Source: Jiji Press
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the J.League. It was established in 1993 with the aim of raising the level of domestic football and enhancing the popularity of the sport with the aim of improving Japan’s chances in the World Cup tournament. In this article we take a look at the development of the Japan Professional Soccer League after three decades.
The JLeague is the highest level professional league in Japan, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of its inception. From its shy start in 1993 with just ten clubs, the league has grown into a fully integrated three-tier system – J1, J2 and J3 – with 60 clubs in all. As a result, Japanese football has made great progress over the past three decades, and today the J-League is considered one of the best professional leagues in the Asian continent.
This was confirmed on the 6th of last May when Urawa Red Diamonds won the AFC Champions League title for the third time, after defeating the powerful Saudi club Al-Hilal, which has four titles, 2-1 on aggregate. This was the ninth time that Al-Hilal club reached the final match in the continental club competition and the third time in the last five years. Japanese clubs also showed a strong presence in the finals. Since 2017, Urawa Red have reached the final three times and Kashima Antlers once.
The victory of Urawa Club added to Japan a total of eight titles dating back to the previous Asian Club Championship of the AFC Champions League, and it is second behind South Korea, which won the title 12 times, and two behind Saudi Arabia, which won the title 6 times.