J.League Centennial Plan Club

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A J. League Hundred Year Plan Association ( jap. Jリーグ百年構想クラブ Jei Rīgu Hyakunen Koso kurabu ) is a status of a Japanese Amateur - football club , which the professional league J. League , is awarded wishes to join. Usually clubs of the Japan Football League , i.e. the highest amateur league, apply for this status, but generally lower-class clubs of the nine regional leagues or the prefecture leagues can also apply. The applications are checked by a responsible committee of the J. League. Since the 2014 season, club status has been the main criterion for promotion to the J3 League . The system allows the league to identify clubs interested in professional football, to provide them with resources and advice, and thus to facilitate the transition from amateur to professional football.

history

Since the J. League was founded , several systems have existed to identify and promote clubs willing to accept.

1993–1998: Associate membership

When the league was founded in 1993 with ten clubs, the league's original intention was to keep this number stable for a few years before slowly expanding the field to 16 teams with one or two clubs per year. However, the league leadership underestimated the demand for professional football in the country; there were far more clubs interested in taking part in the competition than originally thought. This led to the award of so-called "extraordinary memberships" for clubs in the Japan Football League, which was then on the second level of the league pyramid . Associate members who achieved a top two spot in the JFL were allowed promotion to the J. League provided they passed a final league review. They also had the right to participate in the J. League Cup and the Reserve League .

The system of extraordinary memberships was abolished with the establishment of the J. League Division 2 and the dissolution of the old Japan Football League at the end of the 1998 season. The three remaining associate members (see table below) were added to Division 2, while Honda Motors decided to maintain its amateur status and joined the new Japan Football League .

Year of
application 		Club name Year of admission
to the J. League 		Remarks
1993 Bellmare Hiratsuka 1994
Júbilo Iwata 1994
Kashiwa Reysol 1995
1994 Cerezo Osaka 1995
Kyoto Purple Sanga 1996
Tosu Futures 1999 (J2) Status was taken over by Sagan Tosu
1995 Avispa Fukuoka 1996
Vissel Kobe 1997
1996 Consadole Sapporo 1998
Brummell Sendai 1999 (J2)
1997 Kawasaki Frontale 1999 (J2)
Honda Motors - Resignation from membership due to lack of support from the sponsoring company and the environment

2006–2013: Extraordinary Membership 2.0

After its founding for the 1999 season, the J. League Division 2 became the new goal for the league expansion, and they drew their clubs from the newly founded Japan Football League . During the first seven years of the joint existence of the two leagues, each club seeking promotion was examined individually by the league. In this way five new clubs were added. However, since the number of interested parties increased continuously over time, the Japanese Football Association initiated the establishment of a new system of extraordinary memberships in October 2005 in order to provide interested amateur clubs with an incentive to acquire a solid economic and infrastructural basis necessary for membership in the J. League were essential.

The criteria for such membership were set in early 2006 by a joint committee of the association and the J. League. These covered various aspects of the club's development, with a focus on organizational stability, adequate infrastructure and support from local government, sponsors and fans. In contrast to the previous system, the extraordinary membership was not only open to JFL clubs, but in principle to all amateur clubs in Japanese gaming operations, including those in the regional and prefecture leagues.

Below is a list of the requirements for extraordinary membership in its last version from September 1, 2012.

Club structure
  • Club must be organized as a public company or as a non-profit organization with an exclusive focus on football
    • Operating teams and college teams are not eligible
    • At least half of the club's shares must be in Japanese hands
  • The association must employ at least three employees in administrative functions, one of whom must act as a trainer
  • The association must have an adequate salary system that complies with Japanese law
  • Association must undergo an annual tax audit
  • Funding of the association must be feasible
(Note: The league recommended a budget of 1.5 million yen for promotion to J2 and 5 million yen at the end of the third year in J2.)
  • Club must have sponsorship agreements totaling at least 1 million yen
Hometown (s)
  • Approval from the relevant football association in the prefecture required
  • Written approval from the administration of the hometown (s) required
Home stadium / training ground
  • Stadium must have a capacity of at least 10,000 seats and a natural grass pitch (alternatively, the club must show plans to build a stadium with these minimum requirements)
  • Stadium must be within the proposed home locations
  • A press stand and a conference room for the press conferences before and after matches are compulsory
  • The club must be able to dispose of a training ground within the proposed hometown
Others
  • Club must play in the JFL , a regional league or a prefecture league
  • Club must try to be accepted into the J. League
  • The association must have plans for a youth system

This new system of extraordinary memberships lasted for a total of eight years and came to its logical conclusion with the arrival of a field of 22 teams in the J. League Division 2 at the beginning of the 2012 season. At the beginning of the following year, the J3 League was founded, which took in most of the extraordinary members.

Since 2006, 29 clubs have applied for extraordinary membership, 25 of which have been awarded membership, even if more than one application was necessary for some clubs. Of these 25 extraordinary members, eleven rose to the J2, nine more were integrated into the J3 League in 2013; the remaining five members were transferred to the new J. League Centenary Club system in 2014, along with three motions that had not yet been decided. The table below lists the history of applications for extraordinary membership and admission to the J. League. All approvals were made for the J2, unless otherwise noted.

