2016 J1 League

24th season of J1 League

Football league season

Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Season	2016
Champions	Kashima Antlers 8th J.League title 8th Japanese title
Relegated	Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare Avispa Fukuoka
AFC Champions League	Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka
Club World Cup	Kashima Antlers
Matches played	306
Goals scored	805 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Leandro (Vissel Kobe) Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) (19 goals each)
Highest attendance	59,837 Urawa vs Kashima (3 December)
Lowest attendance	5,870 Fukuoka vs Nagoya (2 July)
Average attendance	17,968
← 2015 2017 → All statistics correct as of 3 November 2016.

The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2016 明治安田生命J1リーグ) season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. This was second season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.

For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.

Clubs

‡ Keihanshin teams

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Locations of the 2016 J1 League teams

Club Name	Coach	Home Town(s)	Stadium	Capacity	Note(s)
Albirex Niigata	Tatsuma Yoshida	Niigata City & Seirō, Niigata	Big Swan Stadium	42,300	15th in 2015
Kashima Antlers	Masatada Ishii	Southeast Ibaraki Prefecture^[a]	Kashima Soccer Stadium	40,728	5th in 2015
Omiya Ardija	Hiroki Shibuya	Saitama City, Saitama	NACK5 Stadium	15,500	Promoted from J2 League in 2015
Avispa Fukuoka	Masami Ihara	Fukuoka City, Fukuoka	Level-5 Stadium	22,563	Promoted from J2 League in 2015 (through a play-off system)
Shonan Bellmare	Cho Kwi-jea	Shonan part of Kanagawa^[b]	Shonan Stadium Hiratsuka	18,500	8th in 2015
Yokohama F. Marinos	Erick Mombaerts	Yokohama & Yokosuka, Kanagawa	Nissan Stadium	72,327	7th in 2015
Kawasaki Frontale	Yahiro Kazama	Kawasaki City, Kanagawa	Todoroki Athletics Stadium	26,232	6th in 2015
Gamba Osaka	Kenta Hasegawa	Northern Osaka Prefecture^[c]	Suita City Football Stadium	40,000	2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League third-placed team and Emperor's Cup winners)
Nagoya Grampus	Boško Gjurovski	All Aichi Prefecture^[d]	Mizuho Athletic Stadium	27,000	9th in 2015
Júbilo Iwata	Hiroshi Nanami	Iwata, Shizuoka	Yamaha Stadium	15,165	Promoted from J2 League in 2015
Urawa Red Diamonds	Mihailo Petrović	Saitama City, Saitama	Saitama Stadium	63,700	2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League runners-up)
Kashiwa Reysol	Takahiro Shimotaira	Kashiwa, Chiba	Kashiwa Soccer Stadium	15,900	10th in 2015
Sagan Tosu	Massimo Ficcadenti	Tosu, Saga	Tosu Stadium	24,490	11th in 2015
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Hajime Moriyasu	Hiroshima City, Hiroshima	Hiroshima Big Arch	50,000	2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League winners)
FC Tokyo	Yoshiyuki Shinoda	Tokyo	Ajinomoto Stadium	49,970	2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League fourth-placed team)
Vegalta Sendai	Susumu Watanabe	Sendai, Miyagi	Yurtec Stadium	19,694	14th in 2015
Ventforet Kofu	Satoru Sakuma	All Yamanashi Prefecture^[e]	Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium	17,000	13th in 2015
Vissel Kobe	Nelsinho Baptista	Kobe, Hyōgo	Misaki Park Stadium	30,132	12th in 2015

^ Kashima, Ibaraki, Kamisu, Itako, Hokota, Namegata
^ Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Atsugi, Isehara, Odawara, Chigasaki, Hadano, Fujisawa, Ōiso, Samukawa, Ninomiya
^ Suita, Ibaraki, Takatsuki, Toyonaka, Ikeda, Settsu, Minoh
^ centering on Nagoya, Toyota, Miyoshi
^ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Date of separation	Manner of departure	Incoming manager	Date of announcement
Kashiwa Reysol	Tatsuma Yoshida	End of 2015 season	Mutual consent^[1]	Milton Mendes	30 October 2015
Nagoya Grampus	Akira Nishino		Mutual consent^[2]	Takafumi Ogura	24 November 2015
Albirex Niigata	Masaaki Yanagishita		Mutual consent^[3]	Tatsuma Yoshida	12 December 2015
FC Tokyo	Massimo Ficcadenti	27 November 2015	Signed by Sagan Tosu^[4]	Hiroshi Jofuku	28 December 2015
Sagan Tosu	Hitoshi Morishita	7 January 2016	Contract terminated^[5]	Massimo Ficcadenti^[6]	7 January 2016
Kashiwa Reysol	Milton Mendes	12 March 2016	Resigned^[7]	Takahiro Shimotaira	12 March 2016
FC Tokyo	Hiroshi Jofuku	24 July 2016	Sacked^[8]^[9]	Yoshiyuki Shinoda	26 July 2016
Nagoya Grampus	Takafumi Ogura	23 August 2016	Sacked^[10]	Boško Gjurovski	23 August 2016

