# 2012 Japan Football League

The 2012 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第14回日本フットボールリーグ, Hepburn: Dai Jūyon-kai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu) was the fourteenth season of the Japan Football League, the third tier of the Japanese football league system. It has started on March 11, and finished on November 18.

## Clubs

The league intended to run the season in the usual 18-team format, but after the withdrawal of Arte Takasaki in January no replacement team was invited so in 2012 JFL features only 17 teams.
Subsequently, only one club will be directly relegated and one take part in pro/rele playoffs to bring the number of JFL clubs back to 18.
During the season, on 23 July, Nagano Parceiro were approved as J. League associate members, though they are not eligible for promotion until the completion of the renovation of their home stadium which is expected in 2016.
On 28 September 2012, J. League Organization made an announcement for club licenses for 2013, and only Nagasaki was granted conditional J2 license.
On 16 October 2012, it was reported that Sagawa Shiga F.C. had notified JFL organization about their intention of withdrawal from JFL as of the end of this season. On 17 October 2012, JFL Committee has approved the request from Sagawa Shiga F.C. for its withdrawal from JFL as of the end of the season.
| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| Blaublitz Akita | All cities/towns in Akita | |
| Honda FC | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | |
| Honda Lock | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | |
| Hoyo Oita | Ōita, Ōita | Promoted from Kyushu league in 2011 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | All cities/towns in Kagawa | J. League associate member, not eligible for J2 promotion |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | Kusatsu, Shiga | |
| Fujieda MYFC | Fujieda, Shizuoka | Promoted from Tōkai league D1 in 2011 |
| Nagano Parceiro | Nagano, Nagano | J. League associate member (since July 23), not eligible for J2 promotion |
| SP Kyoto | Mukō, Kyoto | |
| FC Ryukyu | All cities/towns in Okinawa | |
| Sagawa Shiga | Moriyama, Shiga | |
| Sony Sendai | Tagajō, Miyagi | |
| Tochigi Uva | Tochigi, Tochigi | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki | J. League associate member, eligible for J2 promotion |
| Yokogawa Musashino | Musashino, Tokyo | |
| YSCC Yokohama | Yokohama, Kanagawa | Promoted from Kantō league D1 in 2011 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | |

## Change in rules
### Relegation to regional leagues

Because of withdrawals by Arte Takasaki and Sagawa Shiga, no clubs will be relegated automatically as of the end of the season. The bottom finished (17th placed) club will play a play-off against the 3rd placed club of the 2012 Regional League promotion series.

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | V-Varen Nagasaki (C, P) | 32 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 24 | +33 | 67 | Promotion to 2013 J.League Division 2 |
| 2 | Nagano Parceiro | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 58 | |
| 3 | Sagawa Shiga (R) | 32 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 57 | Withdrawn |
| 4 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 29 | +20 | 53 | |
| 5 | Honda FC | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 53 | |
| 6 | YSCC Yokohama | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 49 | |
| 7 | SP Kyoto | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 45 | |
| 8 | MIO Biwako Shiga | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 53 | 52 | +1 | 43 | |
| 9 | FC Ryukyu | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 58 | 62 | −4 | 43 | |
| 10 | Yokogawa Musashino | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 41 | |
| 11 | Fujieda MYFC | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 40 | |
| 12 | Sony Sendai | 32 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 39 | |
| 13 | Blaublitz Akita | 32 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 37 | |
| 14 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 36 | |
| 15 | Hoyo Oita | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 35 | |
| 16 | Honda Lock | 32 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 28 | 56 | −28 | 28 | |
| 17 | Tochigi Uva (O) | 32 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 36 | 70 | −34 | 22 | Qualification for pro/rel playoffs |
* ↑ V-Varen Nagasaki topped the table at the end of the 17th round and thus were awarded JFL seed for 2012 Emperor's Cup.
* ↑ On 21 October Sagawa Express Co., the owner and operator of Sagawa Shiga FC, have announced that after the season the club will withdraw from JFL and cease its operations.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BLA | HON | LOC | HOY | KAM | MIO | MYF | PAR | PRI | RYU | SSH | SON | UVA | VVN | YMC | YSC | ZWE |
| Blaublitz Akita | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Honda FC | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 |
| Honda Lock | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Hoyo Oita | 0–4 | 6–1 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–5 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| MIO Biwako Shiga | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Fujieda MYFC | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–7 | | 1–0 | 2–5 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 |
| Nagano Parceiro | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| SP Kyoto | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| FC Ryukyu | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 3–2 |
| Sagawa Shiga | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 4–3 | | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 |
| Sony Sendai | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Tochigi Uva | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 | | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–6 | 1–1 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Yokogawa Musashino | 2–0 | 0–7 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| YSCC Yokohama | 4–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | | 1–2 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | |
* ↑ F.C. Ryukyu vs Kamatamare Sanuki, a match for the 27th round originally scheduled on 29 September, was postponed due to approaching Typhoon Jelawat, and played on 31 October.
* ↑ The 10th round game on May 6 between Tochigi Uva and Nagano Parceiro was discontinued after the first half because of heavy thunderstorm. The score at the moment was 0–0. The match was replayed in full on June 20.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Shunta Takahashi | FC Ryukyu | 20 |
| 1 | Masao Tsuji | YSCC Yokohama | 20 |
| 3 | Shohei Kiyohara | Sagawa Shiga | 17 |
| 3 | Kota Sugawara | MIO Biwako Shiga | 17 |
| 3 | Yuji Unozawa | Nagano Parceiro | 17 |
| 6 | Kiichi Iga | Honda FC | 15 |
| 7 | Kazuki Ganaha | FC Ryukyu | 13 |
| 7 | Hideyuki Ishida | Kamatamare Sanuki | 13 |
| 9 | Shintaro Hirai | SP Kyoto | 12 |
| 9 | Masatoshi Matsuda | Blaublitz Akita | 12 |
| 9 | Shoma Mizunaga | V-Varen Nagasaki | 12 |
Updated to games played on 18 November 2012 Source: Japan Football League

