Japan Soccer League (JSL)

Founded	1965
Folded	1992
Country	Japan
Confederation	AFC
Divisions	1 (1965–1971) 2 (1972–1992)
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1 (1965–1971) 1–2 (1972–1992)
Relegation to	Regional Leagues
Domestic cup(s)	Emperor's Cup JSL Cup
International cup(s)	Asian Club Championship Asian Cup Winners' Cup
Last champions	Yomiuri (1991–92)
Most championships	Mazda Yomiuri (5 titles each)

Japan Soccer League (日本サッカーリーグ, Nihon Sakkā Rīgu); JSL) was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936. JSL was the first-ever national league of an amateur team sport in Japan.

History

Each JSL team represented a corporation, and like Japanese baseball teams, went by the name of the company that owned the team. Unlike in baseball, however, promotion and relegation was followed, as J.League follows today. The players were officially amateur and were employees of the parent corporations, but especially in later years, top players were generally paid strictly to play soccer.

Originally the JSL consisted of a single division only, but in 1972 a Second Division was added. Clubs could join in by winning the All Japan Senior Football Championship cup competition and then winning a promotion/relegation series against the bottom teams in the JSL. From 1973 to 1980, both the champions and runners-up of the Second Division had to play the promotion/relegation series against the First Division's bottom clubs; afterwards and until 1984, only the runners-up had to play the series.

Top JSL teams included Hitachi Ltd., Furukawa Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nissan Motors, Toyo Industries (Mazda) and Yomiuri Shimbun, which are now, respectively, Kashiwa Reysol, JEF United Chiba, Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Tokyo Verdy. Furukawa/JEF United was the only one never to be relegated to the Second Division and kept this distinction until 2009.

JSL played its final season in 1991/92 and the J.League began play in 1993. Top nine JSL clubs, (along with the independent Shimizu S-Pulse) became the original J.League members. The others except Yomiuri Junior who merged with their parent club Yomiuri Club joined the newly formed Japan Football League.

Champions

Division 1

All clubs are listed under the names they were using in 1991–92, when the league ceased to exist. Clubs in italic no longer exist.

Division 2

All clubs are listed under the names they were using in 1991–92, when the league ceased to exist. Clubs in italic no longer exist.

League Cup

See JSL Cup.

Konica Cup

See Konica Cup (football).

All-time JSL member clubs

Current J.League identity and/or standing in the Japanese football league system follows each name.

Original clubs

• Furukawa Electric (1965–1992), became JEF United Chiba
• Hitachi SC (1965–1992), became Kashiwa Reysol
• Mitsubishi Motors (1965–1992), became Urawa Red Diamonds
• Toyota Industries (1965–1968, 1972–1973), became Toyota Industries SC
• Nagoya Mutual Bank (1965–1966, 1968–1971), became Nagoya WEST FC
• Yanmar Diesel (1965–1992), became Cerezo Osaka
• Toyo Industries / Mazda (1965–1992), became Sanfrecce Hiroshima
• Yawata Steel / Nippon Steel (1965–1991), became Nippon Steel Yawata SC, defunct

Other First Division Clubs

In order of their promotion to the top-flight:

• Nippon Kokan (Nippon Steel Piping) / NKK SC (1967–1992), defunct
• Towa Real Estate / Fujita Industry / Fujita (1972–1992), became Shonan Bellmare
• Toyota Motor (1972–1992), became Nagoya Grampus
• Tanabe Pharmaceutical (1972–1992), became Tanabe Mitsubishi Pharma SC, defunct
• Eidai Industries (1972–1977), became Eidai SC, defunct
• Fujitsu SC (1972–1992), became Kawasaki Frontale
• Yomiuri FC (1972–1992), became Tokyo Verdy
• Nissan Motor (1976–1992), became Yokohama F. Marinos
• Yamaha Motor (1979–1992), became Júbilo Iwata
• Honda (1975–1992), became Honda FC
• Sumitomo Metal (1973–1992), became Kashima Antlers
• Yokohama Tristar / All Nippon Airways SC (1983–1992), became Yokohama Flügels, defunct
• Matsushita Electric (1984–1992), became Gamba Osaka
• Toshiba (1978–1992), became Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Notable Second Division clubs

Many of these clubs would only be promoted to the top-flight after the J.League was created.

• Kofu Club (1972–1992), became Ventforet Kofu
• Kyoto Shiko Club (1972–1978, 1988–1992), became Kyoto Purple Sanga and then Kyoto Sanga. Note that phoenix Kyoto Shiko Club was formed in 1993 and now competes in the Kansai Soccer League.
• Kawasaki Steel (1986–1992), became Vissel Kobe
• NTT Kanto (1987–1992), became Omiya Ardija
• Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1990–1992), became Tokushima Vortis
• Tokyo Gas (1992), became FC Tokyo
• Chūō Bohan (Central Crime Prevention, 1992), became Avispa Fukuoka
• TDK SC (1985–1987), became Blaublitz Akita

All-time JSL First Division table

A total of 22 teams played in the JSL First Division between 1965 and 1991–92. Fifteen of these became professional J.League clubs; the rest were relegated to the regional leagues and/or folded.

Despite Mazda and Yomiuri's record five titles, Mitsubishi holds the record on points. Furukawa Electric holds the record for most seasons, all 27 the JSL played, never been relegated.

Name changes made outside First Division play and following the advent of the J.League system are not mentioned; see individual club pages for more information. All statistics are within JSL First Division play except for "Current division" and "Tier", which denote standing in the Japanese league system as of 2023 season.

In this ranking, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss, regardless of the transition of regulation through the time as follows:

• 1965–1976, 1980 to 1987–88: 2 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.
• 1977–1979: 4 points for a regulation time win, 2 for winning penalty shoot-out after a draw, 1 for a penalty shoot-out loss, 0 for a regulation time loss.
• 1988–89 to 1991–92: 3 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.