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 attendance350,368
Average attendance1,144
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 20 December 2020.

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.

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.[1]

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

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.[6]

On 29 May, J.League announced its decision to resume on 27 June.[7] On 9 June, the schedules of the 2020 season were published.[8] 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".[9]

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.[10]

Clubs
Locations of the 2020 J3 League teams
Greater Tokyo Area J3 League teams

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.[11] 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.[12]

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

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Cerezo Osaka U-23 Kazuhiro Murata Appointed Academy Deputy Director and U-18 Head Coach 28 July 2020[13] Yoshiaki Maruyama 28 July 2020[14]
FC Gifu Zdravko Zemunović Change of director 25 September 2020[15] Kenji Nakada 25 September 2020[15]

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,[16] 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.[17]

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 and 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 FC Gifu 34 16 8 10 50 39 +11 56
6 FC Imabari 34 15 10 9 39 27 +12 55
7 Roasso Kumamoto 33 16 6 11 55 45 +10 54
8 Gainare Tottori 33 16 6 11 45 36 +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 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) Champion; (P) Promoted.
Notes:
  1. Only teams that hold a J2 licence are eligible for promotion.

Top scorers

After matches played on 20 December 2020.[18]

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

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 FC Gifu 20,885 3,854 0 2,089 −68.6%†
2 Nagano Parceiro 17,061 2,352 0 1,706 −43.1%†
3 Kagoshima United FC 15,733 2,846 0 1,573 −72.8%†
4 Roasso Kumamoto 15,646 2,490 0 1,422 −74.3%†
5 Kataller Toyama 10,107 2,004 0 1,123 −59.0%†
6 FC Imabari 11,085 1,499 0 1,109 −64.2%‡
7 Blaublitz Akita 12,045 2,078 0 1,095 −30.5%†
8 Kamatamare Sanuki 7,495 1,048 0 750 −64.5%†
9 Gainare Tottori 7,025 971 0 703 −68.5%†
10 Vanraure Hachinohe 6,780 1,062 0 616 −65.0%†
11 Azul Claro Numazu 6,107 1,026 0 611 −75.3%†
12 Fujieda MYFC 6,379 823 0 580 −66.7%†
13 SC Sagamihara 6,299 802 0 573 −80.1%†
14 YSCC Yokohama 5,519 860 0 552 −49.6%†
15 Fukushima United 5,640 842 0 470 −62.2%†
16 Gamba Osaka U-23 5,169 632 0 470 −62.8%†
17 Cerezo Osaka U-23 4,108 770 0 411 −65.6%†
18 Iwate Grulla Morioka 4,329 669 0 394 −71.2%†
League total 167,412 3,854 0 890 −62.9%†

Updated to games played on 14 October 2020
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Last year in J2 League
‡ Last year in Japan Football League.

See also

References
  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. "J.LEAGUE to Extend Suspension of Matches" (Press release). Official. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. "J. League to skip relegation as schedule threatened by coronavirus" (Press release). The Japan Times. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. "J.LEAGUE Further Extends Suspension of Matches" (Press release). Official. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  6. "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.
  7. "About the resumption/opening dates of the J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  8. "About schedule announcements of the 2020 J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. "2020 J.LEAGUE Match Schedules" (Press release). Official. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  10. "【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.
  11. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. "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.
  15. "監督交代のお知らせ" (Press release). FC岐阜. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. "J.LEAGUE to Change Format in the 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE" (Press release). Official. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  17. "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.
  18. "STATS & DATA » GOALS / MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE". J.League.

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.