Foreign players

Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Asian Player	Non-Visa Foreign	Type-C Contract^[11]	Former Players
Albirex Niigata	Cortês	Léo Silva	Rafael Silva			Leonardo Kalil	Lim You-hwan
Kashima Antlers	Bueno	Fabrício		Hwang Seok-ho			Caio Dinei
Omiya Ardija	Mateus	Dragan Mrđa	Nejc Pecnik
Avispa Fukuoka	Wellington	Danilson	Kim Hyun-hun	Lee Bum-young
Shonan Bellmare	André Bahia	Dinei	Weslley	Tando Velaphi		Park Tae-hwan	Paulinho Thiago Quirino
Yokohama F. Marinos	Fabio	Kayke	Quenten Martinus	Park Jeong-su
Kawasaki Frontale	Eduardo	Eduardo Neto	Elsinho	Jung Sung-ryong
Gamba Osaka	Ademilson	Patric		Oh Jae-suk	Kim Jung-ya
Nagoya Grampus	Ludvig Öhman	Robin Simović	Ha Dae-sung	Lee Seung-hee		Gustavo
Júbilo Iwata	Adaílton	Jay Bothroyd	Krzysztof Kaminski	Avraam Papadopoulos
Urawa Red Diamonds	Branko Ilić	Zlatan Ljubijankić
Kashiwa Reysol	Cristiano	Diego Oliveira				Dudu	Éderson Patrick Juliano Mineiro
Sagan Tosu	Aymen Tahar	Moestafa El Kabir	Kim Min-hyeok	Kim Min-woo			Baek Sung-dong Choi Sung-keun
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Anderson Lopes	Mihael Mikić	Peter Utaka				Kim Byeom-yong
FC Tokyo	Muriqui	Yu In-soo		Nathan Burns			Ha Dae-sung Francisco Sandaza
Ventforet Kofu	Davi	Dudu	Marquinhos Paraná	Billy Celeski			Cristiano Gilton Nilson
Vegalta Sendai	Pablo Diogo	Ramon Lopes	Wilson	Kim Min-tae	Ryang Yong-gi
Vissel Kobe	Leandro	Nílton	Pedro Júnior	Kim Seung-gyu

Format

Teams play a single round-robin in the first stage and a single round-robin in the second stage.^[12] After that an overall table is calculated and a championship stage is played. The winners of the first and second stages and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall rankings advance to the championship stage. The team that finishes atop the overall table automatically qualifies for the final, while the remaining teams play-off for the other spot in the final.

League table

First stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kashima Antlers (Q)	17	12	3	2	29	10	+19	39	Champions League group stage and J.League Championship 1st Round
2	Kawasaki Frontale	17	11	5	1	33	15	+18	38
3	Urawa Red Diamonds	17	10	3	4	26	16	+10	33
4	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	17	8	5	4	32	18	+14	29
5	Omiya Ardija	17	7	5	5	17	18	−1	26
6	Gamba Osaka	17	7	3	7	22	20	+2	24
7	Kashiwa Reysol	17	6	6	5	20	21	−1	24
8	Júbilo Iwata	17	6	5	6	21	23	−2	23
9	FC Tokyo	17	6	5	6	16	18	−2	23
10	Vegalta Sendai	17	7	2	8	20	25	−5	23
11	Yokohama F. Marinos	17	6	4	7	21	19	+2	22
12	Vissel Kobe	17	5	5	7	23	25	−2	20
13	Albirex Niigata	17	4	6	7	19	25	−6	18
14	Nagoya Grampus	17	4	5	8	24	29	−5	17
15	Sagan Tosu	17	4	5	8	10	15	−5	17
16	Shonan Bellmare	17	4	4	9	18	27	−9	16
17	Ventforet Kofu	17	3	6	8	18	31	−13	15
18	Avispa Fukuoka	17	2	5	10	11	25	−14	11

