公益社団法人 日本プロサッカーリーグ（Ｊリーグ）

2022 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP - Tournament and Match Formats

The J.League announces that the tournament and match formats of the 2022 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP have been decided as follows.

Tournament

Date

Tournament format

Match format

Levain Cup(J1/18 teams,J2/2 teams)

■ Group Stage

1st Sec.Wednesday, February 232nd Sec.Wednesday, March 23rd Sec.Saturday, March 264th Sec.Wednesday, April 135th Sec.Saturday, April 236th Sec.Wednesday, May 18

With the exclusion of the four teams participating in ACL (Kawasaki Frontale, Urawa Reds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Vissel Kobe), a total of 16 teams comprising 14 teams from J1 and two teams from J2 (the teams ranked 17th and 18th in the previous year) are divided into four groups.
Each group plays in a home and away double round-robin league.Eight teams, comprising the top two teams from each group, advance to the Play-Off stage.

*Each group fixtures in the group stage are determined based on the rankings in the 2021 MEIJI YASUDA J1 and J2 LEAGUEs.

<Match format and determination of winners>In case a 90-minute match (two halves of 45 minutes each) is played and no winner is decided, the match ends in a tie.

<Points>Winner: three (3) points, Tie: one (1) point, Loser: zero (0) points

<Determination of ranking>Ranking is determined by the total number of points at the end of the group stage.The teams with a higher number of points are ranked at the top.

However, teams with the same number of points are ranked based on the following, in order of priority.

(1) Points among teams with the same points(2) Goal difference among teams with the same points(3) Goals scored among teams with the same points(4) Away goals among teams with the same points

If the ranking cannot be determined even with the application of (1) to (4) above, (1) to (4) are applied again only to the matches between the teams in question to determine the final ranking.If the ranking remains undecided through this process, (5) to (9) below are applied.

(5) Goal difference for all matches within the group(6) Goals scored for all matches within the group(7) Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved in the determination of ranking, and both teams are on the field of play(8) In order from the lowest number of disciplinary points(9) Draw

Levain Cup(J1/18 teams,J2/2 teams)

■Play-Off Stage

1st leg.Saturday, June 42nd legSaturday, June 11

The top eight teams from the group stage play in two home and away matches.The four winning teams from the Play-Offs advance to the prime stage.
[Play-Off Stage fixture]Group A 1st placed club vs.Group D 2nd placed clubGroup B 1st placed club vs.Group C 2nd placed clubGroup C 1st placed club vs.Group B 2nd placed clubGroup D 1st placed club vs.Group A 2nd placed club

<Match format and determination of winners>

In case a 90-minute match (two halves of 45 minutes each) is played and no winner is decided, the match ends in a tie.The winner of the Play-Off stage is the team with the highest number of wins for two matches. If the number of wins is the same after the end of the second round, the ranking is determined based on the following, in order of priority.

(1) Goal difference for two matches(2) Number of away goals(3) 30-minute extra time (two halves of 15 minutes each) at the end of the second round*The away-goals rule is not applied in extra time(4) Penalty shoot-out(Five players from each team.

If the winner is not decided, the sixth and subsequent players will take turns to kick until the winner is decided.)

Levain Cup(J1/18 teams,J2/2 teams)

■ Prime stage

Quarterfinals1st leg.Wednesday, August 32nd legWednesday, August 10

Semi-finals1st leg.Wednesday, September 212nd legSunday, September 25

FinalsSaturday, October 22

Total of eight teams in which the four winning teams from the Play-Off stage and the four teams participating in the ACL (Kawasaki Frontale, Urawa Reds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Vissel Kobe) play in a home and away tournament. (There is only one match for the finals.)
Fixtures of Prime stage shall be determined following the draws after the Play-Off stage.

<Match format and determination of winners>
● Quarterfinals, semifinals (home and away)The winner in each round is the team with the highest number of wins for two matches.If the number of wins is the same, the ranking is determined based on the following, in order of priority.

(1) Goal difference for two matches
(2) Number of away goals
(3) 30-minute extra time (two halves of 15 minutes each) at the end of the second round
*The away-goals rule is not applied in extra time
(4) Penalty shoot-out
(Five players from each team. If the winner is not decided, the sixth and subsequent players will take turns to kick until the winner is decided.)

● Finals (One match)
In case a 90-minute match (two halves of 45 minutes each) is played and no winner is decided, an extra 30 minutes (two halves of 15 minutes each) is played.If the winner is still not decided, the winner is decided by a penalty shoot-out.(Five players from each team.If the winner is not decided, the sixth and subsequent players will take turns to kick until the winner is decided.)