The 2014 J3 League (referred to as the 2014 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (2014 明治安田生命J3リーグ) for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th season of the third tier of the Japanese football, and the inaugural season of the professional J3 League. The season commenced on 9 March and will finish on November 23, with a 3-week break after the 17th week matches on 21 and 22 June (except one on 25 June), then will resume from 19 and 20 July, due to prefectural qualifiers, followed by the 1st and 2nd round matches of the 2014 Emperor's Cup scheduled during the intermission.

Establishment

After the discussion on J1-J2 Joint Committee on 16 January 2013, all J. League clubs agreed in principle with an establishment of the new league starting 2014. This decision was formally put into force by J. League Council on 26 February executive meeting. The league was planned to launch with 10 teams, but another session of J. League Council in July decided that inaugural season of J3 will feature 12 teams.

Clubs

2014 J3 League is located in Japan
Locations of the 2014 J3 League teams

In order to participate, a club must have held an associate membership, or had submitted an application before 30 June 2013, and then passed an inspection in order to obtain a participation licence issued by J. League Council. On November 19, J. League has confirmed the following clubs to participate in the inaugural J3 season:

Club nameHome townNotes
Blaublitz AkitaAll cities/towns in Akita
Fukushima UnitedFukushima, Fukushima
Gainare TottoriAll cities/towns in TottoriRelegated from 2013 J2, eligible for J2 promotion
Grulla MoriokaMorioka, IwateThe only club promoted from Regional Leagues
Fujieda MYFCFujieda, Shizuoka
Nagano ParceiroNagano, NaganoEligible for J2 promotion
FC RyukyuAll cities/towns in Okinawa
SC SagamiharaSagamihara, Kanagawa
YSCC YokohamaYokohama, Kanagawa
Machida ZelviaMachida, TokyoEligible for J2 promotion
Zweigen KanazawaKanazawa, IshikawaEligible for J2 promotion
J.League U-22 Selectionn/aA special team, composed of best J1 and J2 youngsters in order to prepare them for 2016 Olympics

On 29 September the J. League licensing board issued J2 licenses to the following clubs: Machida Zelvia, Nagano Parceiro, Zweigen Kanazawa, and Gainare Tottori. Tottori's license was issued provisionally, under conditions of financial improvement before 30 October when the league re-assessed the club's financial stance and confirmed the passage of the licensing.

Competition rules

The league will be played in three rounds, each team playing a total of 33 matches. J.League U-22 Selection will play all their matches on the road.

Each team must feature at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Two foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from the ASEAN partner country of J. League. The matchday roster will consist of 16 players, and up to 5 substitutes will be allowed in a game.

Promotion and relegation

Rules for promotion to J2 will be largely similar to those of Japan Football League in the recent seasons: in order to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The U-22 team is not eligible for promotion regardless of their final position. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange to 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 to the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs.

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.

Foreign players

ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Asian playerNon-visa foreignType-C contract
Blaublitz AkitaBrazil LeonardoSouth Korea Lee Keun-ho
Fukushima UnitedSouth Korea Kim Kong-ChyongNorth Korea Kim Hong-Yeon
Gainare Tottori
Grulla Morioka
Fujieda MYFCSouth Korea Park Il-gyu
Nagano ParceiroSouth Korea Kim Yeong-Gi
FC Ryukyu
SC SagamiharaBrazil WeslleyUnited States Mobi Fehr
YSCC YokohamaEgypt Osama Elsamni
Machida ZelviaSouth Korea Bae Dae-Won
Zweigen KanazawaSouth Korea Choi Ji-Hoon
J.League U-22 Selection1

Note: ^1 A special team, composed of best J1 and J2 youngsters in order to prepare them to 2016 Olympics

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPromotion or relegation
1Zweigen Kanazawa (C, P)3323645620+3675Promotion to 2015 J2 League
2Nagano Parceiro3320945823+3569Qualification for J2 promotion playoffs
3Machida Zelvia3320855922+3768
4Gainare Tottori33141183425+953
5Grulla Morioka33129124339+445
6SC Sagamihara33127144448−443
7Fukushima United3399153038−836
8Blaublitz Akita33104193857−1934
9FC Ryukyu33810153150−1934
10J.League U-22 Selection3396183763−2633
11Fujieda MYFC3379173652−1630
12YSCC Yokohama33412172958−2924