Source: 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE 1st Stage League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Second stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Urawa Red Diamonds (Q)	17	13	2	2	35	12	+23	41	Champions League group stage and J.League Championship Final
2	Vissel Kobe	17	11	2	4	33	18	+15	35
3	Kawasaki Frontale	17	11	1	5	35	24	+11	34
4	Gamba Osaka	17	10	4	3	31	22	+9	34
5	Kashiwa Reysol	17	9	3	5	32	23	+9	30
6	Omiya Ardija	17	8	6	3	24	18	+6	30
7	Yokohama F. Marinos	17	7	8	2	32	19	+13	29
8	Sagan Tosu	17	8	5	4	26	22	+4	29
9	FC Tokyo	17	9	2	6	23	21	+2	29
10	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	17	8	2	7	26	22	+4	26
11	Kashima Antlers	17	6	2	9	24	24	0	20
12	Vegalta Sendai	17	6	2	9	19	23	−4	20
13	Ventforet Kofu	17	4	4	9	14	27	−13	16
14	Júbilo Iwata	17	2	7	8	16	27	−11	13
15	Nagoya Grampus	17	3	4	10	14	29	−15	13
16	Albirex Niigata	17	4	0	13	14	24	−10	12
17	Shonan Bellmare	17	3	2	12	12	29	−17	11
18	Avispa Fukuoka	17	2	2	13	15	41	−26	8

Source: 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE 2nd Stage League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Overall table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Urawa Red Diamonds	34	23	5	6	61	28	+33	74	Champions League group stage and J. League Championship Final
2	Kawasaki Frontale	34	22	6	6	68	39	+29	72	Champions League group stage and J. League Championship 1st Round
3	Kashima Antlers (C)	34	18	5	11	53	34	+19	59	Club World Cup, Champions League group stage and J. League Championship 1st Round
4	Gamba Osaka	34	17	7	10	53	42	+11	58	Champions League play-off round^[a]
5	Omiya Ardija	34	15	11	8	41	36	+5	56
6	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	34	16	7	11	58	40	+18	55
7	Vissel Kobe	34	16	7	11	56	43	+13	55
8	Kashiwa Reysol	34	15	9	10	52	44	+8	54
9	FC Tokyo	34	15	7	12	39	39	0	52
10	Yokohama F. Marinos	34	13	12	9	53	38	+15	51
11	Sagan Tosu	34	12	10	12	36	37	−1	46
12	Vegalta Sendai	34	13	4	17	39	48	−9	43
13	Júbilo Iwata	34	8	12	14	37	50	−13	36
14	Ventforet Kofu	34	7	10	17	32	58	−26	31
15	Albirex Niigata	34	8	6	20	33	49	−16	30
16	Nagoya Grampus (R)	34	7	9	18	38	58	−20	30	Relegation to 2017 J2 League
17	Shonan Bellmare (R)	34	7	6	21	30	56	−26	27
18	Avispa Fukuoka (R)	34	4	7	23	26	66	−40	19

Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ The winner of the 2016 Emperor's Cup qualified for the Group Stage of the 2017 AFC Champions League. Since the Emperor's Cup winner Kashima Antlers had already qualified for the AFC Champions League, the play-off round spot was awarded to the fourth-placed team.

Positions by round

First stage

Source: J. League data site
Notes:

Two games for Matchday 7 (Avispa Fukuoka vs. Nagoya Grampus; Sagan Tosu vs. Vissel Kobe) scheduled on 16 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, and thus postponed and rescheduled on 2 June 2016. Results of these matches were included in Matchday 15 ranking.
Matchday 10 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Participants (FC Tokyo vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima; Gamba Osaka vs. Urawa Red Diamonds), held on 15 June 2016, were included in Matchday 16 ranking.
Matchday 13 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage Participants (Urawa Red Diamonds vs. FC Tokyo), held on 22 June 2016, were included in Matchday 17 ranking.

Second stage

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
Team ╲ Round
Urawa Red Diamonds	7	4	3	3	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
Vissel Kobe	1	5	8	6	9	7	8	7	6	5	4	5	4	2	3	3	2
Kawasaki Frontale	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	3	2	3	2	2	3
Gamba Osaka	5	3	4	4	7	6	4	3	4	4	3	2	3	5	4	4	4
Kashiwa Reysol	8	11	10	8	5	4	6	8	7	6	5	6	5	4	6	7	5
Omiya Ardija	8	7	7	9	10	11	10	11	10	10	9	9	8	7	7	5	6
Yokohama F. Marinos	1	1	1	1	3	5	3	5	5	7	7	4	6	6	5	6	7
Sagan Tosu	6	6	5	5	4	3	5	4	3	3	6	7	7	8	8	8	8
FC Tokyo	10	10	11	12	16	12	11	12	12	11	10	11	11	11	9	9	9
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1	8	9	10	6	8	7	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	11	10	10
Kashima Antlers	14	9	6	7	8	9	12	10	9	9	11	10	9	9	10	11	11
Vegalta Sendai	15	18	17	14	11	10	9	9	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Ventforet Kofu	15	16	15	16	12	13	15	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Júbilo Iwata	15	13	14	13	13	15	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	14
Nagoya Grampus	12	16	18	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	16	17	16	15	14	14	15
Albirex Niigata	12	14	16	18	15	16	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	16
Shonan Bellmare	15	12	13	15	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	17	17
Avispa Fukuoka	11	15	12	11	14	13	14	15	16	16	17	16	17	17	17	18	18

