was the original league cup for clubs in the Japan Soccer League, the top level of Japanese football before the creation of the J. League and its cup. The cup was first played in 1973, but only become an annual tournament in 1976.
The JSL Cup included clubs from both the First Division and the Second Division. The format varied; sometimes the clubs played small group stages, other times it was an outright elimination, including only the clubs that were not recent promotions to the Second Division. During the season timeframe change of 1985, the cup was played within the year, a rule that stayed until the advent of the J. League.
Winners YearWinnerScoreRunner-upVenue1973 Towa Real Estate (shared)1–1Yanmar Diesel (shared)Nishigaoka National Stadium, Tokyo1976 Hitachi1–0 EidaiNational Olympic Stadium, Tokyo1977Furukawa Electric 4–0 Yanmar DieselNational Olympic Stadium, Tokyo1978 Mitsubishi Motors 2–1 Fujita IndustriesKanko Stadium, Okayama1979Yomiuri 3–2 Furukawa ElectricNagai Stadium, Osaka1980Nippon Kokan 3–1 HitachiNagai Stadium, Osaka1981 Mitsubishi Motors (shared) 4–4 Toshiba (shared)Utsunomiya Soccer Field, Utsunomiya1982 Furukawa Electric 3–2 Yanmar DieselShizuoka Athletic Stadium, Shizuoka1983Yanmar Diesel 1–0Nissan MotorsKofu Midorigaoka Stadium, Kofu1984 Yanmar Diesel3–0ToshibaKomazawa Stadium, Tokyo1985Yomiuri 2–0 Nissan MotorsToyohashi Soccer Stadium, Toyohashi1986Furukawa Electric 4–0 Nissan MotorsMizuho Athletic Stadium, Nagoya1987Nippon Kokan 3–0 Sumitomo MetalMizuho Athletic Stadium, Nagoya1988Nissan Motors 3–0 ToshibaYokkaichi Stadium, Yokkaichi1989Nissan Motors1–0 Yamaha MotorsToyohashi Soccer Stadium, Toyohashi1990 Nissan Motors3–1 Furukawa ElectricMizuho Athletic Stadium, Nagoya1991Yomiuri 4–3Honda MotorsMizuho Athletic Stadium, Nagoya
Performances by team Teams are named using current nomenclature, or last one if they are defunct (denoted in italics). ClubWinnersRunners-up Winning seasons Runners-up seasonsYokohama F. Marinos331988, 1989, 19901983, 1985, 1986JEF United Chiba321977, 1982, 19861979, 1990Cerezo Osaka321973 (shared), 1983, 19841977, 1982Tokyo Verdy301979, 1985, 1991Urawa Red Diamonds201978, 1981 (shared)NKK SC201980, 1987Shonan Bellmare111973 (shared)1978Kashiwa Reysol1119761980Consadole Sapporo111981 (shared)1988Eidai SC011976Kashima Antlers011987Júbilo Iwata011989Honda FC011991
Sources Contents of Domestic Competition of Football in Japan Japan – List of League Cup Winners, RSSSF.com