2020 J2 League

The 2020 J2 League, also known as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, will be the 28th season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league will start on 21 February 2020. For this season, the league was planned to have season break to avoid clash with 2020 Summer Olympics due to be starting from June to August, as the Olympics have been postponed to a year.[1]

Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Season2020
Dates22 February
27 June - 20 December 2020
Relegatednone (for season 2020 only)
Matches played11
Goals scored15 (1.36 per match)
Top goalscorerKazuki Nishiya
(3 goals)
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 2020/02/23.

Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On February 25, all J.League matches until March 15 were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until March 29.[3] On March 19, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season.[4] On March 25, announced that it would be Suspended April 3 to May 6.[5]

On April 3, decided to starting over the official game schedule, which aims to gradually resume J3 from April 25, J2 from May 2, and J1 from May 9. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, but it will resume it at least one month later and later in the month.[6]

Clubs

After spending only one season in J2 Kashiwa Reysol became champions and have been promoted to 2020 J1 League along with Yokohama FC. 2019 J3 League champions Giravanz Kitakyushu and second place Thespakusatsu Gunma entered the league as promoted teams, replacing Kagoshima United and FC Gifu who were relegated to 2020 J3 League. Those teams that qualified for promotion playoffs in 2019 were unable to defeat their opponent and thus remain in 2020 J1 League season.

Giravanz Kitakyushu return to J2 after spending 3 seasons in J3, while Thespakusatsu Gunma return after spending one single season.

Meanwhile, Matsumoto Yamaga and Júbilo Iwata will join 2020 J2 League as relegated teams from 2019 J1 League having placed 17th and 18th respectively.

Club Name Home Town Stadium Capacity Last season licence
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seiro, Niigata Denka Big Swan Stadium 42,300 J2 (10th) J1
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Level5 Stadium 22,563 J2 (16th) J1
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime[lower-alpha 1] Ningineer Stadium 20,000 J2 (19th) J1
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama[lower-alpha 2] City Light Stadium 20,000 J2 (9th) J1
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu 15,066 Promoted from J3 (Champions) J1
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba Fukuda Denshi Arena 18,500 J2 (17th) J1
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka Yamaha Stadium 15,165 Relegated from J1 (18th) J1
Kyoto Sanga Cities/towns in Kyoto[lower-alpha 3] Sanga Stadium by Kyocera 21,600 J2 (8th) J1
Machida Zelvia Machida, Tokyo Machida Athletic Stadium 10,600 J2 (18th) J1
Matsumoto Yamaga Cities/towns in Nagano[lower-alpha 4] Sunpro Alwin 20,396 Relegated from J1 (17th) J1
Mito HollyHock Cities/towns in Ibaraki[lower-alpha 5] K's denki Stadium Mito 12,000 J2 (7th) J2
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata[lower-alpha 6] ND Soft Stadium 20,315 J2 (6th) J1
Omiya Ardija Saitama, Saitama NACK5 Stadium Omiya 15,500 J2 (3rd) J1
Renofa Yamaguchi All cities/towns in Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium 20,000 J2 (15th) J1
FC Ryukyu All cities/towns in Okinawa[lower-alpha 7] Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium 25,000 J2 (14th) J1
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi Tochigi Green Stadium 18,025 J2 (20th) J1
Thespakusatsu Gunma All cities/towns in Gunma[lower-alpha 8] Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma 15,253 Promoted from J3（2nd） J1
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima[lower-alpha 9] Pocarisweat Stadium 20,441 J2 (4th) J1
V-Varen Nagasaki All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture[lower-alpha 10] Nagasaki Athletic Stadium 20,246 J2 (12th) J1
Ventforet Kofu All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture[lower-alpha 11] Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium 17,000 J2 (5th) J1
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970 J2 (13th) J1
Zweigen Kanazawa All cities/towns in Ishikawa[lower-alpha 12] Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium 20,000 J2 (11th) J1
  1. centering on Matsuyama
  2. centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
  3. Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyotanabe, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba, Fukuchiyama, Maizuru, Ayabe
  4. Matsumoto, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Omachi, Ikeda, Ikusaka, Minowa, Asahi
  5. Mito, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Tokai
  6. centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
  7. centering on Okinawa
  8. centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
  9. centering on Tokushima, Naruto, Mima, Matsushige, Itano, Aizumi, Kitajima
  10. centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
  11. centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
  12. centering on Kanazawa, Nonoichi, Kahoku, Tsubata, Tsubata

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Albirex Niigata Albert Puig [7] Adidas
Avispa Fukuoka Shigetoshi Hasebe[8] YONEX
Ehime FC Kenta Kawai[9] Mizuno
Fagiano Okayama Kenji Arima[10] Penalty
Giravanz Kitakyushu Shinji Kobayashi[11] Penalty
JEF United Chiba Yoon Jong-hwan[12] Kappa
Júbilo Iwata Fernando Jubero[13] Puma
Kyoto Sanga Noritada Saneyoshi[14] Puma
Machida Zelvia Ranko Popović [15] SVOLME
Matsumoto Yamaga Keiichiro Nuno[16] Adidas
Mito HollyHock Tadahiro Akiba[17] GAViC
Montedio Yamagata Kiyotaka Ishimaru[18] Penalty
Omiya Ardija Takuya Takagi[19] Under Armour
Renofa Yamaguchi Masahiro Shimoda[20] Finta
FC Ryukyu Yasuhiro Higuchi[21] sfida
Tochigi SC Kazuaki Tasaka[22] ATHLETA
Thespakusatsu Gunma Ryosuke Okuno [23] Kelme
Tokushima Vortis Ricardo Rodríguez[24] Mizuno
V-Varen Nagasaki Makoto Teguramori[25] Umbro
Ventforet Kofu Akira Ito[26] Mizuno
Tokyo Verdy Hideki Nagai [27] ATHLETA
Zweigen Kanazawa Masaaki Yanagishita[28] Adidas

Foreign players

As of 2020 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[29] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.