	Leader and qualification to 2016 J.League Championship

Source: J. League data site

Overall

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Team ╲ Round
Urawa Red Diamonds	2	7	2	2	1	3	3	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
Kawasaki Frontale	5	3	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2
Kashima Antlers	5	2	7	3	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Gamba Osaka	13	12	4	7	12	8	8	8	9	11	10	8	6	8	8	6	6	6	5	6	6	7	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	5	4	4
Omiya Ardija	5	1	3	10	10	6	6	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	7	7	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	6	4	5	5
Kashiwa Reysol	10	18	17	17	16	14	9	7	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	5	5	7	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	6	8	8
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	13	16	16	11	7	10	5	4	7	7	6	6	8	6	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	7	8	6	6
Vissel Kobe	18	5	13	6	5	5	7	10	10	8	7	7	10	10	9	10	12	9	10	11	9	11	10	12	11	9	9	9	9	8	8	9	7	7
Yokohama F. Marinos	13	16	11	5	4	4	4	5	8	9	9	10	9	7	7	9	11	8	7	5	5	6	7	6	6	8	8	8	8	9	9	7	9	10
FC Tokyo	13	8	4	9	6	9	11	12	13	13	12	12	12	11	12	11	9	10	9	9	10	13	12	10	12	12	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	9
Sagan Tosu	2	8	11	13	14	16	16	16	14	14	16	16	16	17	15	13	15	13	13	12	13	10	9	11	10	11	10	11	11	11	12	12	11	11
Vegalta Sendai	5	8	4	7	13	15	15	15	16	17	14	14	13	12	10	8	10	12	12	13	12	9	11	9	9	10	12	12	12	12	11	11	12	12
Júbilo Iwata	13	8	9	12	11	7	10	9	6	6	8	9	7	9	11	12	8	11	11	10	11	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Ventforet Kofu	1	6	8	15	15	12	12	13	11	12	13	13	14	14	14	17	17	17	17	17	17	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14
Albirex Niigata	2	13	14	14	9	13	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	15	13	14	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15
Nagoya Grampus	5	4	9	4	8	11	13	11	12	10	11	11	11	13	13	14	14	15	16	16	16	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
Shonan Bellmare	10	14	15	16	17	18	18	18	18	16	17	18	18	16	17	16	16	16	14	14	14	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	17	17	17	17	17
Avispa Fukuoka	10	15	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	18	18	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	18	18	18	18	18

	Leader, qualification to 2016 J.League Championship Final and 2017 AFC Champions League group stage
	Qualification to 2016 J.League Championship 1st Round and 2017 AFC Champions League group stage
	Qualification to 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
	Relegation to 2017 J2 League

Source: J. League data site
Notes:

Two games for Matchday 7 (Avispa Fukuoka vs. Nagoya Grampus; Sagan Tosu vs. Vissel Kobe) scheduled on 16 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, and thus postponed and rescheduled on 2 June 2016. Results of these matches were included in Matchday 15 ranking.
Matchday 10 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Participants (FC Tokyo vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima; Gamba Osaka vs. Urawa Red Diamonds), held on 15 June 2016, were included in Matchday 16 ranking.
Matchday 13 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage Participants (Urawa Red Diamonds vs. FC Tokyo), held on 22 June 2016, were included in Matchday 17 ranking.

Championship stage

Meiji Yasuda 2016 J.League Championship (明治安田生命 2016 Jリーグチャンピオンシップ)
The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table. The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final. The remaining teams playoff for the other spot in the final.

Semifinal			Final

			1	Urawa Red Diamonds	1	1	2
2	Kawasaki Frontale	0	3	Kashima Antlers	0	2	2
3	Kashima Antlers	1

23 November 2016

14:00

Kawasaki Frontale	0–1	Kashima Antlers
	Report	Kanazaki 50'

Todoroki Athletics Stadium, Kawasaki

Attendance: 24,209

Referee: Shinji Murakami

29 November 2016

19:25

Kashima Antlers	0–1	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Report	Abe 57' (pen.)

Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima

Attendance: 23,074

Referee: Masaaki Toma

3 December 2016

19:30

Urawa Red Diamonds	1–2	Kashima Antlers
Koroki 7'	Report	Kanazaki 40', 79' (pen.)

