F.League

The F. League (in Japanese: "F・リーグ", Officially "日本フットサルリーグ",Nihon Futtosaru Rīgu) is the top league for Futsal in Japan. The winning team obtains the participation right to the AFC Futsal Club Championship.[1]

Not to be confused with F-League.

F.League
Founded2007; 12 years ago
CountryJapan
ConfederationAFC
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)All Japan Futsal Championship
F.League Ocean Cup
International cup(s)AFC Futsal Club Championship
Current championsNagoya Oceans
(2019–20)
Most championshipsNagoya Oceans (12 titles)
Websitewww.fleague.jp

History

The league was formed in 2007 as a complement for the elimination tournament, (the current Puma Cup) which groups regional futsal champions into a final elimination phase.[2]

The league operates on the sports franchise system, with no promotion or relegation of clubs. The clubs are thus expansion teams. In 2009 the number of clubs was increased from 8 to 10 with the addition of Fuchu Athletic and Espolada Hokkaido.

In F. League play, the clubs battle each other three times: once at home, once away and once in a neutral venue (generally Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo). The season runs from August to February.

An elimination league cup, the Ocean Cup is played every season by the 12 F.League teams.

Teams

Teams playing the F. League 2019–20 season.

Division 1
Team City/Area Main Arena Founded
Bardral Urayasu Urayasu, Chiba Urayasu General Gymnasium 1998
Pescadola Machida Machida, Tokyo Machida Municipal General Gymnasium 1999
Fuchu Athletic F.C. Fuchū, Tokyo Fuchu Sports Center 2000
Fugador Sumida Sumida, Tokyo Sumida City Gymnasium 2001
Boaluz Nagano Nagano, Nagano White Ring 2018
Shriker Osaka Osaka, Osaka Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium 2002
Vasagey Oita Oita, Oita Oozu Sports Park 2003
Nagoya Oceans Nagoya, Aichi Takeda Teva Ocean Arena 2006
Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Odawara Arena 2007
Espolada Hokkaido Sapporo, Hokkaido Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center 2008
Voscuore Sendai Sendai, Miyagi Sendai Gymnasium 2012
F.League selection Nagoya, Aichi Takeda Teva Ocean Arena 2018

Division 2
Team City/Area Main Arena Founded
Toruela Kashiwa Kashiwa, Chiba Kashiwa City Central Gymnasium 2018
Y.S.C.C. Yokohama Yokohama, Kanagawa Yokohama City Hiranuma Memorial Gymnasium 2018
Vincedor Hakusan Hakusan, Ishikawa Matto General Sports Park Gymnasium 2018
Agleymina Hamamatsu Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Hamamatsu Arena 1996
Deução Kobe Kobe, Hyogo Kobe Green Arena 2007
Hiroshima F DO Hiroshima, Hiroshima Hiroshima City Asakita-ku Sports Center 2018
Porseid Hamada Hamada, Shimane Shimane Prefectural Gymnasium 2018
Borkbullet Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium 2018

Statistics

Champions
SeasonsWinnerRunner-upThird place
2007–08Nagoya OceansBardral UrayasuDeução Kobe
2008–09Nagoya OceansBardral UrayasuDeução Kobe
2009–10Nagoya OceansPescadola MachidaShriker Osaka
2010–11Nagoya OceansDeução KobeVasagey Oita
2011–12Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaDeução Kobe
2012–13Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaFuchu Athletic
2013–14Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaVasagey Oita
2014–15Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaBardral Urayasu
2015–16Nagoya OceansFuchu AthleticShriker Osaka
2016–17Shriker OsakaPescadola MachidaNagoya Oceans
2017–18Nagoya OceansPescadola MachidaShonan Bellmare
2018–19Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaTachikawa Fuchu Athletic
2019–20Nagoya OceansVasagey OitaFugador Sumida

Most Valuable Player (MVP)
SeasonsPlayer
2007-08 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)
2008-09 Wataru Kitahara (Nagoya Oceans)
2009-10 Higor Pires (Shriker Osaka)
2010-11 Ricardinho (Nagoya Oceans)
2011-12 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)
2012-13 Ricardinho (Nagoya Oceans)
2013-14 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)
2014-15 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)
2015-16 Vinicius Crepaldi (Shriker Osaka)
2016-17 Nobuya Osodo (Shriker Osaka)
2017-18 Rafa (Nagoya Oceans)
2018-19 Tomoki Yoshikawa (Nagoya Oceans)

See also

References
  1. ARITA, KENICHI (18 May 2012). "F.League hopes World Cup will boost sport's popularity". asahi.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  2. "Futsal league ready for the off". fifa.com. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
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