J.League

The J.League has entered its 31st season, and Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura plans to move to the next stage of having a few big clubs pull up the quality of ...

Those funds make up between 10 and 20 percent of the annual income of teams. But clubs in the lower J2 and J3 divisions would see a shrinking piece of the funding pie. “There will likely emerge a bipolarization among J.League teams.” The J.League has grown since it began in 1993 with 10 teams. The three divisions of the league now have 60 teams in total. But in 2021, 22 of the 57 teams then in the J.League recorded losses for the fiscal year, while 12 had accumulated debts. As an added incentive, a total of 2.1 billion yen will be distributed for the 2024 season to the top nine teams in J1 of the previous season. While some J1 teams are prepared for the fiercer competition, teams in J2 and J3 admit their finances will be hurt by the new distribution plan. The average annual income for J1 teams was about 4.159 billion yen, about 10 percent of the figure for Premier League teams in fiscal 2021. To push for the creation of big clubs that also have a fan base abroad, the J.League will gradually revise how it distributes funds to each team. The 60 teams in the J.League are now spread out over 41 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. The J.League has entered its 31st season, and Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura plans to move to the next stage of having a few big clubs pull up the quality of the entire soccer league.