Saitama Stadium 2002, Midori-ku, Saitama

Attendance: 59,837

Referee: Ryuji Sato

Results

First stage

Home \ Away	ALB	ANT	ARD	AVI	BEL	FMA	FRO	GAM	GRA	JÚB	RED	REY	SAG	SFR	TOK	VEG	VEN	VIS
Albirex Niigata			1–0			1–2	0–0	0–0		1–2		2–2	1–0				2–2
Kashima Antlers	2–1			2–0		1–0						0–2	1–0	4–1	2–0		4–0
Omiya Ardija		0–0				1–1				1–1	0–1	2–0		1–5			1–1	2–2
Avispa Fukuoka	0–1		1–2		1–0	1–1	2–2	0–1	0–0					0–4
Shonan Bellmare	1–2	0–3	0–1						2–1	1–0	0–2				0–1	0–1		1–2
Yokohama F. Marinos					0–1		0–2				0–0	3–0	2–1	1–2	0–1	0–1	2–2
Kawasaki Frontale		1–1	2–0		4–4				3–2	1–0	0–1		1–0			1–1		3–1
Gamba Osaka		0–1	2–1		3–3	1–2	0–1		3–3	2–1	1–0	0–1
Nagoya Grampus	2–1	2–3	1–2			3–1						1–1	0–1	1–1		2–1		0–1
Júbilo Iwata		1–1		2–2		1–5			0–1					1–0	0–0	3–0	3–1
Urawa Red Diamonds	0–0	0–2		2–0					4–1	1–2					3–2	3–1	2–1	3–1
Kashiwa Reysol				3–2	1–1		1–3			2–2	1–2				1–0	0–2		2–0
Sagan Tosu			0–1	2–1	0–1			2–1		0–1	0–0	1–1					1–1	0–0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1–0				2–2		0–1	1–3			4–2	0–0	3–0			3–0
FC Tokyo	1–1		0–1	0–1			2–4	1–0	3–2				0–0	1–1				1–0
Vegalta Sendai	4–2	1–0	0–1	2–0				1–3					0–2		1–2		2–1
Ventforet Kofu				1–0	3–1		0–4	0–1	2–2			0–2		0–3	1–1
Vissel Kobe	6–3	1–2		0–0		0–1		2–1		4–1				1–1		2–2	0–2

Updated to match(es) played on 25 June 2016. Source: J. League Data
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second stage

Home \ Away	ALB	ANT	ARD	AVI	BEL	FMA	FRO	GAM	GRA	JÚB	RED	REY	SAG	SFR	TOK	VEG	VEN	VIS
Albirex Niigata		0–2		3–0	0–1				0–1		1–2			0–1	0–1	1–2		1–0
Kashima Antlers			1–3		1–0		0–1	1–3	3–0	3–0	1–2					0–1		0–1
Omiya Ardija	1–2			1–0	3–2		3–2	0–0	1–0				1–1		0–1	2–1
Avispa Fukuoka		1–2								2–3	1–2	0–4	2–3		2–1	1–1	1–2	1–4
Shonan Bellmare				0–2		0–3	2–3	1–2				0–0	0–2	1–2			1–0
Yokohama F. Marinos	3–1	2–2	1–1	3–0				2–2	0–0	1–1								3–2
Kawasaki Frontale	3–2			3–1		3–2		2–3				2–5		2–0	1–0		4–0
Gamba Osaka	3–1			0–0									2–1	1–0	3–3	3–1	2–1	0–1
Nagoya Grampus				5–0	1–3		0–3	1–3		1–1	0–2				1–1		1–3
Júbilo Iwata	1–2		1–1		0–0		1–1	0–2			0–1	1–2	1–1					3–4
Urawa Red Diamonds			2–2		4–1	1–1	1–2	4–0				2–0	2–0	3–0
Kashiwa Reysol	1–0	2–0	1–2			1–2		3–2	3–1				2–3	3–3			1–0
Sagan Tosu	1–0	1–0				2–2	1–0		0–0					2–3	3–2	2–3
Sanfrecce Hiroshima		2–4	0–1	4–1		2–2			2–0	3–0					0–1		0–1	2–0
FC Tokyo		2–1			3–0	1–0				3–2	1–3	0–1				1–0	1–0
Vegalta Sendai					1–0	0–1	0–3		1–2	0–1	0–1	4–2		0–2				3–0
Ventforet Kofu	1–0	3–3	2–2			0–4				0–0	0–2		0–1			1–1		0–3
Vissel Kobe			1–0		2–0		3–0		3–0		2–1	1–1	2–2		4–1

