The J1 League, a.k.a. the J.League or the Meiji Yasuda J1 League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Japanese Football. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian professional club football history. It was known as the J.League from 1993 to 1998 before becoming a two-division league. See below for Japanese football predictions.
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Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League.
Before the inception of the J.League, the highest level of club football was the Japan Soccer League (JSL). This was formed in 1965 and consisted of amateur clubs. The JSL was well-attended during the boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s (when Japan’s national team won the bronze Olympic medal at the 1968 games in Mexico). However it went into decline in the 1980s, in general line with the deteriorating situation worldwide. Fans were few, the grounds were not high quality, and the national team was not on a par with the Asian powerhouses. To combat this, the Japan Football Association (JFA) decided to form a professional league.
The professional association football league, J.League was formed in 1992. Eight clubs were drawn from the JSL First Division, one from the Second Division, and the newly formed Shimizu S-Pulse. At the same time, JSL changed its name and became the now–defunct Japan Football League, a semi-professional league. Although the J.League did not officially launch until 1993, the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup competition was held between the ten clubs in 1992 to prepare for the inaugural season.
See below for Japanese football predictions and forecasts across the top leagues.
