2022.12.20

2023 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE - League and Match Formats

The J.League announces that the league and match formats for the 2023 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE have been decided as follows.

League	Schedule and No. of matches	Competition format	Match format
MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE (22 teams)	Saturday, February 18※ - Sunday, November 12 [42sectors/462matches]	Home and away double round-robin tournament	<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 annual standing> Ranking is determined by the total number of points at the end of the league, and 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 factors, in order of priority.   [1] Goal difference [2] Number of goals scored [3] Head-to-head results (A: Points, B: Goal difference, C: Number of goals scored) [4] Disciplinary points [5] Draw *A draw is conducted only when deemed necessary by the Board of Directors, for example, to determine the team to be relegated.

 

 

※ This schedule is current as of December 20, 2022 and may be subject to change.

[Promotion/Relegation between J1 and J2]
(1) The J1 club ranked lowest in the annual standings is relegated to J2, and the two J2 clubs ranked top in the annual standings and the winner of the J1 Promotion Play-Offs which takes place between the clubs ranked 3rd to 6th in the J2 annual standings will be promoted to J1.

(2) If a club ranked 1st or 2nd in the J2 annual standings does not have a J1 club license, the following rules are applied:
① The J2 club in question cannot be promoted to J1 and the J1 club ranked lowest in the annual standings is not relegated to J2.
② If one of the two J2 clubs ranked top in the annual standings have a J1 club license, the applicable J2 club and winning club of J1 Promotion Play-Offs will be promoted to J1.
③ If neither of the two J2 clubs ranked top in the annual standings has a J1 club license, two J2 clubs from J1 Promotion Play-Offs are promoted to J1.

(3) If a club from among the clubs ranked 3rd to 6th in the J2 annual standings does not have a J1 club license, the following rules are applied:
① The J2 club in question cannot participate in the J1 Promotion Play-Offs.
② The clubs ranked 7th and below in the J2 annual standings cannot be moved up to participate in the J1 Promotion Play-Offs.

[Promotion/Relegation between J2 and J3]
(1) The two J2 clubs ranked lowest in the annual standings are relegated to J3, and the two J3 clubs ranked top in the annual standings are promoted to J2.
(2) If the two J3 clubs ranked top in the annual standings do not have a J2 club license, the J3 clubs in question cannot be promoted to J2. In this case, the J3 clubs ranked 3rd and below in the annual standings are not promoted to J2.
(3) If only one of the two J3 clubs ranked top in the annual standings does not have a J2 club license, only the J2 club ranked the lowest in the annual standings is relegated to J3.
(4) If neither of the two J3 clubs ranked top in the annual standings has a J2 club license, promotion and relegation between J2 and J3 will not take place.