In 1992, the 27-year-old Japan Soccer League (JSL) was discontinued. It
consisted of 12 company-owned amateur football teams.
In May 1993, the league was reestablished as the J. League (Japan
Football League), which has developed into a 12-club professional soccer
league, Japan's first.
Each year, the teams compete for the J. League Cup, the league
championship trophy. Each team has a couple of foreign players, usually
South American, and usually from Brazil.
Fans are so rabid about soccer that Japan and Korea will cohost the
World Cup of 2002 (official web page:
http://plaza4.mbn.or.jp/~carver/JAWOC/index_e.htm).
Some sports writers even predict that soccer will surpass baseball as
Japan's favorite sport.
The Grampus Eight, nicknamed the Noble Barbarians, succeeds the
Toyota Motor Corp. soccer club.
| Team | City (Prefecture) | Sponsor |
| Bellmare Hiratsuka | Hiratsuka (Kanagawa) | |
| Gamba Osaka | Suita (Osaka) | Panasonic (Matsushita) |
| Jef United Ichihara | Ichihara (Chiba) | JR East & Furukawa |
| Jubilo Iwata | Iwata (Shizuoka) | |
| Kashima Antlers | Kashima (Ibaraki) | |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Nagoya (Aichi) | Toyota |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima (Hiroshima) | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shimizu (Shizuoka) | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds (aka Urawa Reds) | Urawa (Saitama) | Mitsubishi |
| Verdy Kawasaki | Kawasaki (Kanagawa) | Yomiuri |
| Yokohama Flugels | Yokohama (Kanagawa) | ANA & Sato Kogyo |
| Yokohama Marinos | Yokohama (Kanagawa) | Nissan |
| Bellmare Hiratsuka | 0463-22-7391 |
| Gamba Osaka | 06-768-7171 |
| Jef United Ichihara | 03-3545-4623 |
| Jubilo Iwata | 0538-36-2000 |
| Kashima Antlers | 0299-84-6800 |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 052-242-9190 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 082-247-3255 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 054-265-0505 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 048-832-3240 |
| Verdy Kawasaki | 03-3408-7214 |
| Yokohama Flugels | 03-5800-8282 |
| Yokohama Marinos | 045-434-2351 |
There are two FIFA-sponsored championships today in which the world's top football teams are determined. One is the World Cup, which decides the best national team. The other is the European-South American Cup (aka Europe-South America Cup Football Championship), an annual competition that claims to decide the world's best club team. In 1980, the European and South American federations, UEFA and CONMEBOL, agreed to play the championship game on neutral ground in Tokyo. The winning side is awarded the European-South American Cup. This game is held in December at National Stadium, the main stadium of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. National Stadium (Kokuritsu Kyogijo) 10, Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160, 03-3403-1151 (phone)
Football Association of Japan (Nihon Sakka Kyokai), Kishi Memorial Gymnasium, 1-1-1, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, 03-3481-2311 (phone), 03-3481-0976 (fax)
Inter-College Soccer Championships (top college soccer teams compete for
the Emperor's Cup)
All-Japan High School Soccer Tournament
All-Japan Boys Soccer Tournament
| F.C. | Football club |
| Kokuritsu Kyogijo | National Stadium |
| OB | Out of bounds |
| PK | Penalty kick |
| sadondesu | Sudden death |
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