7 Montedio Yamagata 42 17 11 14 59 42 +17 62
8 Kyoto Sanga 42 16 11 15 47 45 +2 59
9 Mito HollyHock 42 16 10 16 68 62 +6 58
10 Tochigi SC 42 15 13 14 41 39 +2 58
11 Albirex Niigata 42 14 15 13 55 55 0 57
12 Tokyo Verdy 42 13 15 14 48 48 0 54
13 Matsumoto Yamaga 42 13 15 14 44 52 −8 54
14 JEF United Chiba 42 15 8 19 47 51 −4 53
15 Omiya Ardija 42 14 11 17 43 52 −9 53
16 FC Ryukyu 42 14 8 20 58 61 −3 50
17 Fagiano Okayama 42 12 14 16 39 49 −10 50
18 Zweigen Kanazawa 42 12 13 17 57 67 −10 49
19 Machida Zelvia 42 12 13 17 41 52 −11 49
20 Thespakusatsu Gunma 42 15 4 23 40 62 −22 49
21 Ehime FC 42 8 10 24 38 68 −30 34
22 Renofa Yamaguchi 42 9 6 27 43 74 −31 33
Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League
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) Champion; (P) Promoted.

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
Tokushima Vortis28311
Avispa Fukuoka96822
V-Varen Nagasaki102233
Ventforet Kofu1215444
Albirex Niigata137511
Giravanz Kitakyushu1820165
Montedio Yamagata20141677
Kyoto Sanga1710588
Júbilo Iwata312696
Tochigi SC1521111010
Tokyo Verdy221991112
Zweigen Kanazawa1618121218
Fagiano Okayama74171317
Mito HollyHock13914149
Machida Zelvia1116101519
JEF United Chiba613151614
Omiya Ardija41131715
FC Ryukyu1917191816
Matsumoto Yamaga57181913
Thespakusatsu Gunma2122212020
Ehime FC1411202121
Renofa Yamaguchi85222222
Leader and qualification to 2021 J1 League
Runner up and qualification to 2021 J1 League
Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League

Top scorers
As of December 20th, 2020.[40]
RankPlayerClubGoals
1
 Peter UtakaKyoto Sanga
22
2
 Akira Silvano DisaroGiravanz Kitakyushu
18
3
 Yuki KakitaTokushima Vortis
17
4
 Kazuma YamaguchiMito HollyHock
15
5
 Vinícius AraújoMontedio Yamagata
14
6
 Masato NakayamaMito HollyHock
13
Takuma AbeFC Ryukyu
Mutsuki KatoZweigen Kanazawa
9
 Kazuma TakaiRenofa Yamaguchi
11
Daiya TonoAvispa Fukuoka
11
 DuduVentforet Kofu
10
LukianJúbilo Iwata
LucãoZweigen Kanazawa
Koya KazamaFC Ryukyu

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Albirex Niigata 65,355 8,369 0 4,668 −68.5%†
2 V-Varen Nagasaki 44,568 9,436 0 3,714 −52.0%†
3 Jubilo Iwata 44,998 14,526 0 3,214 −79.0%†
4 Giravanz Kitakyushu 41,283 13,574 0 3,176 −47.5%‡
5 Matsumoto Yamaga 37,101 4,877 0 3,092 −82.2%†
6 Kyoto Sanga 32,164 4,133 0 2,924 −62.8%†
7 Fagiano Okayama 42,816 12,434 0 2,854 −69.8%†
8 Montedio Yamagata 35,186 5,435 0 2,707 −67.3%†
9 Tokushima Vortis 34,308 9,033 0 2,639 −54.0%†
10 JEF United Chiba 33,936 9,701 0 2,610 −73.1%†
11 Avispa Fukuoka 32,771 9,006 0 2,521 −63.9%†
12 Renofa Yamaguchi 23,707 8,424 0 1,976 −64.9%†
13 Mito HollyHock 25,670 7,029 0 1,975 −67.6%†
14 Tokyo Verdy 23,512 4,161 0 1,959 −63.5%†
15 Omiya Ardija 25,049 3,029 0 1,927 −79.7%†
16 Ventforet Kofu 25,345 2,390 0 1,810 −78.1%†
17 Thespakusatsu Gunma 22,216 11,038 0 1,709 −52.4%‡
18 Tochigi SC 21,543 2,701 0 1,657 −67.8%†
19 Ehime FC 22,084 5,681 0 1,577 −58.3%†
20 Zweigen Kanazawa 19,625 2,764 0 1,510 −71.0%†
21 Machida Zelvia 17,241 6,421 0 1,232 −73.9%†
22 FC Ryukyu 7,625 1,464 0 635 −87.2%†
League total 678,103 14,526 0 2,371 −67.0%†

Updated to games played on 14 October 2020
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Last year in J1 League
‡ Last year in J3 League。

See also

References
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