Japan J-League Division 2 Bitcoin Sports Betting
The second division of Japanese football is the J2-League. Founded in 1999, the league currently has 20 active teams. Bet on teams like Nagoya Grampus, Shonan Bellmare, Tokyo Verdy, JEF United Chiba, and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo to name a few. Please take advantage of the provided betting odds below:
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The J. League Division 2 is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League and the second highest club football league in Japan. In the league hierarchy it is in second place, behind the superior J. League Division 1.
For the 1999 season, the newly founded J2 replaced the former Japan Football League with ten clubs. Among its founding members were a relegated J1 club and nine clubs of the JFL. It was newly founded as the third-rate Japan Football League with nine participants. In addition to the seven remaining clubs, the field was expanded to include the newly founded Yokohama FC and a promoted club from the regional leagues.
Before the foundation (-1999)
The Japan Soccer League Second Division was founded in 1972 as the country’s first second-rate football league. Of the ten founding members of the JSL, five played in the later founded J. League: Toyota Motors (winner of the preparation tournament), Yomiuri, Fujitsu, Kyoto Shiko Club and Kofu Club. The two last placed clubs of the first league played in a relegation for class retention with the champion and runners-up of the JSL. From the 1980 season, only the runners-up had to play for promotion until the relegation was completely suspended and both teams were promoted immediately.
Before 1977, clubs could only reach the second division by participating in the final of the All Japan Senior Football Championship and winning the relegation. After that, the newly introduced national regional league final round decided on the promotion to the second division. In 1985, the league was expanded by two teams, in the following year to 16 teams. Until 1989 there was an east and west group, which divided the clubs geographically. This separation was abolished until the reestablishment of the J. League and the resulting restructuring of Japanese professional football in 1992. The JSL Second Division was renamed the Japan Football League, which was again divided into two divisions with ten clubs each. In 1994, the two divisions were reunited and doubled the number of participants. With the increasing size of the teams in the J. League, a new second division had to be created. Many newly founded clubs aimed at advancing to the new professional league (Shonan Bellmare, Kashiwa Reysol, Cerezo Osaka and Júbilo Iwata to name but a few), who despite winning the JSL First Division were not qualified to take part in the preparation tournament.
Professionalization (1999-2004)
The structure of the league changed considerably in 1999. Nine clubs of the JFL and one team of the J. League were appointed to the new J. League Division 2. The highest league was from now on the J. League Division 1 (J1) with 16 teams and the J. League Division 2 played with ten teams. The former second-class Japan Football League became the Japan Football League of the same name, but structurally different and now third-class.
The criteria to become a member of Division 2 were not as strict as those for the upper house. This allowed successful clubs from smaller cities to advance to the professional league without having to invest heavily in stadiums, for example. For example, Mito Hollyhock, with an average of 3,000 fans per match and low sponsor support, was able to play among professional clubs.
Clubs used their participation in J2 to line up for promotion to J1. Investments in their own youth, in the stadium and the improvement of their finances as well as the building of a following should make an early promotion possible. Clubs like Ōita Trinita, Albirex Niigata, Kawasaki Frontale and Ventforet Kofu achieved this quickly. Each of these clubs started in 1999 as small clubs in the J. League Division 2 and rose to the upper house between 2002 and 2005. Despite the relegation of Kofu and Oita, they are still clubs with an average of 10,000 fans per match.
The league format was adapted to European professional leagues. In the first three years it was still common to play league games with extra time in a draw. Only in 2002 the extra time was abolished and in 2004 the 3-1-0-point system was introduced.
Extension of the league (2004-2009)
In 2000 and 2001, two third division clubs, Mito HollyHock and Yokohama FC, were given eligibility to play in Division 2. Mito had already made an effort to enter in 1999, and Yokohama FC, which was founded in the same year by fans of the disbanded Yokohama wing, would also have been a potential candidate for the field in the year Division 2 was founded.
With the exception of these two clubs, however, no other club made an effort to advance to the professional league until 2004, when Thespa Kusatsu and Tokushima Vortis joined as two new clubs to expand the league field. Ehime FC made it to the top of the league for the 2006 season. It turned out that the clubs were very interested in joining, but at the turn of the millennium they were still playing in the regional league and could only build up within the next three to four years in order to move up.
Especially the fact that Division 2 allowed small clubs to play in a league with professional clubs made them so attractive. At the beginning of the 2006 season, the league initiated a survey to determine the general interest of clubs in joining. It showed that 40 to 60 clubs showed interest in joining the professional league within the next 30 years. The 100-year vision of the J. League declared at the end of the 1990s thus seemed feasible.
In a newly founded committee, two possibilities for enlarging the league were to be examined: Either Division 2 could initially be expanded as a second professional league or a third professional league could be founded to prepare the up-and-coming clubs for promotion to Division 2. The following considerations led to the decision to initially expand Division 2 to 22 clubs:
The Japan Football League, as the third Japanese league, already served as sufficient preparation for promotion. At that time, most of the aspiring clubs were still in Japan’s regional leagues, and thus two to four leagues below Division 2. The establishment of 22 allowed the perfect balance between enough home matches per season without affecting the first and second round format.
