Japan Football League 2002

Japan Football League 2002
master	Honda FC
Relegated	Shizuoka Sangyo University FC (after playoffs ) Alouette Kumamoto Profesor Miyazaki
Teams	18th
Games	153
Gates	457  (ø 2.99 per game)
← Japan Football League 2001 Japan Football League 2003 →
^ J. League Division 2 2002 Regionalliga 2002 ↓

The Japan Football League 2002 was the fourth season of the Japan Football League . Sixteen clubs took part in it. The season began on April 7th and ended on November 10th, 2002, due to the World Cup held in Japan , no games were played between May 6th and July 6th.

Honda FC was able to successfully defend its championship title. Due to the fact that no team could meet the requirements for J. League approval, there were no promoters. Conversely, a total of three teams had to be relegated, as after three years of continuous expansion the league was reduced by two teams to a total of 18 teams for the 2003 season . The two worst teams, Alouette Kumamoto and Profesor Miyazaki , were directly relegated . Shizuoka Sangyo University FC left the class after two relegation games against Sagawa Printing SC , the runner-up in the regional league finals . Jatco FC, however, was able to assert itself against the final round winner Ain Foods SC and remained in the Japan Football League.

mode

Due to the soccer World Cup in 2002 and the resulting two-month interruption in play, each club only played once against all other clubs. There were three points for a win; in the event of a tie there was a counter for each team. The table for each semi-series was created according to the following criteria:

1. Number of points scored
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Results of the games among themselves
5. Decision game or coin toss

For promotion to the J. League Division 2 2003 only clubs that met sporting and economic criteria and withstood a final review by the J. League were eligible. The two worst teams in the table were relegated directly to the regional league.

The table fifteenth and sixteenth competed in two relegation games against the two winners of the Regionalliga final round, with the sixteenth facing the champions and the fifteenth versus the runner-up. Each encounter was organized like a kind of mini-league; the team with the most points held the class, with the same number of points first the goal difference decided and, if it should be the same, a penalty shoot-out immediately after the second leg.

Attendees

A total of eighteen teams took part in the season. Among these were two new clubs, both Sagawa Express Osaka SC and Profesor Miyazaki qualified through the regional league finals for the division.

In addition, a number of teams renamed themselves. Last year's champion Honda Motors also changed its name to Honda FC as did the third-placed Jatco TT FC , which from then on again competed under the name Jatco FC , as well as FC KYOKEN Kyōto , which in its third JFL season with FC Kyoto took on the third name in 1993 . Ultimately, NTT West Kumamoto SC went one step further and changed not only the name (to Alouette Kumamoto ) but also the entire organizational structure, the company team changed to a real club.

Tagajō Toyama Kirobe Hamamatsu Fuji Shizuoka Kariya Kyoto Osaka Tottori Tokushima Matsuyama Kumamoto Miyazaki Utsunomiya Tokyo Machida Musashino Associations of the Kantō region

Clubs of the Japan Football League 2002

society	City / region	Remarks
ALO's Hokuriku	Toyama , Toyama
Alouette Kumamoto	Kumamoto , Kumamoto
DENSO FC	Kariya , Aichi
Ehime FC	Matsuyama , Ehime
Honda FC	Hamamatsu , Shizuoka
Jatco FC	Eastern Shizuoka Prefecture around Fuji
Kokushikan University SC	Machida , Tokyo
FC Kyoto 1993	Kyōto , Kyōto
Ōtsuka Pharmaceutical SC	Tokushima , Tokushima
Professor Miyazaki	Miyazaki Prefecture	Runner-up in the regional league finals 2001
Sagawa Express Osaka SC	Osaka , Osaka	Champion of the regional league finals 2001
Sagawa Express Tōkyō SC	Tokyo
Shizuoka Sangyō University SC	Shizuoka , Shizuoka
Sony Sendai FC	Tagajō , Miyagi
Tochigi SC	Utsunomiya , Tochigi
SC Tottori	Yonago , Tottori
YKK SC	Kurobe , Toyama
Yokogawa Denki SC	Musashino , Tokyo

statistics

table

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Honda FC	17th	13	2	2	039:140	+25	41
2.	Sagawa Express Tōkyō SC	17th	12	3	2	049:220	+27	39
3.	Ōtsuka Pharmaceutical SC	17th	10	7th	0	038:220	+16	37
4th	Sony Sendai FC	17th	8th	6th	3	025:160	+9	30th
5.	Kokushikan University SC	17th	9	3	5	028:200	+8	30th
6th	Ehime FC	17th	8th	4th	5	029:180	+11	28
7th	Yokogawa Denki SC	17th	8th	4th	5	021:260	−5	28
8th.	YKK SC	17th	7th	5	5	024:160	+8	26th
9.	Sagawa Express Osaka SC (N)	17th	6th	6th	5	027:230	+4	24
10.	DENSO SC	17th	6th	3	8th	032:300	+2	21st
11.	FC Kyoto 1993	17th	6th	3	8th	021:250	−4	21st
12.	Tochigi SC	17th	5	3	9	021:270	−6	18th
13.	SC Tottori	17th	4th	3	10	018:330	−15	15th
14th	ALO's Hokuriku	17th	3	6th	8th	016:340	−18	15th
15th	Shizuoka Sangyō University SC	17th	4th	2	11	020:320	−12	14th
16.	Jatco FC	17th	3	4th	10	016:280	−12	13
17th	Alouette Kumamoto SC	17th	3	5	9	013:310	−18	14th
18th	Professor Miyazaki (N)	17th	2	5	10	020:400	−20	11
Status: end of the season

Relegation matches against the winners of the regional league final round : Shizuoka Sangyō University SC, Jatco FC

Direct relegation to the regional leagues 2003: Alouette Kumamoto, Profesor Miyazaki (both Kyūshū -RL)

(N)	Newcomers from the regional league 2001: Sagawa Express Osaka SC, Profesor Miyazaki

Crosstab

Relegation

After the end of the season, shortly before the turn of the year, the relegation games between the fifteenth and sixteenth of the final table and the two best teams in the regional league final round took place. The sixteenth played against the final round winner, the fifteenth had to play against the runner-up. In both cases, the JFL club completed the second leg on its own pitch. Both pairings ended with teams tied on points and goals (see mode ) and were therefore only decided on penalties after the second leg .

In the meeting of the JFL-15. Shizuoka Sangyō University FC against the RL final round runners-up Sagawa Printing SC were the goals of the penalty shoot-out, the only goals after both games had ended 0-0. Ultimately, the lower-class club prevailed 5-3 from the penalty mark.

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Sagawa Printing SC	2	0	2	0	000-000	± 0	02
1.	Shizuoka Sangyō University FC	2	0	2	0	000-000	± 0	02

Penalty Shootout Winner: Sagawa Printing SC

In the other encounter, the JFL-16. Jatco FC keep the class thanks to a 4-2 win from the point against the RL final round champion Ain Foods SC . Jatco won the first leg in Osaka 1-0, Ain Foods prevailed 2-1 in the second leg in Fuji .

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Jatco FC	2	1	0	1	002: 200	± 0	03
1.	Ain Foods SC	2	1	0	1	002: 200	± 0	03

Penalty Winner: Jatco FC

Web links

• Season on the official website of the Japan Football League (Japanese)
• Final tables of the 2002 season in Japanese football , RSSSF (English)