Updated to match(es) played on 3 November 2016. Source: J. League Data
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Leandro	Vissel Kobe	19
1	Peter Utaka	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	19
3	Cristiano	Ventforet Kofu/Kashiwa Reysol	16
4	Yoshito Ōkubo	Kawasaki Frontale	15
4	Yu Kobayashi	Kawasaki Frontale	15
6	Shinzo Koroki	Urawa Red Diamonds	14
6	Jay Bothroyd	Júbilo Iwata	14
8	Yohei Toyoda	Sagan Tosu	13
9	Diego Oliveira	Kashiwa Reysol	12
	Kazuma Watanabe	Vissel Kobe
	Yuki Muto	Urawa Red Diamonds

Updated to games played on 3 November 2016

Source: J. League data site

Awards

Individual

Award	Recipient	Club	Notes
Most Valuable Player	Kengo Nakamura	Kawasaki Frontale
Rookie of the Year	Yosuke Ideguchi	Gamba Osaka

Best Eleven

Position	Footballer	Club	Nationality
GK	Shusaku Nishikawa	Urawa Red Diamonds	Japan
DF	Gen Shoji	Kashima Antlers	Japan
DF	Masato Morishige	FC Tokyo	Japan
DF	Tsukasa Shiotani	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Japan
DF	Tomoaki Makino	Urawa Red Diamonds	Japan
MF	Yuki Abe	Urawa Red Diamonds	Japan
MF	Yōsuke Kashiwagi	Urawa Red Diamonds	Japan
MF	Kengo Nakamura	Kawasaki Frontale	Japan
MF	Manabu Saitō	Yokohama F. Marinos	Japan
FW	Yu Kobayashi	Kawasaki Frontale	Japan
FW	Leandro	Vissel Kobe	Brazil

Source:^[13]

Attendances

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include the Championship stages attendances.

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Urawa Red Diamonds	627,898	56,841	22,766	36,935	+4.0%^†
2	Gamba Osaka	430,806	34,231	13,731	25,342	+58.4%^†
3	FC Tokyo	408,623	37,805	11,488	24,037	−16.5%^†
4	Yokohama F. Marinos	408,072	46,413	7,033	24,004	−0.9%^†
5	Kawasaki Frontale	376,305	26,612	14,432	22,136	+5.4%^†
6	Albirex Niigata	327,923	29,692	14,627	21,181	−9.7%^†
7	Kashima Antlers	360,076	31,636	6,696	19,103	+16.3%^†
8	Nagoya Grampus	301,396	30,282	7,980	17,729	+9.2%^†
9	Vissel Kobe	289,310	25,722	11,212	17,018	+4.6%^†
10	Vegalta Sendai	262,937	19,315	12,504	15,467	+12.2%^†
11	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	262,888	25,845	8,602	15,464	−5.6%^†
12	Júbilo Iwata	248,381	24,896	10,416	14,611	+45.5%^†
13	Avispa Fukuoka	218,576	19,370	5,870	12,857	+47.2%^†
14	Sagan Tosu	214,814	20,219	6,499	12,636	−6.1%^†
15	Omiya Ardija	200,834	13,880	9,480	11,814	+24.5%^†
16	Shonan Bellmare	196,012	14,419	8,052	11,530	−5.6%^†
17	Ventforet Kofu	184,161	15,508	7,011	10,833	−4.1%^†
18	Kashiwa Reysol	182,374	13,977	7,090	10,728	−1.7%^†
	League total	5,498,222	56,841	5,870	17,968	+1.0%^†

Updated to games played on 3 November 2016
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
^† Team played previous season in J2.

References

^ "来季新監督について｜Reysol News". Blog.reysol.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "ニュース｜名古屋グランパス公式サイト". Nagoya-grampus.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "アルビレックス新潟公式サイト – ALBIREX NIIGATA OFFICIAL WEBSITE". Albirex.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "城福浩氏監督就任のお知らせ｜ F.C.TOKYO". Fctokyo.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "チームニュース- NEWS – サガン鳥栖". Sagan-tosu.net. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "チームニュース- NEWS – サガン鳥栖". Sagan-tosu.net. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "監督交代のお知らせ｜Reysol News". Blog.reysol.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ "FC Tokyo dismiss manager Jofuku｜J.League News". Jleague.jp. 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
^ "Tokyo coach Shinoda appointed manager｜J.League News". Jleague.jp. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
^ "小倉隆史GM兼監督休養のお知らせ". Nagoya-grampus.jp (in Japanese). 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
^ "Player registration and contracts". J.League. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-04-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "News".

