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 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, which groups regional futsal champions into a final elimination phase.
The league operates on a closed league model combined with promotion and relegation system that are only done within the league. The clubs are thus expansion teams. Fuchu Athletic F.C. and Espolada Hokkaido became the first expansion teams in 2009, which increased the number of clubs from 8 to 10. , the league consists of 21 teams divided by two divisions based on the performance of the teams – 12 in Division 1 and 9 in Division 2.
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 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 Team City/Area Ground Founded Bardral Urayasu Urayasu, Chiba Urayasu General Gymnasium1998 Boaluz Nagano Nagano, Nagano White Ring2018 Borkbullet Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium2018 Espolada Hokkaido Sapporo, Hokkaido Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center2008 Fugador Sumida Sumida, Tokyo Sumida City Gymnasium2001 Nagoya Oceans Nagoya, Aichi Takeda Teva Ocean Arena2006 Pescadola Machida Machida, Tokyo Machida Municipal General Gymnasium1999 Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Odawara Arena2007 Shriker Osaka Osaka, Osaka Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium2002 Tachikawa Athletic Fuchū, Tokyo Fuchu Sports Center2000 Vasagey Oita Oita, Oita Oozu Sports Park2003 YSCC Yokohama Yokohama, Kanagawa Yokohama City Hiranuma Memorial Gymnasium2018
Division 2 Team City/Area Ground Founded Agleymina Hamamatsu Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Hamamatsu Arena1996 Deução Kobe Kobe, Hyogo Kobe Green Arena2007 Hiroshima F DO Hiroshima, Hiroshima Hiroshima City Asakita-ku Sports Center2018 Ligarevia Katsushika Katsushika, Tokyo Katsushika Ward Mizumoto Comprehensive Sports Center Gymnasium2022 Malva Mito Mito, Ibaraki Adastria Mito Arena1996 Porseid Hamada Hamada, Shimane Shimane Prefectural Gymnasium2018 Shinagawa City Futsal Club Shinagawa, Tokyo Shinagawa Municipal General Gymnasium2018 Vincedor Hakusan Hakusan, Ishikawa Matto General Sports Park Gymnasium2018 Voscuore Sendai Sendai, Miyagi Sendai Gymnasium2012
Withdrawing clubs Team City/Area Ground Founded Withdraw F.League selection Nagoya, Aichi Takeda Teva Ocean Arena20182019–20 Stellamigo Iwate Hanamaki Hanamaki, Iwate Hanamaki Gymnasium Center20072011–12
Statistics Champions SeasonsWinnerRunner-upThird place2007–08Nagoya OceansBardral UrayasuDeução Kobe2008–09Nagoya OceansBardral UrayasuDeução Kobe2009–10Nagoya OceansPescadola MachidaShriker Osaka2010–11Nagoya OceansDeução KobeVasagey Oita2011–12Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaDeução Kobe2012–13Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaFuchu Athletic2013–14Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaVasagey Oita2014–15Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaBardral Urayasu2015–16Nagoya OceansFuchu AthleticShriker Osaka2016–17Shriker OsakaPescadola MachidaNagoya Oceans2017–18Nagoya OceansPescadola MachidaShonan Bellmare2018–19Nagoya OceansShriker OsakaTachikawa Fuchu Athletic2019–20Nagoya OceansVasagey OitaPescadola Machida2020–21Nagoya OceansVasagey OitaPescadola Machida2021–22Nagoya OceansShonan BellmarePescadola Machida2022–23Nagoya OceansTachikawa AthleticBardral Urayasu2023–24Nagoya OceansPescadola MachidaShriker Osaka2024–25Bardral UrayasuShinagawa CityNagoya Oceans2025–26Nagoya OceansShinagawa CityPescadola Machida
Most Valuable Player (MVP) Seasons Player2007–08 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)2008–09 Wataru Kitahara (Nagoya Oceans)2009–10 Higor Pires (Shriker Osaka)2010–11 Ricardinho (Nagoya Oceans)2011–12 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)2012–13 Ricardinho (Nagoya Oceans)2013–14 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)2014–15 Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans)2015–16 Vinicius Crepaldi (Shriker Osaka)2016–17 Nobuya Osodo (Shriker Osaka)2017–18 Rafa Santos (Nagoya Oceans)2018–19 Tomoki Yoshikawa (Nagoya Oceans)2019–20 Pepita (Nagoya Oceans)2020–21 Pepita (Nagoya Oceans)2021–22 Rodrigo (Shonan Bellmare)2022–23 Andresito (Nagoya Oceans)2023–24 Giovanni (Pescadola Machida)2024–25 Higor Pires (Bardral Urayasu)2025–26 Kazuya Shimizu (Nagoya Oceans)
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