Club License

Purpose of the Club Licensing System

The objectives of the introduction of the club licensing system can be broadly summed up as “the sustained improvement in the standards of football in terms of competition and facilities” and “the stabilisation of the management of clubs and the improvement of their financial capacity and credibility”.

The J.LEAGUE Club Licensing System has “J1 Club License” allows clubs to participate in the J1, J2, and J3 leagues, “J2 Club License” allows clubs to participate in the J2 and J3 leagues, and “J3 Club License” allows clubs to participate in J3 only.

2024 Season Club License

The results of the 2024 season Club License inspection are follows.

Club License	Number	Club
Ｊ１	49	Sapporo・Iwate・Sendai・Akita・Yamagata・ Iwaki・Kashima・Mito・Tochigi・Gunma・Urawa ・Omiya・Chiba・Kashiwa・FC TOKYO・Tokyo-V・FC Machida・Kawasaki-F・Yokohama F･M・ Yokohama FC・Shonan・Kofu・Matsumoto・Niigata・Toyama・Kanazawa・Shimizu・Iwata・Fujieda・Nagoya・FC Gifu・Kyoto・G-Osaka・C-Osaka・Kobe・Okayama・Hiroshima・Yamaguchi・Sanuki・Tokushima・Ehime FC・Fukuoka・Kitakyushu・Tosu・Nagasaki・Kumamoto・Oita・Kagoshima・RYUKYU
Ｊ２	10	Hachinohe・Fukushima・YSCC Yokohama・Sagamihara・Numazu・Nagano・Nara・Tottori・Imabari・Miyazaki
Ｊ３	1（5）	FC Osaka（*Rein Meer Aomori FC、*Criacao、Shinjuku、*Veertine MIE、*Reilac Shiga FC、*Verspah OITA）

• ※Clubs aiming to join J3

Changes of Club License Issue flow from 2025

In order to ensure efficient operation of the club licensing system, J.LEAGUE has decided to make the following changes starting with the Club Licensing decisions for the 2025 season.

＊Licensing body

“J2 Club License” shall be determined by Club Licensing First Instance Body(FIB).

Club License	Licensing body
	~2024 Season	2025 Season~
J1 Club License	Club Licensing First Instance Body：FIB	Club Licensing First Instance Body：FIB
J2 Club License	J.LEAGUE Board of directors	Club Licensing First Instance Body：FIB
J3 Club License	J.LEAGUE Board of directors	J.LEAGUE Board of directors

＊Schedule

J1, J2, J3 Club License to be made in September.

J.Club’s Income and Expenditure Trends

Total revenue for J.Clubs in FY2022 was 137.5 billion yen (58 clubs), an 11% growth rate over the 124 billion yen (57 clubs) in FY 2021. Average revenue for J1 clubs recovered to 4.8 billion yen (up from 4.2 billion yen in FY 2021), with the number of clubs exceeding 5 billion yen returning to pre-pandemic levels. With the easing of even restrictions following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, ticket revenue in the 2022 season recovered to 17.4 billion yen, 81% of the pre-pandemic (FY 2019) level, for 49% growth. Sponsorship revenue and retail revenue exceeded pre-pandemic figures.
This trend looks set to continue in FY 2023, with ticket revenue forecast to recover to pre-pandemic levels at 21.6 billion yen (24% growth). Sponsorship and retail revenues are expected to continue growing steadily, with total revenue to reach 141.7 billion yen.

Graphs I：J1, J2, and J3 club results

Graphs Ⅱ：J1, J2, and J3 club results

※The 2023 season figures in Graphs I and II are J.LEAGUE’s projections based on forecasts of J1, J2, and J3 club results. They may be subject to revision depending on future circumstances.