# 2021 Japan Football League

The 2021 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第23回日本フットボールリーグ[第23回 JFL 2021], Hepburn: Dai Nijūsankai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu [Dai Nijūsankai JFL 2021]) was the eighth season of the nationwide fourth tier of Japanese football, and the 23rd season since the establishment of Japan Football League.

## Clubs

For the first time since 2012, 17 clubs have taken part in the JFL season. Last year no relegations were in place in J3, the league had the intent of seeing two more teams joining from the start, but only Tegevajaro Miyazaki got promoted with one game to play and joined J3 for the 2021 season. That’s because Verspah Oita, who won the JFL for the first time in their history, were not promoted as they did not hold a J3 license, while Sony Sendai and Honda FC, who finished 3rd and 4th respectively, also didn’t hold a J3 license.
FC Tiamo Hirakata and FC Kariya won promotion to the JFL by qualifying in the top two spots of the 44th Regional Pro Series. For the Hirataka-based side it was the first time in JFL, but Kariya are back after a twelve-year long hiatus.
There are six teams eligible for promotion with J3 licenses; these are highlighted in green in the following table.
| Club Name | Home town | Stadium | Capacity | Position | Notes |
| Honda FC | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium | 2,506 | JFL (4th) | |
| Honda Lock | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | Hinata Athletic Stadium | 20,000 | JFL (12th) | |
| Iwaki FC | Iwaki, Fukushima | Iwaki Green Field | 5,600 | JFL (7th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| FC Kariya | Kariya, Aichi | Wave Stadium Kariya | 4,002 | RPS 2nd | Winners of TASL and runners-up in 44th RPS |
| Kochi United SC | Kōchi, Kōchi | Kōchi Haruno Athletic Stadium | 25,000 | JFL (14th) | |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Okazaki, Aichi | Okazaki Ryūhoku Stadium | 5,000 | JFL (16th) | |
| Matsue City FC | Matsue, Shimane | Matsue Municipal Athletic Stadium | 24,000 | JFL (10th) | |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Kusatsu, Shiga | Higashiōmi Nunobiki Green Stadium | 5,060 | JFL (9th) | Applied for 100 Year Plan status |
| Nara Club | All cities/towns in Nara | Rohto Field Nara | 30,600 | JFL (13th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| F.C. Osaka | Higashiōsaka, Osaka | Hanazono Rugby Stadium 2nd Ground | 1,722 | JFL (8th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Aomori, Aomori | Kakuhiro Group Athletic Stadium | 20,809 | JFL (15th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| Sony Sendai | Tagajō, Miyagi | Miyagi Seikyō Megumino Soccer Stadium | 10,000 | JFL (3rd) | |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Suzuka, Mie | AGF Suzuka Athletic Stadium | 1,450 | JFL (5th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| FC Tiamo Hirakata | Hirakata, Osaka | Hirakata Municipal Athletic Stadium | 2,500 | RPS 1st | Winners of KSL and 44th RPS |
| Tokyo Musashino United FC | Musashino, Tokyo | Musashino Municipal Athletic Stadium | 5,188 | JFL (11th) | Renamed from "Tokyo Musashino City FC" |
| Veertien Mie | All cities/towns in Mie | Asahi Gas Energy Tōin Stadium | 5,142 | JFL (6th) | 100 Year Plan status and J3 license holders |
| Verspah Oita | Yufu & Beppu, Ōita | Shōwa Denkō Soccer/Rugby Field | 4,700 | JFL (1st) | 2020 champions, 100 Year Plan status |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Kit manufacturer |
| Honda FC | Hiroyuki Abe | Umbro |
| Honda Lock SC | Yosuke Miyaji | Kappa |
| Iwaki FC | Yuzo Tamura | Under Armour |
| FC Kariya | Kazuhiro Murata | bonera |
| Kochi United SC | Akihiro Nishimura | bonera |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Hiroyasu Ibata | ATHLETA |
| Matsue City FC | Noriaki Sanenobu | soccer junky |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Hiroshi Otsuki | JOGARBOLA |
| Nara Club | Julián Marín Bazalo | SQUADRA |
| F.C. Osaka | Shinya Tsukahara | bonera |
| ReinMeer Aomori | Ryo Adachi | Umbro |
| Sony Sendai FC | Gen Nakamura | Umbro |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Yasutoshi Miura | ATHLETA |
| FC Tiamo Hirakata | Yoshizumi Ogawa | JOGARBOLA |
| Tokyo Musashino United FC | Hisayuki Ikegami | Yonex |
| Veertien Mie | Yoshihiko Yamamoto | Lwond |
| Verspah Oita | Takashi Yamahashi | YASUDA |
* ↑ centering on Nara
* ↑ centering on Kuwana & Yokkaichi