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 58,502 | 8,545 | 679 | 3,656 | +141.6%$^†$ |
| 2 | Nagano Parceiro | 44,963 | 4,127 | 1,803 | 2,810 | +23.2%$^†$ |
| 3 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 37,511 | 3,457 | 1,216 | 2,344 | −22.5%$^†$ |
| 4 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 37,013 | 9,136 | 522 | 2,313 | −7.6%$^†$ |
| 5 | FC Ryukyu | 34,626 | 11,658 | 262 | 2,164 | +16.3%$^†$ |
| 6 | Blaublitz Akita | 18,175 | 2,162 | 618 | 1,136 | −10.8%$^†$ |
| 7 | Honda FC | 13,171 | 3,056 | 376 | 823 | −7.4%$^†$ |
| 8 | Sagawa Shiga | 11,875 | 1,852 | 92 | 742 | −35.6%$^†$ |
| 9 | Yokogawa Musashino | 11,445 | 1,312 | 316 | 715 | −0.1%$^†$ |
| 10 | YSCC Yokohama | 11,360 | 1,436 | 411 | 710 | n/a$^†$ |
| 11 | MIO Biwako Shiga | 10,189 | 2,206 | 208 | 637 | −4.9%$^†$ |
| 12 | Sony Sendai | 9,413 | 1,174 | 263 | 588 | −13.5%$^†$ |
| 13 | Honda Lock | 8,715 | 1,274 | 296 | 545 | −19.5%$^†$ |
| 14 | Fujieda MYFC | 8,507 | 1,317 | 200 | 532 | +81.0%$^†$ |
| 15 | Tochigi Uva | 7,853 | 1,588 | 175 | 491 | −7.5%$^†$ |
| 16 | Hoyo Oita | 7,668 | 1,415 | 252 | 479 | +161.7%$^†$ |
| 17 | SP Kyoto | 6,242 | 736 | 105 | 390 | +1.8%$^†$ |
| | League total | 337,228 | 11,658 | 92 | 1,240 | −26.3%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 18 November 2012 Source: Japan Football League: First round, second round Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in Regional Leagues.

## Promotions and relegations after the regular season

V-Varen Nagasaki were automatically promoted to J2 while Machida Zelvia became the first ever team to be relegated from J. League, returning to the JFL after only one season.
SC Sagamihara and Fukushima United were promoted to JFL as the winner and runner-up of the Regional League promotion series, respectively. Third-placed Norbritz Hokkaido faced Tochigi Uva in a playoff series. Both games were played in Tochigi to prevent snow in Hokkaido from potentially postponing an away game. After two games, the series were tied 2–2, but Tochigi Uva won the penalty shootout 4–1, retaining their spot in JFL for the 2013 season.

### Playoffs with Regional Promotion Series

Tochigi Uva won the series 4–1 on penalty kicks and remained in JFL.