The 2015
Meiji Yasuda J3 League
or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan under the organization of J.League. The league is known as the for sponsorship reasons.
The third-tier nation ...
(2015 明治安田生命J3リーグ) was the 19th season of the third tier in Japanese
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, and the 2nd season of the professional J3 League.
Clubs
To participate, a club must have held an
associate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2014, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation license issued by J.League Council. J.League has confirmed the following clubs participating in the 2015 J3 season:
Competition rules
The league is played in three rounds, each team playing a total of 36 matches.
J.League U-22 Selection played all their matches on the road.
Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Two foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from the
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
partner country of J. League. The matchday roster will consist of 16 players, and up to 5
substitutes will be allowed in a game.
Promotion and relegation
Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of
Japan Football League
The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...
in the recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The U-22 team is not eligible for promotion regardless of their final position. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange with 22nd-placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with 21st J2 club. If either or both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, the playoffs and/or direct exchange will not be held in accordance to the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs.
No relegation to
JFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by J. League for J3 participation and finish in top 4 of JFL.
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managerial changes
Foreign players
Note:
A special team, composed of best J1 and J2 youngsters to prepare them for the
2016 Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
League table
Results
Rounds 1–13
Rounds 14–26
Rounds 27–39
Promotion/relegation playoffs
2015 J2/J3 Play-Offs (2015 J2・J3入れ替え戦)
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Machida Zelvia was promoted to J2 League.
Oita Trinita was relegated to J3 League.
Top scorers
Updated to games played on 23 November 2015
Source
Meiji Yasuda J3 League Stats & Data - Ranking:Goals
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Attendances
References
{{2015 in Japanese football
J3 League seasons
3