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Incoming date | Ref. |
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Announced on | Departed on | Position in table | Incoming | Announced on | Arrived on | Ref. |
| Veertien Mie | Nobuhiro Ueno | Sacked | 21 June 2021 | 21 June 2021 | 12th | Yoshihiko Yamamoto | 22 June 2021 | 22 June 2021 | |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Mila Martínez | Mutual consent | 5 July 2021 | 5 July 2021 | 14th | Tsukasa Ozawa (interim) | 5 July 2021 | 5 July 2021 | |
| Suzuka Point Getters | Tsukasa Ozawa (interim) | Interim completed | 15 July 2021 | 15 July 2021 | 11th | Yasutoshi Miura | 15 July 2021 | 15 July 2021 | |
| FC Kariya | Koji Kadota (interim) | Sacked | 16 July 2021 | 16 July 2021 | 17th | Ryo Iizuka | 16 July 2021 | 16 July 2021 | |
| Maruyasu Okazaki | Ryuji Kitamura | Appointed technical director | 20 July 2021 | 31 July 2021 | 11th | Hiroyasu Ibata | 27 July 2021 | 1 August 2021 | |
| FC Kariya | Ryo Iizuka (interim) | Interim completed | 2 August 2021 | 2 August 2021 | 17th | Kazuhiro Murata | 2 August 2021 | 2 August 2021 | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| 1 | Iwaki FC (C, P) | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 28 | +37 | 71 | Promotion to J3 League |
| 2 | Honda FC | 32 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 69 | 25 | +44 | 67 | |
| 3 | Verspah Oita | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 24 | +22 | 62 | |
| 4 | Suzuka Point Getters | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 50 | |
| 5 | Matsue City | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 50 | |
| 6 | Sony Sendai | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 48 | |
| 7 | F.C. Osaka | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 48 | |
| 8 | Tiamo Hirakata | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 48 | |
| 9 | ReinMeer Aomori | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 45 | |
| 10 | Nara Club | 32 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 43 | |
| 11 | Veertien Mie | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 40 | |
| 12 | MIO Biwako Shiga | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 37 | |
| 13 | Kochi United | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 33 | |
| 14 | Maruyasu Okazaki | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 33 | |
| 15 | Tokyo Musashino United | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 32 | |
| 16 | Honda Lock (O) | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 48 | −22 | 27 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 17 | FC Kariya (R) | 32 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 26 | 55 | −29 | 18 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 J.League 100 Year Plan clubs
* ↑ Promotion was conditional on holding a J3 license (marked in bold in the table), finishing in the top 4 of the JFL, and finishing in the top 2 of the J.League 100 Year Plan clubs.
* ↑ Relegation will occur as follows. In case of 1 team promoted to J3: Japan Regional Football Champions League winners will play the 17th-placed team in JFL, and runners-up will also play the 16th-placed team in JFL.

## Regional Leagues Relegation Playoffs

2021 JFL·Regional Leagues Playoffs (Japanese: 2021年度JFL·地域リーグ入れ替え戦)
Honda Lock remains in the JFL; FC Ise-Shima remains in the Tōkai Adult Soccer League Division 1.
FC Kariya was relegated to the Tōkai Adult Soccer League Division 1; Criacao Shinjuku was promoted to the JFL.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 28 November 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Yuki Okazaki | Honda FC | 16 |
| 2 | Motoki Fujiwara | Sony Sendai FC | 12 |
| 2 | Reon Kodama | Honda FC | 12 |
| 2 | Ryo Sato | FC Tiamo Hirakata | 12 |
| 2 | Kohei Matsumoto | FC Tiamo Hirakata | 12 |
| 6 | Daigo Furukawa | Iwaki FC | 11 |