The F. League (in Japanese: F・リーグ, officially ''日本フットサルリーグ'', ''Nihon Futtosaru Rīgu'') is the top league for
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
in Japan. The winning team obtains the participation right to the
AFC Futsal Club Championship.
History
The league was formed in 2007 as a complement for the elimination tournament, (the current ''Puma Cup'') which groups regional futsal champions into a final elimination phase.
The league operates on the
sports franchise system, with no
promotion or relegation of clubs. The clubs are thus expansion teams. In 2009 the number of clubs was increased from 8 to 10 with the addition of Fuchu Athletic and Espolada Hokkaido.
In F. League play, the clubs battle each other three times: once at home, once away and once in a neutral venue (generally
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its Suspended structure, suspension roof design.
The arena holds 13,291 people (9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena sea ...
in Tokyo). The season runs from August to February.
An elimination league cup, the ''Ocean Cup'' is played every season by the 12 F.League teams.
2022–23 season
Participating clubs
Division 1
Division 2
Withdrawing clubs
Statistics
Champions
Most Valuable Player (MVP)
See also
*
Sport in Japan
**Futsal in Japan
*
Japan Football Association (JFA)
*
Futsal Championship (Futsal National Open Cup)
*
F.League Ocean Cup (Futsal League Cup)
*Women's F.League (Women's Futsal League)
;Futsal national teams
;Men's
*
Japan national futsal team
*
Japan national under-20 futsal team
;Women's
*
Japan women's national futsal team
References
External links
Official website
Futsal competitions in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
Sports leagues established in 2007
2007 establishments in Japan
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
Sports leagues in Japan
Professional sports leagues in Japan
{{Japan-sport-stub