Results

Rounds 1–11

Home \ AwayBLAFUKGAIGRUMYFPARRYUSGMYSCZELZWEJ22
Blaublitz Akita2–21–02–12–11–21–2
Fukushima United0–10–21–21–00–10–1
Gainare Tottori0–01–10–01–00–11–0
Grulla Morioka4–10–02–33–01–46–1
Fujieda MYFC0–00–22–21–20–02–4
Nagano Parceiro1–01–41–00–02–11–0
FC Ryukyu2–01–30–10–01–73–0
SC Sagamihara3–02–12–22–00–40–1
YSCC Yokohama1–10–10–21–41–10–2
Machida Zelvia4–13–00–02–00–04–0
Zweigen Kanazawa1–01–12–02–14–02–0
J.League U-22 Selection

Rounds 12–22

Home \ AwayBLAFUKGAIGRUMYFPARRYUSGMYSCZELZWEJ22
Blaublitz Akita0–12–21–03–41–44–0
Fukushima United2–02–32–22–20–20–0
Gainare Tottori1–41–00–00–04–21–0
Grulla Morioka3–01–22–11–10–13–1
Fujieda MYFC0–10–11–02–11–23–1
Nagano Parceiro2–03–01–13–21–24–0
FC Ryukyu2–00–30–21–11–00–6
SC Sagamihara0–10–02–20–14–02–3
YSCC Yokohama0–01–12–30–10–32–1
Machida Zelvia1–11–11–00–12–11–1
Zweigen Kanazawa1–02–23–12–10–10–0
J.League U-22 Selection

Rounds 23–33

Home \ AwayBLAFUKGAIGRUMYFPARRYUSGMYSCZELZWEJ22
Blaublitz Akita1–30–12–12–11–21–1
Fukushima United2–00–10–12–12–20–0
Gainare Tottori1–22–02–11–10–11–2
Grulla Morioka1–10–20–31–10–22–1
Fujieda MYFC1–20–22–21–10–12–1
Nagano Parceiro3–03–02–06–12–05–0
FC Ryukyu0–01–10–00–10–14–2
SC Sagamihara2–11–01–01–11–21–5
YSCC Yokohama1–20–02–00–02–41–1
Machida Zelvia2–01–24–12–10–03–0
Zweigen Kanazawa2–12–03–24–02–13–0
J.League U-22 Selection

J2 promotion playoffs

2014 J2/J3 Play-Offs (2014 J2・J3入れ替え戦) J3 runners-up Nagano Parceiro played the 21st-placed J2 club Kamatamare Sanuki in a two-legged playoffs. The winning club will play in J2 in 2015 season.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Kamatamare Sanuki1–0Nagano Parceiro0–01–0
Nagano Parceiro0–0Kamatamare Sanuki
Kamatamare Sanuki1–0Nagano Parceiro

Nagano Parceiro remains in J3 League. Kamatamare Sanuki remains in J2 League.

Top scorers

RankScorerClubGoals
1Japan Koji SuzukiMachida Zelvia19
2Japan Tsugutoshi OishiFujieda MYFC17
3Japan Yuji UnozawaNagano Parceiro16
4Japan Ryota DoiGrulla Morioka11
Japan Hirochika MiyoshiBlaublitz Akita11
6Japan Akio YoshidaYSCC Yokohama10
7Japan Yoshinori KatsumataNagano Parceiro9
Japan Shohei KiyoharaZweigen Kanazawa9
Japan Yuki SatoNagano Parceiro9
Japan Takafumi SuzukiMachida Zelvia9

Updated per games played on 23 November 2014 Source:

Attendance

PosTeamTotalHighLowAverageChange
1Nagano Parceiro64,7018,0111,6553,595+53.7%†
2Zweigen Kanazawa61,9208,1156583,440+66.7%†
3Machida Zelvia56,4044,5692,0123,134−1.3%†
4SC Sagamihara56,3887,8609213,133+62.8%†
5Gainare Tottori55,2425,8921,8323,069−25.1%†
6Blaublitz Akita31,9212,4881,0571,773+0.3%†
7Grulla Morioka27,4033,0487411,522+103.5%‡
8FC Ryukyu25,1625,1635201,398−32.4%†
9Fukushima United23,7694,1635041,321+28.6%†
10Fujieda MYFC23,7333,3026121,319+38.4%†
11YSCC Yokohama18,3231,8195121,018+30.0%†
League total444,9668,1155042,247+70.0%†

Updated to games played on 23 November 2014 Source: Notes: League average is compared to JFL average of 2013. † Team played previous season in J2. ‡ Team played previous season in the Regional Leagues.