# 2020 Japan Football League

The 2020 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第22回日本フットボールリーグ[第22回 JFL 2020], Hepburn: Dai Nijūnikai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu [Dai Nijūnikai JFL 2020]) was the seventh season of the nationwide fourth tier of Japanese football, and the 22nd season since the establishment of Japan Football League.

## Postponement of the beginning of the season

On February 27, the opening game and match day 2 were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 16, it was announced match day 3 would be postponed. On March 25, it was announced Match day 4, Match day 5 would be postponed.
On April 7, it was announced Match day 6 would also be postponed.
On April 15 it was finally decided that only the second half of the season would be played beginning on the scheduled date, July 18. No relegations happened and the winners and runners-up of the Japanese Regional Series were automatically promoted, meaning that the 2021 season would be held with 17 clubs.
On June 24, the JFL announced new dates. The league match for this season started on July 18. Match days 16 and 17, and each home game opening game were held as a without spectator match.

## Clubs

Sixteen clubs featured in this season of Japan Football League. There were some changes: FC Imabari got promoted to J3, after finishing third in 2019, while Ryutsu Keizai Dragons was relegated after playing for five seasons at this level. Matsue City FC, who finished second-last place, were fated to go back to Japanese Regional Leagues as well, but avoided the drop thanks to FC Imabari going up to J3 League.
There are two new clubs in the JFL, debuting at this level after finishing in the top two in the 2019 Japanese Regional Series: Iwaki FC dominated the final stage, while Kochi United SC overcame the other two teams – Ococias Kyoto AC and Fukui United FC – to get the final spot for this seasons JFL.
| Club Name | Home Town | Position | Notes |
| Honda FC | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | 1st | 2019 Champions |
| Honda Lock | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | 6th | |
| Iwaki FC | Iwaki, Fukushima | RPS 1st | Winners of TSL and 43rd RPS, 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| Kochi United SC | Kōchi, Kōchi | RPS 2nd | Winners of SSL and runners-up of 43rd RPS |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Okazaki, Aichi | 11th | |
| Matsue City FC | Matsue, Shimane | 15th | |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Kusatsu, Shiga | 9th | Applied for 100 Year Plan-status |
| Nara Club | All cities/towns in Nara | 14th | 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| FC Osaka | Higashiōsaka, Osaka | 8th | 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Aomori, Aomori | 13th | 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| Sony Sendai | Tagajō, Miyagi | 2nd | |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Suzuka, Mie | 12th | Applied for 100 Year Plan-status |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Miyazaki & Shintomi, Miyazaki | 5th | 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| Tokyo Musashino City | Musashino, Tokyo | 4th | No more 100 Year Plan-status, withdrew J3 license |
| Veertien Mie | All cities/towns in Mie | 10th | 100 Year Plan-status and J3 license holders |
| Verspah Oita | Yufu & Ōita, Ōita | 7th | |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Honda FC | Hiroyasu Ibata | Yuya Suzuki | Umbro |
| Honda Lock SC | Shinya Shirakawa | Naoya Oyama | Kappa |
| Iwaki FC | Yuzo Tamura | Masaru Hidaka | Under Armour |
| Kochi United SC | Akihiro Nishimura | Tsubasa Yokotake | bonera |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Ryuji Kitamura | Teruyuki Moniwa | ATHLETA |
| Matsue City FC | Noriaki Sanenobu | Yuzuru Tabira | GAViC |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Hiroshi Otsuki | Ryo Nishiguchi | JOGARBOLA |
| Nara Club | Maiki Hayashi | Shinichi Mukai | SQUADRA |
| FC Osaka | Shinya Tsukahara | Tomoyuki Iwamoto | bonera |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Tatsuya Mochizuki | Kanta Takahashi | Umbro |
| Sony Sendai FC | Gen Nakamura | Kenta Ogihara | Umbro |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Milagros Martínez Domínguez | Kohei Fujita | ATHLETA |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Keiji Kuraishi | Kenta Ishii | Penalty |
| Tokyo Musashino City | Hisayuki Ikegami | Koji Ishihara | Yonex |
| Veertien Mie | Nobuhiro Ueno | Hitoshi Nishimura | Puma |
| Verspah Oita | Shigemitsu Sudo | Kosei Uryu | YASUDA |
* ↑ centering on Nara
* ↑ centering on Kuwana & Yokkaichi

