2013 Japan Football League
The 2013 Japan Football League (JFL) season was the 17th season of Japan’s third tier and the 15th since the JFL was established. The season ran from March 10 to November 24, 2013. After Arte Takasaki withdrew the previous year, the league had 17 clubs, but in 2013 it returned to 18 teams with the additions of SC Sagamihara and Fukushima United, following Sagawa Shiga ceasing operations.
Champions and promotions
- Nagano Parceiro won the league title (their first JFL championship and first step toward the J.League system’s higher divisions).
- Automatic promotion to J2 went to V-Varen Nagasaki (the season’s JFL champions and J.League associate members).
- The promotion playoff produced Kamatamare Sanuki, who also moved up to J2.
- Gainare Tottori were relegated to the newly created J3 League after losing the playoff to Sanuki.
- Tochigi Uva avoided relegation by defeating Norbritz Hokkaido 4–1 on penalties in the playoff to stay in the JFL.
League changes and J.League associate membership
- The J.League continued expanding associate membership. Blaublitz Akita and Zweigen Kanazawa were granted associate status in February; YSCC Yokohama in August; and Fukushima United, FC Ryukyu, and Fujieda MYFC in September, bringing the total number of associate members to a point where several clubs could be considered for promotion paths.
Season outcomes and contraction for 2014
- After the season, the JFL announced a contraction to 14 teams for 2014 due to many clubs moving to J3. The league also incorporated regional league promotion winners and accepting other regional clubs for 2014.
- The top regional league teams were Grulla Morioka, Fagiano Okayama Next, FC Kagoshima, and Volca Kagoshima. Morioka was chosen to participate in the 2014 J3 season, and the Kagoshima clubs announced plans to merge into Kagoshima United.
- The final promoted teams were announced on December 4, 2013 (details of all promoted teams were published by the league).
Season statistics
- Matches: 306
- Goals: 784 (about 2.56 per match)
- Top scorer: Yuji Unozawa (20 goals)
- Highest attendance: 10,116 (F.C. Ryukyu vs Uva)
- Lowest attendance: 103 (Printing vs Uva)
- Average attendance: 1,322
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:51 (CET).