Football league season
The 2019 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese : 2019 明治安田生命J2リーグ , Hepburn : 2019 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu ) season was the 48th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 21st season since the establishment of J2 League.
Clubs
Locations of the 2019 J2 League teams
Following eight successful seasons, Kashiwa Reysol bid farewell to the first division. A similar fate befell V-Varen Nagasaki, who returned to J2 after their inaugural season in the top tier.[ 1] Matsumoto Yamaga and Oita Trinita, having earned promotion, filled their vacancies, while Tokyo Verdy missed out on promotion after losing the play-off against Júbilo Iwata. In addition, four teams experienced changes in their league status: Roasso Kumamoto and Kamatamare Sanuki exited J2, paving the way for the newly-promoted FC Ryukyu and Kagoshima United, both set to embark on their inaugural J2 season.[ 2]
The participating clubs are listed in the following table:
Club name
Home town(s)
Stadium
Capacity
Last season
Albirex Niigata
Niigata & Seirō , Niigata
Denka Big Swan Stadium
42,300
J2 (16th)
Avispa Fukuoka
Fukuoka City , Fukuoka
Level5 Stadium
22,563
J2 (7th)
Ehime FC
All cities/towns in Ehime [ a]
Ningineer Stadium
20,000
J2 (18th)
Fagiano Okayama
All cities/towns in Okayama [ b]
City Light Stadium
20,000
J2 (15th)
FC Gifu
All cities/towns in Gifu [ c]
Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium
26,109
J2 (20th)
JEF United Chiba
Chiba & Ichihara , Chiba
Fukuda Denshi Arena
18,500
J2 (14th)
Kashiwa Reysol
Chiba Prefecture
Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium
15,349
Relegated from J1 (17th)
Kyoto Sanga
Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto [ d]
Kyoto Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium
20,588
J2 (19th)
Machida Zelvia
Machida , Tokyo
Machida Athletic Stadium
10,600
J2 (4th)
Mito HollyHock
Mito , Ibaraki
K's denki Stadium Mito
12,000
J2 (10th)
Montedio Yamagata
All cities/towns in Yamagata [ e]
ND Soft Stadium
20,315
J2 (12th)
Omiya Ardija
Saitama , Saitama
NACK5 Stadium Omiya
15,500
J2 (5th)
Renofa Yamaguchi
All cities/towns in Yamaguchi [ f]
Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium
20,000
J2 (8th)
Tochigi SC
Utsunomiya , Tochigi
Tochigi Green Stadium
18,025
J2 (17th)
Tokushima Vortis
All cities/towns in Tokushima [ g]
Pocarisweat Stadium
20,441
J2 (11th)
V-Varen Nagasaki
Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Athletic Stadium
20,246
Relegated from J1 (18th)
Ventforet Kofu
All Yamanashi Prefecture [ h]
Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium
17,000
J2 (9th)
Tokyo Verdy
All cities/towns in Tokyo
Ajinomoto Stadium
49,970
J2 (6th)
Yokohama FC
Yokohama , Kanagawa
Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium
15,454
J2 (3rd)
Zweigen Kanazawa
Kanazawa , Ishikawa
Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium
20,000
J2 (13th)
FC Ryukyu
Okinawa
Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium
25,000
Promoted from J3 (champions)
Kagoshima United FC
Kagoshima
Shiranami Stadium
19,934
Promoted from J3 (2nd)
^ centering on Matsuyama
^ centering on Okayama , Kurashiki , Tsuyama
^ centering on Gifu
^ Kyoto , Uji , Joyo , Kyotanabe , Muko , Nagaokakyo , Kizugawa , Kameoka , Nantan , Kyotanba
^ centering on Yamagata , Tendo , Tsuruoka
^ centering on Yamaguchi , Shimonoseki , Sanyoonoda , Ube
^ centering on Tokushima , Naruto , Mima , Matsushige , Itano , Aizumi , Kitajima
^ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Foreign players
The total number of foreign players is limitless, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Iran and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition.
League table
Source:
Meiji Yasuda J2 League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions;
(P) Promoted;
(R) Relegated
Notes:
^ Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion play-offs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
^ Direct exchange between J2 and J3 is subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2019 J3 League .
