2016 J3 League

Meiji Yasuda J3 League
Season 2016
← 2015
2017 →

The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League is the 20th season of the third tier in Japanese football, and the 3rd season of the professional J3 League.

Clubs

Keihanshin Area‡
Greater Tokyo Area
FC Tokyo U-23, Sagamihara, YSCC
Locations of the 2016 J3 League teams

To participate, a club must have held an associate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2015, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation license issued by J.League Council. J.League has confirmed the following clubs participating in the 2016 J3 season:

Club Name Home Town Notes
Blaublitz Akita All cities/towns in Akita
Cerezo Osaka U-23 Osaka, Osaka Ineligible for J2 promotion
Fukushima United Fukushima, Fukushima
Gainare Tottori All cities/towns in Tottori
Gamba Osaka U-23 Suita, Osaka Ineligible for J2 promotion
Grulla Morioka Morioka, Iwate
Kagoshima United Kagoshima, Kagoshima Promoted from 2015 JFL
Kataller Toyama All cities/towns in Toyama Eligible for J2 promotion
Fujieda MYFC Fujieda, Shizuoka
Nagano Parceiro Nagano, Nagano Eligible for J2 promotion
FC Ryukyu All cities/towns in Okinawa
SC Sagamihara Sagamihara, Kanagawa
Tochigi SC Tochigi, Tochigi Relegated from 2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotion
F.C. Tokyo U-23 Tokyo Ineligible for J2 promotion
Oita Trinita Ōita, Ōita Relegated from 2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotion
YSCC Yokohama Yokohama, Kanagawa

Competition rules

For this season, the league is played in two rounds (home-and-away), each team playing a total of 30 matches.[1]

Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Also for this season, three foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from the ASEAN partner country of J.League or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3 substitutes will be allowed in a game.[2] The three under-23 clubs can have up to three overage players and one of them must be a goalkeeper.[1]

Promotion and relegation

Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of Japan Football League in recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange with 22nd-placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with 21st J2 club. If either or both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, the playoffs and/or direct exchange will not be held in accordance with the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs. Also, if an under-23 squad finishes in either one of the top 2 or both positions, the next-placed, promotion-eligible club takes automatic promotion to J2. Another next-placed eligible club will contest the playoff if any under-23 club occupies third to fourth place or both and the J3 champion is eligible for promotion.[1]

No relegation to JFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by J.League for J3 participation and finish in top 4 of JFL.

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Date of separation Manner of departure Incoming manager Date of announcement
Grulla Morioka Japan Naoki Naruo 18 November 2015 Retired[3] Japan Akihiko Kamikawa 18 November 2015[4]
Tochigi SC Japan Yasuharu Kurata 11 December 2015 Contract expired[5] Japan Yuji Yokoyama 11 December 2015[6]
Gainare Tottori Japan Masanobu Matsunami 22 November 2015 Contract expired[7] Japan Tetsuji Hashiratani 13 December 2015[8]
Nagano Parceiro Japan Hajime Eto 1 December 2015 Contract expired[9] Japan Fumitake Miura 14 December 2015[10]
FC Ryukyu Japan Norihiro Satsukawa 31 October 2015 Contract expired[11] North Korea Kim Jong-song 14 December 2015[12]
SC Sagamihara Japan Yoshika Matsubara 3 December 2015 End of caretaker spell[13] Japan Norihiro Satsukawa 26 December 2015[14]
Kataller Toyama Japan Shigeo Sawairi (GM) – End of caretaker spell Japan Yasutoshi Miura 26 December 2015[15]
Oita Trinita Japan Nobuaki Yanagida 7 December 2015 Resigned[16] Japan Tomohiro Katanosaka 4 January 2016[17]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Nagano Parceiro 6 4 1 1 6 2 +4 13 Promotion to 2017 J2 League
2 FC Ryukyu 6 4 1 1 11 8 +3 13 Qualification to J2 promotion playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
3 Blaublitz Akita 6 3 3 0 8 5 +3 12
4 SC Sagamihara 5 3 1 1 5 2 +3 10
5 Oita Trinita 5 3 1 1 6 4 +2 10
6 Kataller Toyama 5 2 3 0 8 4 +4 9
7 Gamba Osaka U-23 6 2 3 1 10 7 +3 9
8 Fujieda MYFC 6 2 1 3 7 6 +1 7
9 Tochigi SC 6 2 1 3 5 5 0 7
10 Kagoshima United 5 2 1 2 2 2 0 7
11 Cerezo Osaka U-23 6 2 1 3 6 7 −1 7
12 Fukushima United 5 1 3 1 5 5 0 6
13 F.C. Tokyo U-23 6 1 1 4 4 9 −5 4
14 YSCC Yokohama 6 1 1 4 2 9 −7 4
15 Gainare Tottori 5 0 2 3 2 5 −3 2
16 Grulla Morioka 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2
Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2016. Source: 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
Notes:
  1. ↑ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Japan Keita Tanaka FC Ryukyu
4
Japan Ritsu Doan Gamba Osaka U-23
3 Japan Tsugutoshi Oishi Tochigi SC
3
Japan Keisuke Endo Fujieda MYFC

Updated to games played on 17 April 2016
Source: J.League Data

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.