2025 Japan Football League
| Season | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 March – 23 November 2025 |
← 2024 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 29 February 2025. | |
The 2025 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第27回日本フットボールリーグ[第27回 JFL 2025], Hepburn: Dai Nijūnana Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu [Dai Nijūnana JFL 2025]) will be the 27th season of JFL, since its establishment in 1999. This will be the twelfth season of the league having a fourth-tier status in Japanese football since 2014.
Overview
This marks the final Japan Football League season scheduled within a single calendar year, running from late winter to early winter, as future seasons will shift to a summer-to-spring format.
The number of teams has stayed the same at 16 for the 2025 season, just as it was in 2024.
The league's champion team earns automatic promotion to the J3 League, while the 2nd place team competes in a promotion/relegation play-off against the 19th-placed team from the J3 League.
Schedule
The league and match format was revealed on December 21, 2024. The league kicked off on March 8 and is set to wrap up on November 23. The format consists of a round-robin with 30 matches.
The J3/JFL play-offs will be held over two legs, with the dates to be confirmed in December.
Changes from the previous season
Iwate Grulla Morioka and YSCC Yokohama were relegated from the J3 League 2024 after finished 19th and 20th, respectively. Iwate will play in JFL for the first time in their history for this season while YSCC Yokohama will return to the fourth tier after 12 years' absence.
Asuka FC, 2024 Kansai Soccer League Division 1 champion, was the sole promoted team to the JFL as they won the 2024 Regional Champions League.[1][2] Asuka will play in JFL for the first time in their history for this season.
Vonds Ichihara could have joined Briobecca Urayasu as Chiba's representatives in the JFL, had they won the 2024 JFL play-off against Minebea Mitsumi.
Sony Sendai withdrew from the JFL due to dissolution after financial troubles and ended 25 years in the fourth tier.[3]
On 1 January 2025, Briobecca Urayasu was renamed Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa for this season due to aiming for the J.League.[4]
Participating clubs
The teams which possess (or are applicants of) promotion-enabling licenses are highlighted in green in the following table.
| Club name | Home town | Stadium | Capacity | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asuka FC | Kashihara, Nara | Nara Prefectural Kashihara Park Athletics Stadium | 5,000 | JRCL (1st) | |
| Atletico Suzuka | Suzuka, Mie | AGF Suzuka Athletic Stadium | 1,450 | 11th | |
| Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa | Urayasu, Chiba | Daiichi Cutter Field | 2,100 | 8th | |
| Criacao Shinjuku | Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo | Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka | 7,258 | 14th | 100 Year Plan status J3 license holders |
| Honda FC | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium | 2,506 | 7th | |
| Iwate Grulla Morioka | Morioka, Iwate | Iwagin Stadium | 9,892 | J3 (20th) | J1 license holders |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Okazaki, Aichi | Maruyasu Okazaki Ryuhoku Stadium | 5,000 | 13th | |
| Minebea Mitsumi | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | Hinata Athletic Stadium | 20,000 | 16th | |
| Okinawa SV | All cities/towns in Okinawa[a] | Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium | 10,189 | 9th | |
| Reilac Shiga | Kusatsu, Shiga | Heiwado HATO Stadium | 15,000 | 4th | 100 Year Plan status applicants J3 license holders |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Aomori, Aomori | Kakuhiro Group Athletic Stadium | 20,809 | 10th | J3 license holders |
| Tiamo Hirakata | Hirakata, Osaka | Tamayura Athletic Stadium | 2,500 | 3rd | |
| Veertien Mie | All cities/towns in Mie[b] | La Pita Toin Stadium | 5,077 | 5th | J3 license holders |
| Verspah Oita | Yufu, Beppu & Ōita, Ōita | Resonac Soccer/Rugby Field | 4,700 | 6th | J3 license holders |
| Yokogawa Musashino | Musashino, Tokyo | Musashino Municipal Athletic Stadium | 5,188 | 15th | |
| YSCC Yokohama | Yokohama, Kanagawa | Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,454 | J3 (19th) | J2 license holders |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asuka FC | Naohiko Minobe | Squadra | Maru Industry |
| Atletico Suzuka | Fujio Yamamoto | Athleta | Topia |
| Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa | Satoshi Tsunami | soccer junky | Urata |
| Criacao Shinjuku | Hideaki Kitajima | Mitsubishi Fashion | Assetlead |
| Honda FC | Shota Itokazu | Umbro | Honda |
| Iwate Grulla Morioka | Kei Hoshikawa | Kelme | NOVA |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Hiroyasu Ibata | Athleta | Maruyasu |
| Minebea Mitsumi | Yōsuke Miyaji | Umbro | MinebeaMitsumi |
| Okinawa SV | Rei Onogi | XF | Nescafé |
| Reilac Shiga | Makoto Kakuda | DEZ | Rei Beauty Dermatology Clinic |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Masato Harasaki | Umbro | Towa |
| Tiamo Hirakata | Takahiro Futagawa | Jogarbola | Izawa Towel |
| Veertien Mie | Shuichi Mase | Sfida | Cosmo Oil |
| Verspah Oita | Gen Nakamura | Yasuda | Hoyo Group |
| Yokogawa Musashino | Takanori Kanamori | Puma | Yokogawa Electric |
| YSCC Yokohama | Hiroaki Nagamine | Penalty | My Basket |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
Foreign players
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Former players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asuka FC | ||||||
| Atletico Suzuka | Diego Washington | Mohammed Lamine | ||||
| Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa | ||||||
| Criacao Shinjuku | ||||||
| Honda FC | ||||||
| Iwate Grulla Morioka | Sillas | Cédric Toussaint | Ryu Se-gun | Kim Sung-kon | Won Tae-rang | |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | ||||||
| Minebea Mitsumi | ||||||
| Okinawa SV | ||||||
| Reilac Shiga | ||||||
| ReinMeer Aomori | Arthur Bessa | Luiz Fernando | Han Yong-gi | Park Yong-ji | ||
| Tiamo Hirakata | Kim Ji-myung | Thanakrit Laorkai | Thitipat Ekarunpong | |||
| Veertien Mie | Kim Song-sun | Ryang Hyon-ju | ||||
| Verspah Oita | ||||||
| Yokogawa Musashino | Kim Tae-uk | Park Kwan-gyu | ||||
| YSCC Yokohama | Onye Ogochukwu | Kim Yong-u | Lee Yoon-sung | Park Si-eon |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okinawa SV | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 31 | Promotion to 2026–27 J3 League |
| 2 | ReinMeer Aomori | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 27 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Honda FC | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 26 | |
| 4 | Verspah Oita | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 25 | |
| 5 | Reilac Shiga | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 25 | |
| 6 | Tiamo Hirakata | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Atletico Suzuka | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 19 | |
| 8 | Iwate Grulla Morioka | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 18 | |
| 9 | Veertien Mie | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 18 | |
| 10 | Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 18 | |
| 11 | Minebea Mitsumi | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 16 | |
| 12 | Criacao Shinjuku | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 14 | |
| 13 | YSCC Yokohama | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 14 | |
| 14 | Maruyasu Okazaki | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 13 | |
| 15 | Asuka FC | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 9 | Qualification for relegation playoffs |
| 16 | Yokogawa Musashino | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 9 | Relegation to 2026–27 Japanese Regional Leagues |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
J3/JFL Play-offs
The play-offs, officially called the 2025 J3/JFL Play-offs (Japanese: 2025 J3・JFL入れ替え戦[A]), will take place on 7 and 14 December 2025. If the two teams were equal on the scoreboard, the match would go to extra time and penalties. Away goals rule would not be applied.
JFL/Regional Leagues promotion/relegation playoff
Top scorers
See also
- 2025 Japanese Super Cup
- 2025 Emperor's Cup
- 2025 J.League Cup
- 2025 J1 League
- 2025 J2 League
- 2025 J3 League
- 2025 Japanese Regional Leagues
Footnotes
- ^ The logo and signage reads 2025 J.League J3・JFL入れ替え戦
References
- ^ "第27回日本フットボールリーグ新入会チームについて" (Press release). 日本フットボールリーグ. 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
- ^ "お知らせ「第27回日本フットボールリーグ新入会チームについて」（2）" (Press release). 日本フットボールリーグ. 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
- ^ ソニー仙台FC、JFLからの退会と来季の編成について - JFLオフィシャルサイト 2024年10月3日
- ^ "「ブリオベッカ浦安・市川」にチーム名を変更～併せてパーパス（存在意義）を策定～" (Press release). ブリオベッカ浦安. 2024-12-06. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)