In the established European leagues, more clubs play in the second and third leagues than in the upper house.
The committee decided to introduce the Extraordinary Membership System, which was to be introduced in the 2006 season. Thus the league could support interested clubs with its ascent into the professional league in particular measure. This membership was thus only awarded to clubs that have expressed an interest in advancing to the professional league of the country and already meet most of the requirements for advancement to the J2. Some clubs of the Japan Football League and the regional leagues applied and got the membership promptly. As soon as one of the members placed in the top 4 of the JFL, nothing stood in the way of promotion to the J2. In addition to Ehime FC, six other clubs were promoted in this way.
In 2008, the former four rounds per season were reduced to three as the number of J2 participants increased. In the following season, the field was expanded from 15 to 18 and for the first time corresponded to a typical European professional league. The relegation matches between J1 and J2, which were introduced in 2004, were also ended in order to allow more clubs a direct ascent to the Oberhaus.
End of expansion, J2 playoffs and other changes (2010-today)
With 19 clubs reached for the 2010 season, the round-trip format was introduced. The number of participants was increased to 22, making it possible for the first time to relegate from J2 to the Japan Football League. This mark should not be exceeded for the next seasons.
For the 2012 season, a playoff tournament was introduced for promotion aspirants, similar to the Football League Championship, Serie B or the Segunda División. While places one and two of Division 2 automatically move up, ranks 3 to 6 play in a tournament for the promotion spot to J1.
- The third placed player plays against the sixth in the table and the fourth against the fifth. Unlike in Europe, however, only one match will be played in the higher-ranked player’s stadium.
- The winners play either in the home stadium of the higher-ranked player or on a neutral ground such as the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. The winner receives the third promotion place.
- In the event of a draw, extra time and/or penalty shoot-outs will be waived. The higher-ranked player receives the privilege and is the “winner” in the event of a draw.
The two last placed players may relegate, depending on the outcome of the JFL.
From the 2013 season, clubs will receive a licence. Clubs that cannot meet the requirements of the licence will be relegated to the JFL regardless of their ranking.
For the 2014 season, another professional league was introduced below J2. The new J3 League started with twelve teams and consisted of the relegated J2 2013 team, Gainare Tottori, nine clubs from the Japan Football League, one promoted team from the regional leagues and one U-22 team from the J1 and J2 teams. All teams had to meet a number of admission criteria. The Japan Football League thus fell back to the fourth stage of the Japanese league pyramid.
With its foundation, Division 2 introduced a promotion and relegation system for the professional leagues, similar to European professional leagues. Between 2004 and 2008, relegation matches were played with the third placed J2 and the sixteenth placed J1. Since 2009, there have been three direct promotion places to Division 1. Even though the clubs for promotion should meet the requirements of J1, no club has yet been denied promotion.
Promotions from an underclass league to J2 have been possible since 2007 and relegations to an underclass league since 2012. Until 2013, this league was the Japan Football League, with clubs from the JFL only allowed to move up if they were members of the J. League and in the top 4 of a season. From 2014, the new J3 League will replace the JFL. Normally, the last placed player is directly relegated to the J3 League, the penultimate one plays playoff matches against the second placed player of the J3. However, the relegation will be reduced accordingly if one or both of the J3 teams qualified for sports do not have a second league license.
Season 2015
The 22 clubs in Division 1 play against each other in a first and second leg, with each team playing 42 matches. The team receives three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. The ranking is based on points. If the number of points is the same, the ranking is decided in the following order:
- Goal difference
- Shot Gates
- Results in the duels
- fair play comparison
If necessary, the placement will be played out. If two clubs have the same number of points, both are declared champions and are promoted. The third promotion place will be played in a playoff tournament between places 3 to 6.
The last ranked player relegates directly to the J3 League, the second-to-last player plays relegation matches against the second ranked J3 player. If the qualified J3 teams do not have a second league license, the relegation will be reduced accordingly.
Prize money
- 1st place: 20.000.000 Yen
- 2nd place: 10.000.000 Yen
- 3rd place: 5.000.000 Yen
Descent from the J. League Division 2
When Division 2 was introduced, the league initially waived an exchange mechanism with the former third-rate Japan Football League. Over time, however, the league grew to its target strength of 22 teams, making it possible to relegate a team to the JFL for the first time in 2012. Finally, they met Machida Zelvia, who are the only team to relegate from J2 to the semi-professional JFL. Just one year later, the third professional league, the J3 League, was founded, and a permanent exchange between the leagues was established.
The rules for this exchange are currently as follows: The last player of division 2 relegates directly and is replaced by the champion of J3, the penultimate player plays relegation games against the second placed player of J3. If one or both of the qualified promoted players do not have a second league licence, the number of relegated players is reduced accordingly.