  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former players
Montedio Yamagata Vinícius Araújo Min Seong-jun
Mito HollyHock Halef Pitbull
Tochigi SC Mendes Han Yong-thae Woo Sang-ho
Thespakusatsu Gunma Kim Chol-ho
Omiya Ardija Nermin Haskic Vitalijs Maksimenko Filip Kljajic Ippei Shinozuka
JEF United Chiba Alan Pinheiro Kléber Jang Min-kyu Jason Geria
Tokyo Verdy Leandro Klebinho Matheus Vidotto
Machida Zelvia Alen Masovic Ri Han-jae Dorian Babunski Jeong Chung-geun Stefan Scepovic
Ventforet Kofu Dudu Junior Barros Rafael Marques
Matsumoto Yamaga Augusto César Serginho Alvaro Jael Isma
Albirex Niigata Fábio Mauro dos Santos Gonzalo González Pedro Manzi
Zweigen Kanazawa Rodolfo Lucão
Jubilo Iwata Lulinha Lukian Juan Forlin Fozil Musaev
Kyoto Sanga Renan Mota Juninho Jordy Buijs Peter Utaka
Fagiano Okayama Paulinho Leo Mineiro Lee Yong-jae Yu Yong-hyeon Lee Kyeong-tae Choi Jung-won Hadi Fayyadh
Renofa Yamaguchi Renan Henik Iury Sandro
Tokushima Vortis Diego Dusan Cvetinovic
Ehime FC Sisi
Avispa Fukuoka Douglas Grolli Jon Ander Serantes Carlos Gutiérrez Juanma Emil Salomonsson
Giravanz Kitakyushu
V-Varen Nagasaki Caio César Freire Luan Victor Ibarbo
FC Ryukyu Felipe Tavares Daniel Sanches Danny Carvajal Lee Ji-seong Ri Yong-jik

League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues,[30] such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the 2021 J1 League, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the 2021 J2 League (subject to licensing regulations).

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Omiya Ardija 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6 Promotion to 2021 J1 League
2 V-Varen Nagasaki 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6
3 Albirex Niigata 2 1 1 0 6 3 +3 4
4 Fagiano Okayama 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
5 Renofa Yamaguchi 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
6 Avispa Fukuoka 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
7 Matsumoto Yamaga 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
8 Tokushima Vortis 2 1 0 1 6 4 +2 3
9 Mito HollyHock 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
10 Kyoto Sanga 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3
11 Ehime FC 2 1 0 1 5 5 0 3
12 Júbilo Iwata 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
13 JEF United Chiba 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
14 Montedio Yamagata 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
15 Ventforet Kofu 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
16 Machida Zelvia 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
17 Ryukyu 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
18 Zweigen Kanazawa 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1
19 Tokyo Verdy 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
20 Giravanz Kitakyushu 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
21 Tochigi SC 2 0 0 2 0 2 −2 0
22 Thespakusatsu Gunma 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 28 June 2020. Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goal scored; 6) Number of wins; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fair-play points

Positions by round
Leader and qualification to 2021 J1 League
Runner up and qualification to 2021 J1 League
Qualification to promotion play-offs
Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Jubilo Iwata 14,526 14,526 14,526 14,526 −4.9%†
2 Giravanz Kitakyushu 13,574 13,574 13,574 13,574 +124.4%‡
3 Fagiano Okayama 12,434 12,434 12,434 12,434 +31.7%†
4 Thespakusatsu Gunma 11,038 11,038 11,038 11,038 +207.1%‡
5 JEF United Chiba 9,701 9,701 9,701 9,701 0.0%†
6 V-Varen Nagasaki 9,436 9,436 9,436 9,436 +22.0%†
7 Tokushima Vortis 9,033 9,033 9,033 9,033 +57.5%†
8 Renofa Yamaguchi 8,424 8,424 8,424 8,424 +49.6%†
9 Mito HollyHock 7,029 7,029 7,029 7,029 +15.5%†
10 Machida Zelvia 6,421 6,421 6,421 6,421 +36.1%†
11 Ehime FC 5,681 5,681 5,681 5,681 +50.3%†
12 Montedio Yamagata 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Tochigi SC 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Omiya Ardija 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Tokyo Verdy 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Ventforet Kofu 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Matsumoto Yamaga 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Albirex Niigata 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Zweigen Kanazawa 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Kyoto Sanga 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 Avispa Fukuoka 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
12 FC Ryukyu 0 0 0 0 −100.0%†
League total 107,297 14,526 5,681 9,754 +35.9%†

Updated to games played on 23 February 2020
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Last year in J1 League。‡ Last year in J3 League。

References
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