  • Gray - membership denied
  • Green - Remaining members, transferred to the Hundred Year Plan Association in 2014
Time
of application 		Club name Division † Hometown (s) Application result Year of admission
to the J. League 		Remarks
August 2006 Rosso Kumamoto Japan Football League Kumamoto , Kumamoto Accepted 2007 Renamed to Roasso Kumamoto after promotion to J2
Tochigi SC Japan Football League Utsunomiya , Tochigi Declined New application in January 2007
January 2007 FC Gifu Japan Football League Gifu , Gifu Accepted 2007 The application was initially accepted with conditions that an improvement in the financial position was necessary before promotion to J2
Gainare Tottori Japan Football League All cities of Tottori Prefecture Accepted 2010
Tochigi SC Japan Football League Utsunomiya, Tochigi Accepted 2008
Perada Fukushima Tōhoku Regional League, Division 2 Fukushima , Fukushima Declined Renamed Fukushima United FC, new application in June 2013
July 2007 Fagiano Okayama Chūgoku Regional League All cities of Okayama Prefecture Accepted 2008 First club from the regional league whose application was accepted
January 2008 New Wave Kitakyushu Japan Football League Kitakyushu , Fukuoka Accepted 2009 Renaming to Giravanz Kitakyushu after advancing to J2
Kataller Toyama Japan Football League Toyama , Toyama Accepted 2008
FC Ryūkyū Japan Football League All cities of Okinawa Prefecture Declined New application in January 2011
January 2009 FC Machida Zelvia Japan Football League Machida , Tokyo Prefecture Accepted 2011 Relegation to JFL 2012, resumption of J3 2013
V-Varen Nagasaki Japan Football League All cities in Nagasaki Prefecture Accepted 2012
January 2010 Matsumoto Yamaga FC Japan Football League Matsumoto , Nagano Accepted 2011
SC Sagamihara Kanagawa Prefectural League , Division 1 Sagamihara , Kanagawa Accepted 2013 (J3) First association from a prefecture league whose application was accepted
April 2010 Branches of Kanazawa Japan Football League Kanazawa , Ishikawa Application not accepted Incomplete documentation. New application in January 2011
December 2010 Kamatamare Sanuki Japan Football League All cities of Kagawa Prefecture Accepted 2013
January 2011 FC Ryūkyū Japan Football League All cities of Okinawa Prefecture Declined Further improvements needed. New application in June 2013
Branches of Kanazawa Japan Football League Kanazawa , Ishikawa Declined Further improvements needed. New application in November 2012
November 2011 AC Nagano Parceiro Japan Football League Nagano , Nagano Accepted 2013 (J3)
November 2012 Branches of Kanazawa Japan Football League All cities in Ishikawa Prefecture Accepted 2013 (J3)
Blaublitz Akita Japan Football League All cities of Akita Prefecture Accepted 2013 (J3)
June 2013 Veertien Kuwana Mie Prefectural League , Division 2 Kuwana , Mie Application not accepted Incomplete documentation
Yokohama Sports & Culture Club Japan Football League Yokohama , Kanagawa Accepted 2013 (J3)
Grulla Morioka Tōhoku Regional League, Division 1 Morioka , Iwate Accepted 2013 (J3) The only extraordinary member who was accepted directly into the J3 League without participating in the JFL
Renofa Yamaguchi FC Chūgoku Regional League All cities of Yamaguchi Prefecture Accepted Admission to J3 in 2014
Fukushima United FC Japan Football League Fukushima , Fukushima Accepted 2013 (J3)
FC Ryūkyū Japan Football League All cities of Okinawa Prefecture Accepted 2013 (J3)
Fujieda MYFC Japan Football League Fujieda , Shizuoka Accepted 2013 (J3)
Vanraure Hachinohe Tōhoku Regional League, Division 1 Hachinohe , Aomori Accepted
tonan Maebashi Kantō Regional League Maebashi , Gunma Accepted
azul claro Numazu Tōkai Regional League Numazu , Shizuoka Accepted
Nara Club Kansai Regional League Nara , Nara Accepted
Mio Bivouac Kusatsu JFL Kusatsu , Shiga In processing Application taken over into the Hundertjahrplan-Verein-Status-System
Tochigi Uva FC JFL Tochigi , Tochigi In processing Application incorporated into the Hundertjahrplan-Verein-Status-System, status was granted in May 2014
Suzuka Rampole Tōkai Regional League Suzuka , Mie In processing Application taken over into the Hundertjahrplan-Verein-Status-System

† The league in which the club was playing at the time of the application is given; this is not necessarily the league to which the club currently belongs.

Hundred Year Plan Status (since 2014)

For a short time after the founding of the J3 League in 2014, the J. League designated the clubs participating in the new division as "extraordinary members", in contrast to the "full members" of J1 and J2. To avoid confusion with the naming of the league candidate system, this status was quickly renamed "Hundred Year Plan Status". The J. League later withdrew the designation of J3 members as "extraordinary", but the name for the candidate status was retained.

Criteria for granting status

The criteria for the Hundred Year Plan status are roughly the same as those for extraordinary membership, although they are generally not as strict due to the lower requirements for the J3. Below is the list of requirements for the 2016 season.

Club structure
  • The club must be organized as a public company or as a non-profit organization with an exclusive focus on football and have already existed for a year or more with this objective
    • At least half of the club's shares must be in Japanese hands
  • The association must employ at least four employees in administrative functions, one of whom must act as a trainer
  • The association must have an adequate salary system that complies with Japanese law
  • The association must have proper financial management and undergo an annual tax audit
  • The association must own the intellectual rights to the association name, the logo and all related trademarks
Home location (s) and home stadium / training ground
  • Approval from the relevant football association in the prefecture required
  • Written approval from the administration of the hometown (s) required
  • Stadium must be within the proposed home locations
  • The club must be able to dispose of a training ground within the proposed hometown
Others
  • Club must play in the JFL , a regional league or a prefecture league
  • Club must try to be accepted into the J. League
  • The club must have an existing youth system or a football school that has existed for a year or more

Conditions for promotion to the J3 League

The Hundred Year Plan status is only the basic requirement for promotion to J3; the club must also meet other requirements in order to receive a license for the J3 League.

  • Association must have the status of a Hundred Year Plan Association
  • The club must have a venue according to the standards of the J3 League (at least 5,000 spectators), the venue must be approved by the league
  • Club must meet the licensing criteria for the J3 League
  • At the end of the season, the club must be among the four best clubs in the JFL and one of the top two of the Hundred Year Plan status holder
  • Average attendance at home games must be at least 2,000 spectators, with recognizable efforts to reach 3,000 spectators
  • Annual sales must be at least 150 million yen and there must be no excessive debt

Chronology of the applications

  • Green - inducted into the J. League
  • Yellow - current status holder
  • Red - former status holder
  • Gray - application refused
  • White - application in process
Time
of application 		Club name Division † Hometown (s) Application result Year of admission
to the J. League 		Remarks
June 2014 Renofa Yamaguchi FC Chūgoku Regional League All cities of Yamaguchi Prefecture Accepted 2015 Former associate member
Vanraure Hachinohe Tōhoku Regional League, Division 1 Hachinohe , Aomori Accepted 2019 Former associate member
tonan Maebashi Kantō Regional League Maebashi , Gunma Accepted Former associate member; Association returned the status on July 31, 2019
azul claro Numazu Tōkai Regional League Numazu , Shizuoka Accepted 2017 Former associate member
Nara Club Kansai Regional League, Division 1 Nara , Nara Accepted Former associate member
Tochigi City FC Japan Football League Tochigi , Tochigi Accepted Application as an associate member transferred to the new system
Renaming to Tochigi City FC in December 2018, previously Tochigi UVA FC
November 2014 Kagoshima United FC Japan Football League Kagoshima , Kagoshima Accepted 2016
November 2015 Tōkyō Musashino City FC Japan Football League Musashino , Tokyo Accepted Association returned the status on July 31, 2020
Imabari FC Shikoku Regional League Imabari , Ehime Accepted 2020
November 2018 Tegevajaro Miyazaki Japan Football League Miyazaki , Miyazaki Accepted
ReinMeer Aomori FC Japan Football League Aomori , Aomori Accepted
November 2019 Osaka FC Japan Football League Higashiōsaka , Osaka Accepted
Veertien Mie Japan Football League Kuwana , Mie Accepted
Iwaki FC Tōhoku Regional League, Division 1 Iwaki , Fukushima Accepted
Vonds Ichihara Kantō Regional League, Division 1 Ichihara , Chiba Accepted
Nankatsu SC Tokyo Prefecture League Division 1 Katsushika district , Tokyo Accepted

† The league in which the club was playing at the time of the application is given; this is not necessarily the league to which the club currently belongs.

Current Centennial Plan Associations
Former Centennial Plan Clubs

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ J リ ー グ 準 加盟 規程. (PDF) (No longer available online.) J. League, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 24, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.jleague.jp  
  2. ↑ J リ ー グ 入会 (J3 リ ー グ 参加） の 手 引 き). (PDF) J. League, accessed September 17, 2016 (Japanese).
  3. ↑ J リ ー グ 規約. (PDF) J. League, February 2014, accessed September 17, 2016 (Japanese).
  4. ↑ tonan 前 橋 の Ｊ リ ー グ 百年 構想 ク ラ ブ か ら の 脱 退 に つ い て. July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019 (Japanese).
  5. ↑ 東京 武 蔵 野 シ テ ィ フ ッ ト ボ ー ル ク ラ ブ 運 営 法人 の 変 更 に つ い て. August 3, 2020, accessed August 3, 2020 (Japanese).