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Verspah Oita (C) | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 32 | |
| 2 | Tegevajaro Miyazaki (P) | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 15 | +11 | 28 | Promotion to 2021 J3 League |
| 3 | Sony Sendai | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 22 | +3 | 26 | |
| 4 | Honda FC | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 22 | |
| 5 | Suzuka Point Getters | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 21 | |
| 6 | Veertien Mie | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 21 | |
| 7 | Iwaki FC | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 21 | |
| 8 | FC Osaka | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 20 | |
| 9 | MIO Biwako Shiga | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 20 | |
| 10 | Matsue City FC | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 20 | |
| 11 | Tokyo Musashino City | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 19 | |
| 12 | Honda Lock | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 19 | |
| 13 | Nara Club | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 18 | |
| 14 | Kochi United SC | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 16 | |
| 15 | ReinMeer Aomori | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 16 | |
| 16 | Maruyasu Okazaki | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 15 | |
* ↑ To qualify for promotion, a club must hold a 100 Year Plan status, obtain J3 license (marked in bold in the table), and finish both in the top 4 of the JFL, and either 1st or 2nd among the promotion-eligible clubs.

## Top scorers

    As of matches played November 29, 2020.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Tatsuma Sakai | Matsue City FC | 9 |
| 1 | Kazuki Sakamoto | MIO Biwako Shiga | 9 |
| 3 | Motoki Fujiwara | Sony Sendai FC | 7 |
| 3 | Jin Shioya | Veertien Mie | 7 |
| 5 | Shoma Mizunaga | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 6 |
| 5 | Kaima Akahoshi | Kochi United SC | 6 |
| 7 | 8 players | 8 players | 5 |

## Promotion and relegation

Despite the JFL announcing that there would be no promotion or relegation of clubs, the J. League agreed to admit Tegevajaro Miyazaki to the J3 League on November 24, 2020, after Miyazaki finished in the top four positions. Miyazaki ultimately finished runners-up.
FC Tiamo Hirakata and FC Kariya were promoted from the Regional Leagues as Regional Promotion Series champions and runners-up respectively. Kariya returned to the JFL after being relegated back in 2009.

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | FC Osaka | 2,846 | 993 | 0 | 712 | −35.2%$^†$ |
| 2 | Honda FC | 2,054 | 941 | 0 | 411 | −49.8%$^†$ |
| 3 | Honda Lock | 800 | 272 | 0 | 200 | −42.0%$^†$ |
| 4 | Iwaki FC | 9,005 | 1,828 | 0 | 1,286 | n/a$^†$ |
| 5 | Kochi United SC | 4,741 | 1,151 | 0 | 677 | n/a$^†$ |
| 6 | Maruyasu Okazaki | 716 | 170 | 0 | 143 | −63.0%$^†$ |
| 7 | Matsue City FC | 3,934 | 971 | 0 | 656 | −6.2%$^†$ |
| 8 | MIO Biwako Shiga | 2,479 | 832 | 0 | 413 | −19.3%$^†$ |
| 9 | Nara Club | 3,685 | 959 | 0 | 614 | −69.6%$^†$ |
| 10 | ReinMeer Aomori | 2,429 | 726 | 0 | 405 | −21.1%$^†$ |
| 11 | Sony Sendai FC | 1,249 | 303 | 0 | 178 | −62.0%$^†$ |
| 12 | Suzuka Point Getters | 1,965 | 413 | 0 | 281 | −49.2%$^†$ |
| 13 | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 4,698 | 2,203 | 0 | 671 | +66.5%$^†$ |
| 14 | Tokyo Musashino City | 3,658 | 907 | 0 | 610 | −65.9%$^†$ |
| 15 | Veertien Mie | 6,476 | 1,741 | 0 | 925 | −11.1%$^†$ |
| 16 | Verspah Oita | 1,531 | 509 | 0 | 306 | −47.4%$^†$ |
| | League total | 52,266 | 2,203 | 0 | 436 | −53.6%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 29/11/2020 Source: JFL
23 games played with no spectators due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic