2016 J3 League
| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Oita Trinita |
| Promoted | Oita Trinita |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 592 (2.47 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |
Noriaki Fujimoto (Kagoshima United FC) (15 goals) |
| Highest attendance |
11,065 Oita vs Yokohama (13 November) |
| Lowest attendance |
486 Morioka vs Ryukyu (7 April) |
| Average attendance | 2,957 |
|
← 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
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 the J.League Council. The 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 U23 | 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 |
| FC Tokyo U23 | 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 the 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 the 22nd placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with the 21st placed 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 the JFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by the J.League for J3 participation and finish within the top 4 of the JFL.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of separation | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of announcement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grulla Morioka |  Naoki Naruo |
18 November 2015 | Retired[3] | Akihiko Kamikawa |
18 November 2015[4] |
| Tochigi SC | Yasuharu Kurata |
11 December 2015 | Contract expired[5] | Yuji Yokoyama |
11 December 2015[6] |
| Gainare Tottori | Masanobu Matsunami |
22 November 2015 | Contract expired[7] | Tetsuji Hashiratani |
13 December 2015[8] |
| Nagano Parceiro | Hajime Eto |
1 December 2015 | Contract expired[9] | Fumitake Miura |
14 December 2015[10] |
| FC Ryukyu | Norihiro Satsukawa |
31 October 2015 | Contract expired[11] |  Kim Jong-song |
14 December 2015[12] |
| SC Sagamihara | Yoshika Matsubara |
3 December 2015 | End of caretaker spell[13] | Norihiro Satsukawa |
26 December 2015[14] |
| Kataller Toyama | Shigeo Sawairi (GM) |
– | End of caretaker spell | Yasutoshi Miura |
26 December 2015[15] |
| Oita Trinita | Nobuaki Yanagida |
7 December 2015 | Resigned[16] | Tomohiro Katanosaka |
4 January 2016[17] |
| F.C. Tokyo U23 | Takayoshi Amma |
26 July 2016 | Promoted to first team coach[18] | Tadashi Nakamura |
26 July 2016 |
| SC Sagamihara | Norihiro Satsukawa |
18 August 2016 | Resigned[19] | Sotaro Yasunaga[20] |
20 August 2016 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oita Trinita (C, P) | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 50 | 24 | +26 | 61 | Promotion to 2017 J2 League |
| 2 | Tochigi SC | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 59 | Qualification to J2 promotion playoffs[lower-alpha 1] |
| 3 | Nagano Parceiro | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 52 | |
| 4 | Blaublitz Akita | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 50 | |
| 5 | Kagoshima United | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 50 | |
| 6 | Kataller Toyama | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 49 | |
| 7 | Fujieda MYFC | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 45 | |
| 8 | FC Ryukyu | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 44 | |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka U-23 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 36 | |
| 11 | SC Sagamihara | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 46 | −17 | 35 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 32 | |
| 13 | Grulla Morioka | 30 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 30 | |
| 14 | Fukushima United | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 30 | |
| 15 | Gainare Tottori | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 30 | |
| 16 | YSCC Yokohama | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 51 | −36 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.
Notes:
- ↑ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.
Results
| Home ╲ Away | BLA | Cerezo U-23 | FUK | GAI | Gamba U-23 | GRU | KGU | KAT | MYF | PAR | RYU | SGM | TOC | FC Tokyo U-23 | TRI | YSC |
| Blaublitz Akita | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | |
| Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Fukushima United | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | |
| Gainare Tottori | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | |
| Gamba Osaka U-23 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | |
| Grulla Morioka | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Kagoshima United | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | |
| Kataller Toyama | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Fujieda MYFC | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | |
| Nagano Parceiro | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| FC Ryukyu | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| SC Sagamihara | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | |
| Tochigi SC | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| FC Tokyo U-23 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Oita Trinita | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| YSCC Yokohama | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016.
