2019 J1 League


The 2019 J1 League, also known as the '''2019 Meiji Yasuda Life for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the J1 League – the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992. This was fifth season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.
Kawasaki Frontale were the defending champions.

Clubs

A total of 18 clubs contested the league. There were only two changes from 2018, since Kashiwa Reysol and V-Varen Nagasaki were relegated to the 2019 J2 League while Júbilo Iwata defeated Tokyo Verdy in the promotion/relegation play-off. 2018 J2 League champions Matsumoto Yamaga returned to the J1 League after three seasons of absence, while Oita Trinita returned to the top tier after six seasons.
ClubLocationStadiumCapacityLast season
Hokkaido Consadole SapporoHokkaidoSapporo Dome
Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium		41,484
20,861		J1
Vegalta SendaiMiyagi PrefectureYurtec Stadium Sendai19,694J1
Kashima AntlersIbaraki PrefectureKashima Soccer Stadium40,728J1
Urawa Red DiamondsSaitama PrefectureSaitama Stadium 200263,700J1
FC TokyoTokyoAjinomoto Stadium49,970J1
Kawasaki FrontaleKanagawa PrefectureTodoroki Athletics Stadium26,232J1
Yokohama F. MarinosKanagawa PrefectureNissan Stadium
Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium		72,327
15,046		J1
Shonan BellmareKanagawa PrefectureShonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka18,500J1
Shimizu S-PulseShizuoka PrefectureIAI Stadium Nihondaira20,339J1
Júbilo IwataShizuoka PrefectureYamaha Stadium15,165J1
Nagoya GrampusAichi PrefecturePaloma Mizuho Stadium
Toyota Stadium		27,001
45,000		J1
Gamba OsakaOsaka PrefecturePanasonic Stadium Suita39,694J1
Cerezo OsakaOsaka PrefectureYanmar Stadium Nagai
Kincho Stadium		47,853
18,007		J1
Vissel KobeHyōgo PrefectureNoevir Stadium Kobe30,134J1
Sanfrecce HiroshimaHiroshima PrefectureEdition Stadium Hiroshima36,894J1
Sagan TosuSaga PrefectureBest Amenity Stadium24,130J1
Matsumoto YamagaNagano PrefectureSunpro Alwin20,396J2
Oita TrinitaŌita PrefectureŌita Bank Dome31,997J2

Foreign players

As of 2019 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad. Players from J.League partner nations are exempt from these restrictions.
  • Players marked in bold indicate the players that were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • Players marked in ITALICS indicate the players that left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Player 8Former players
Cerezo Osaka

League table


Promotion–relegation playoffs

Shonan Bellmare remains in J1 League.
Tokushima Vortis remains in J2 League.

Season statistics

Hat-tricks

;Note
4 Player scored 4 goals