2016 in Japanese football

« 2015

2017 »

League competitions

Men	J1 League J2 League J3 League Japan Football League Regional Leagues
Women	L.League

Cup competitions

Men	Emperor's Cup (Final) J.League Cup (Final) Super Cup
Women	Empress's Cup (Final) Nadeshiko League Cup (Final)

AFC competitions

Men	AFC Champions League FIFA Club World Cup Suruga Bank Championship

Related to national teams

Men	Summary Qualification for the FIFA World Cup Qualification for the AFC Asian Cup
Women	Summary Olympic qualifying tournament
Youth	Summer Olympics (U-23) qualification and AFC U-23 Championship AFC U-19 Championship and qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup AFC U-16 Championship and qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

Club seasons
J1 League	Vegalta Sendai Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds Omiya Ardija Kashiwa Reysol FC Tokyo Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos Shonan Bellmare Ventforet Kofu Albirex Niigata Júbilo Iwata Nagoya Grampus Gamba Osaka Vissel Kobe Sanfrecce Hiroshima Avispa Fukuoka Sagan Tosu
J2 League	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Montedio Yamagata Mito HollyHock Thespakusatsu Gunma JEF United Chiba Tokyo Verdy FC Machida Zelvia Yokohama FC Matsumoto Yamaga FC Zweigen Kanazawa Shimizu S-Pulse FC Gifu Kyoto Sanga FC Cerezo Osaka Fagiano Okayama Renofa Yamaguchi FC Kamatamare Sanuki Tokushima Vortis Ehime FC Giravanz Kitakyushu V-Varen Nagasaki Roasso Kumamoto
J3 League	Grulla Morioka Blaublitz Akita Fukushima United FC Tochigi SC YSCC Yokohama SC Sagamihara AC Nagano Parceiro Kataller Toyama Fujieda MYFC Gainare Tottori Oita Trinita Kagoshima United FC FC Ryukyu FC Tokyo U-23 Gamba Osaka U-23 Cerezo Osaka U-23

Winter transfers
Summer transfers

J.League

Champions (J1 League · J2 League · J3 League) · Records and statistics · Historical goals

Seasons

J1 League seasons (1993–present)	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
J2 League seasons (1999–present)	1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
J3 League seasons (2014–present)	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Clubs

J1 League	Albirex Niigata Avispa Fukuoka Cerezo Osaka Gamba Osaka Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Júbilo Iwata Kashima Antlers Kashiwa Reysol Kawasaki Frontale Kyoto Sanga FC FC Machida Zelvia Nagoya Grampus Sagan Tosu Sanfrecce Hiroshima Shonan Bellmare FC Tokyo Tokyo Verdy Urawa Red Diamonds Vissel Kobe Yokohama F. Marinos
J2 League	Blaublitz Akita Ehime FC Fagiano Okayama Fujieda MYFC Iwaki FC JEF United Chiba Kagoshima United FC Mito HollyHock Montedio Yamagata Oita Trinita Renofa Yamaguchi FC Roasso Kumamoto Shimizu S-Pulse Thespa Gunma Tochigi SC Tokushima Vortis V-Varen Nagasaki Vegalta Sendai Ventforet Kofu Yokohama FC
J3 League	AC Nagano Parceiro Azul Claro Numazu Fukushima United FC Gainare Tottori FC Gifu Giravanz Kitakyushu FC Imabari Iwate Grulla Morioka Kamatamare Sanuki Kataller Toyama Matsumoto Yamaga FC Nara Club Omiya Ardija FC Osaka FC Ryukyu SC Sagamihara Tegevajaro Miyazaki Vanraure Hachinohe YSCC Yokohama Zweigen Kanazawa
Former	Yokohama Flügels J.League U-22 Selection FC Tokyo U-23 Gamba Osaka U-23 Cerezo Osaka U-23

Players

Managers

J.League managers
- current

Referees

J.League referees

Awards (Monthly MVP · MVP Award · Best XI · Top Scorer · Rookie of the Year · Manager of the Year)

Japanese club football

First-tier club football seasons, 1965–present
Japan Soccer League 1965–1992 Japan Soccer League Division 1 since 1972	1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
J.League 1993–present J.League Division 1/J1 League since 1999	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
List of champions J.League Championship Promotion / Relegation series Super Cup

Second-tier club football seasons, 1972–present
Japan Soccer League Division 2 1972–1992	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
(former) Japan Football League 1992–1998 (former) Japan Football League Division 1 1992–1993	1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
J2 League 1999–present	1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
List of champions Promotion / Relegation series

Third-tier club football seasons, 1992–93, 1999–present
(former) Japan Football League Division 2 1992–93	1992 1993
No national third tier, 1994–1998
Japan Football League 1999–2013	1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
J3 League 2014–present	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
List of champions

Fourth-tier club football seasons, 2014–present
Japan Football League 2014–present	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Regional level club football seasons, 1966–present
Japanese Regional Leagues 1966–present	1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Regional Champions League Shakaijin Cup

Emperor's Cup seasons, 1921–present

Emperor's Cup
1921–present

Super Cup

League Cup seasons, 1976–present
JSL Cup 1976–1991	1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
J.League Cup 1992–present	1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Suruga Bank Championship