Positions by round
Team ╲ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Kashiwa Reysol 4 3 3 2 2 4 3 4 4 5 5 7 6 6 6 7 7 7 6 5 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Yokohama FC 18 21 17 19 13 18 12 12 15 12 12 14 14 12 13 12 11 14 14 13 12 9 8 7 6 4 5 4 4 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 2 2 2 Omiya Ardija 8 15 9 13 16 10 7 7 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 2 2 2 5 4 5 5 4 3 3 2 3 4 5 6 5 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 Tokushima Vortis 16 11 14 17 17 15 9 11 11 14 14 10 12 14 16 14 12 11 10 9 9 11 10 12 9 11 12 10 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 8 7 5 5 6 5 4 Ventforet Kofu 8 4 4 3 3 3 1 2 5 3 4 4 7 4 4 3 4 4 4 6 6 6 7 9 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 6 7 9 8 8 7 6 5 Montedio Yamagata 22 12 6 5 5 5 5 1 2 4 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 4 4 5 6 4 6 5 6 4 2 2 4 4 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 Mito HollyHock 5 1 2 4 4 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 3 3 3 4 5 3 3 3 5 6 5 6 5 3 5 4 6 7 5 6 6 6 4 8 7 Kyoto Sanga 8 6 5 8 7 7 11 8 7 9 9 6 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 3 6 4 6 5 5 6 5 9 9 8 7 8 Fagiano Okayama 18 12 15 10 6 6 10 10 11 8 8 11 12 11 11 10 8 8 9 11 10 7 6 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 9 7 7 7 8 9 8 7 7 9 9 9 Albirex Niigata 8 5 8 6 8 13 8 9 10 11 10 8 10 13 15 16 14 13 13 12 11 12 13 13 13 9 10 12 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 11 12 11 11 10 11 10 Zweigen Kanazawa 8 16 19 11 15 9 6 6 8 7 6 5 4 7 8 8 9 9 7 8 7 8 11 10 11 10 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 11 11 12 10 10 10 11 10 11 V-Varen Nagasaki 5 7 10 14 11 17 20 20 13 10 10 12 9 8 7 6 6 6 8 7 8 10 9 8 10 12 11 13 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 12 12 Tokyo Verdy 18 20 16 18 18 14 15 16 17 18 16 13 11 10 10 11 13 12 12 10 14 13 12 11 12 13 13 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 FC Ryukyu 1 2 1 1 1 1 4 5 6 6 7 9 8 9 9 9 10 10 11 14 13 14 14 14 15 17 15 16 16 19 15 16 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 Renofa Yamaguchi 17 22 12 16 21 20 21 21 19 15 17 20 19 20 21 20 20 19 17 16 15 15 15 15 16 14 16 14 15 15 16 14 14 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 Avispa Fukuoka 21 17 20 22 20 22 18 17 20 17 18 18 20 21 19 18 21 21 21 21 21 19 21 19 19 19 18 19 19 17 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 16 JEF United Chiba 8 18 22 21 22 19 13 15 16 19 19 15 17 15 14 15 16 15 15 18 18 17 16 16 14 15 17 17 17 16 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 17 Machida Zelvia 5 14 18 20 14 8 14 14 9 13 13 16 15 16 12 13 15 16 16 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 20 18 18 17 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 Ehime FC 8 7 11 9 10 16 19 13 14 16 15 17 21 17 17 19 17 17 19 17 17 18 18 18 17 16 14 15 14 14 14 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 19 Tochigi SC 8 19 21 15 12 12 17 18 18 20 20 22 18 19 18 17 19 20 20 20 20 21 20 21 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 Kagoshima United 3 10 13 12 18 21 22 22 22 22 22 21 16 18 20 21 18 18 18 19 19 20 19 20 21 20 20 18 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 21 FC Gifu 2 8 7 7 9 11 16 19 21 21 21 19 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
In the first two rounds of the 2019 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2019 J1参入プレーオフ), if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the winner is the team with the best J2 League ranking. In the final match against the J1 team, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the J1 team wins.
1st round
2nd round
Final
Shonan Bellmare remains in J1 League. Tokushima Vortis remains in J2 League.
Top scorers
As of matches played November 24th, 2019 .[ 17]
Attendances
Pos
Team
Total
High
Low
Average
Change
1
Albirex Niigata
304,445
20,486
8,777
14,497
−2.8% †
2
JEF United Chiba
203,725
14,950
5,885
9,701
−1.6% †
3
Omiya Ardija
199,040
12,090
5,874
9,478
+2.8% †
4
Kashiwa Reysol
198,887
13,056
6,415
9,471
−16.9% †
5
Fagiano Okayama
198,331
17,288
5,298
9,444
+9.8% †
6
Montedio Yamagata
174,064
18,721
5,415
8,289
+22.5% †
7
Ventforet Kofu
173,742
15,665
4,870
8,273
+12.0% †
8
Kyoto Sanga
164,845
14,069
3,385
7,850
+38.6% †
9
V-Varen Nagasaki
162,476
11,924
4,872
7,737
−31.1% †
10
Yokohama FC
148,280
12,937
2,111
7,061
+15.0% †
11
Avispa Fukuoka
146,639
12,028
3,578
6,983
−21.3% †
12
FC Gifu
139,526
11,787
4,212
6,644
−3.1% †
13
Mito HollyHock
127,824
9,874
3,886
6,087
+23.3% †
14
Kagoshima United
121,493
7,955
4,079
5,785
+43.2% ‡
15
Tokushima Vortis
120,460
10,526
3,870
5,736
+14.8% †
16
Renofa Yamaguchi
112,601
12,105
3,662
5,630
−8.1% †
17
Tokyo Verdy
112,789
8,545
2,331
5,371
−9.5% †
18
Zweigen Kanazawa
109,386
13,070
2,543
5,209
+15.0% †
19
Tochigi SC
108,105
8,426
3,725
5,148
−9.0% †
20
FC Ryukyu
100,409
12,019
2,428
4,953
+57.4% ‡
21
Machida Zelvia
99,077
8,814
3,009
4,718
−4.0% †
22
Ehime FC
79,373
7,874
2,540
3,780
+19.6% †
League total
3,315,234
20,486
2,111
7,176
+1.8% †
Notes
References
League competitions
Cup competitions
AFC competitions
Related to national teams
Emperor's Cup seasons, 1921–present
League Cup seasons, 1976–present