Source: J. League Data Site
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noriaki Fujimoto |
Kagoshima United FC | |
| 2 | Yusuke Goto |
Oita Trinita | |
| 3 | Keita Tanaka |
FC Ryukyu | |
| 4 | Yuichiro Edamoto |
Fujieda MYFC | |
| 5 | Tsugutoshi Oishi |
Tochigi SC | |
 Yu In-soo |
F.C. Tokyo U-23 | ||
| 7 | Ritsu Doan |
Gamba Osaka U-23 | |
| Kazushi Mitsuhira |
Oita Trinita | ||
| 9 | Taku Ushinohama |
Grulla Morioka | |
| Hiroki Higuchi |
Fukushima United FC |
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source: J.League Data
Attendances
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oita Trinita | 116,563 | 11,065 | 5,408 | 7,771 | +3.1%† |
| 2 | Nagano Parceiro | 75,274 | 10,377 | 3,905 | 5,018 | +6.0% |
| 3 | Tochigi SC | 73,756 | 8,586 | 2,864 | 4,917 | −4.8%† |
| 4 | SC Sagamihara | 65,161 | 7,582 | 2,912 | 4,344 | +31.9% |
| 5 | Kagoshima United | 54,979 | 4,975 | 2,024 | 3,665 | +39.6%‡ |
| 6 | Kataller Toyama | 54,113 | 5,081 | 2,691 | 3,608 | +27.9% |
| 7 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 41,957 | 7,653 | 1,375 | 2,797 | n/a |
| 8 | Blaublitz Akita | 36,371 | 5,371 | 1,339 | 2,425 | +21.3% |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka U-23 | 36,021 | 8,038 | 1,066 | 2,401 | n/a |
| 10 | Gainare Tottori | 28,471 | 3,450 | 1,321 | 1,898 | −1.7% |
| 11 | Fukushima United | 25,172 | 3,052 | 1,045 | 1,678 | +30.1% |
| 12 | FC Ryukyu | 23,418 | 4,565 | 948 | 1,561 | +4.2% |
| 13 | Fujieda MYFC | 22,965 | 2,257 | 904 | 1,531 | +38.8% |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 22,326 | 4,915 | 713 | 1,488 | n/a |
| 15 | Grulla Morioka | 17,816 | 2,888 | 486 | 1,188 | −4.1% |
| 16 | YSCC Yokohama | 15,277 | 1,614 | 568 | 1,018 | +10.7% |
| League total | 709,640 | 11,065 | 486 | 2,957 | +21.5% |
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† from J2, ‡ from JFL
References
- 1 2 3 Playing system and rules of 2016 J3 League (in Japanese), J. League, 15 December 2015
- ↑ Tournament schemes for 2016 J3 League (in Japanese), J. League, 15 December 2015
- ↑ http://www.grulla.jp/news_2015_11.html#21
- ↑ http://www.grulla.jp/news_2015_11.html#22
- ↑ http://www.tochigisc.jp/news/article/00007170.html
- ↑ http://www.tochigisc.jp/news/article/00007171.html
- ↑ http://www.gainare.co.jp/news/detail/31578/
- ↑ http://www.gainare.co.jp/news/detail/31728/
- ↑ http://parceiro.co.jp/news/top/201512014252.html
- ↑ http://parceiro.co.jp/news/top/201512144270.html
- ↑ http://fcryukyu.com/news/1503
- ↑ http://fcryukyu.com/news/1917/
- ↑ http://www.scsagamihara.com/wp/archives/32496
- ↑ http://www.scsagamihara.com/wp/archives/33021
- ↑ http://www.kataller.co.jp/news/2015/1226.html
- ↑ http://www.oita-trinita.co.jp/news/detail/index_1_4181.php
- ↑ http://www.oita-trinita.co.jp/news/detail/index_1_4258.php
- ↑ "中篠田善之監督就任のお知らせ". fctokyo.co.jp (in Japanese). 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
- ↑ "薩川監督退任および強化部へ異動のお知らせ". scsagamihara.com (in Japanese). 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
- ↑ "安永聡太郎 監督就任のお知らせ". scsagamihara.com (in Japanese). 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-30.