Football clubs in Japan, 2024
J1 League	Albirex Niigata Avispa Fukuoka Cerezo Osaka Gamba Osaka Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Júbilo Iwata Kashima Antlers Kashiwa Reysol Kawasaki Frontale Kyoto Sanga FC FC Machida Zelvia Nagoya Grampus Sagan Tosu Sanfrecce Hiroshima Shonan Bellmare FC Tokyo Tokyo Verdy Urawa Red Diamonds Vissel Kobe Yokohama F. Marinos
J2 League	Blaublitz Akita Ehime FC Fagiano Okayama Fujieda MYFC Iwaki FC JEF United Chiba Kagoshima United FC Mito HollyHock Montedio Yamagata Oita Trinita Renofa Yamaguchi FC Roasso Kumamoto Shimizu S-Pulse Thespakusatsu Gunma Tochigi SC Tokushima Vortis V-Varen Nagasaki Vegalta Sendai Ventforet Kofu Yokohama FC
J3 League	AC Nagano Parceiro Azul Claro Numazu FC Gifu FC Imabari Fukushima United FC Gainare Tottori Giravanz Kitakyushu Iwate Grulla Morioka Kamatamare Sanuki Kataller Toyama Matsumoto Yamaga FC Nara Club Omiya Ardija FC Osaka FC Ryukyu SC Sagamihara Tegevajaro Miyazaki Vanraure Hachinohe YSCC Yokohama Zweigen Kanazawa
100 Year Plan clubs	Criacao Shinjuku Nankatsu SC Reilac Shiga Tokyo 23 Vonds Ichihara
Japan Football League	Briobecca Urayasu Criacao Shinjuku Honda FC Kochi United Maruyasu Okazaki Minebea Mitsumi Okinawa SV Reilac Shiga ReinMeer Aomori Sony Sendai FC Tiamo Hirakata Tochigi City Tokyo Musashino United Suzuka Point Getters Veertien Mie Verspah Oita
Defunct clubs (clubs belonging to nationwide leagues only)	Fukushima FC Arte Takasaki JEF Reserves Sagawa Express Tokyo NKK SC Yokohama Flügels ALO's Hokuriku Jatco SC Hagoromo Club Toyota Higashi-Fuji Seino Transportation Cosmo Oil Yokkaichi Sagawa Shiga NTT Kinki/Kansai SP Kyoto Tanabe Pharmaceutical Dainichi Cable Industries Sagawa Express Osaka Eidai SC Teijin SC Nippon Steel Yawata Tosu Futures Profesor Miyazaki J.League U-22 Selection FC Tokyo U-23 Cerezo Osaka U-23 Gamba Osaka U-23 Kagura Shimane

v t e 2016 in Asian football (AFC)
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Domestic cups	Australia Bahrain '15–'16 '16–'17 Bangladesh Independence Cup Federation Cup Brunei Cambodia China East Timor Guam Hong Kong '15–'16 '16–'17 India Iran '15–'16 '16–'17 Iraq '15–'16 '16–'17 Japan '15 (final) '16 Jordan '15–'16 '16–'17 Korea DPR Hwaebul Cup Man'gyŏngdae Prize Osandŏk Prize Paektusan Prize Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize Korea Republic Kuwait '15–'16 '16–'17 Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon '15–'16 '16–'17 Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman '15–'16 '16–'17 Pakistan Palestine '15–'16 '16–'17 Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka '15–'16 '16–'17 Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan UAE '15–'16 '16–'17 Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
League cups	Bahrain '15–'16 '16–'17 Hong Kong Shield '15–'16 '16–'17 League Cup '15–'16 '16–'17 India Shield Durand Cup Japan Jordan Kuwait KF Cup '15–'16 CP Cup '15–'16 '16–'17 Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Oman '15–'16 '16–'17 Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia '15–'16 '16–'17 Singapore Thailand UAE '15–'16 '16–'17 Uzbekistan
Super Cups	Bahrain East Timor China Iran Iraq Japan Jordan Lebanon Kuwait Malaysia Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Tajikistan Thailand UAE Uzbekistan Vietnam
Regional club competitions	~~2016 GCC Club Cup~~ 2016 Mekong Club Championship 2017 Arab Club Championship
AFC club competitions	AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off Group stage Knockout stage Final AFC Cup Qualifying play-off Group stage Knockout stage Final 2017 AFC Cup qualifying round
National team competitions	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 AFC U-23 Championship 2016 AFC U-19 Championship 2016 AFC U-16 Championship 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification 2016 AFF Championship 2016 King's Cup 2016 Kirin Cup 2016 AYA Bank Cup