2014 Japan Football League

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Japan Football League
Season 2014
Champions Honda FC
5th JFL title
1st D4 title
Promoted Renofa Yamaguchi
Matches played 182
Goals scored 492 (2.7 per match)
Top goalscorer Kazuhito Kishida (17 goals)
Highest attendance 4,569
Renofa vs Honda FC
Lowest attendance 145
Maruyasu vs Yokogawa
Average attendance 859
← 2013
2015 →

The 2014 Japan Football League 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]

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 will suffer a contraction and only 14 teams will participate in 2014.[2] The league will accommodate all winners of Regional Promotion Series and will accept applications from another Regional clubs that are willing to participate in the nationwide league. On December 4, 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 to 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 games 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
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away AZU FAN HON KGU LOC MAR MIO PRK REN SON UVA YMS 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 0–32 2–1 0–0
Verspah Oita 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–2

Updated to games played on 8 June 2014.
Source: Japan Football League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
2 Round 1 match between Vanraure and Sony was postponed to April 17 due to heavy snow.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

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 to 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 games 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
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away AZU FAN HON KGU LOC MAR MIO PRK REN SON UVA YMS 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 games played on 9 November 2014.
Source: Japan Football League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

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

23 November 2014
13:00
Honda FC 2–2 SP Kyoto FC
Hosokai Goal 37'
Harada Goal 71'		 Report Goal 6' Kurosu
Goal 84' Saito
Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
Attendance: 1,408
Referee: Shū Kawamata

29 November 2014
13:00
SP Kyoto FC 2–3 Honda FC
Horikawa Goal 5'
Sato Goal 52'		 Report Goal 37' Harada
Goal 80' Hosokai
Goal 86' Kurimoto
Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto
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 the 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 games 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; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Top scorers

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

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

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Renofa Yamaguchi 29,856 4,568 701 2,297 0.58413793103448+58.4%†
2 Kagoshima United 23,722 3,542 483 1,825 1.6372832369942+163.7%‡
3 Azul Claro Numazu 23,096 2,968 309 1,777 1.2101990049751+121.0%†
4 Honda FC 13,186 3,116 324 1,014 0.3448275862069+34.4%†
5 Vanraure Hachinohe 9,918 1,604 230 763 0.27591973244147+27.5%†
6 Yokogawa Musashino 9,613 1,227 335 739 -0.95974025974026−4.0%†
7 MIO Biwako Shiga 8,374 1,713 224 644 0.18600368324125+18.6%†
8 Tochigi Uva 7,017 1,474 215 540 -0.89403973509934−10.5%†
9 Sony Sendai 6,724 920 268 517 -0.80404354587869−19.5%†
10 Fagiano Okayama Next 5,865 759 249 451 n/a†
11 SP Kyoto FC 5,133 626 234 395 -0.97530864197531−2.4%†
12 Honda Lock 4,895 546 222 377 -0.73489278752437−26.5%†
13 Maruyasu Okazaki 4,662 1,176 145 359 n/a†
14 Verspah Oita 4,332 842 154 333 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 Regional 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

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External links

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