2021 Japanese Regional Football Champions League


The 2021 Japanese Regional Football Champions League marked the 45th edition of the annually contested tournament for the top teams from their respective Regional Leagues. The competition took place from 12th to 28th of November 2021, in Iwate, Mie, and Hiroshima, with the final round hosted in Tokyo.

Overview

On 6 August 2021, the outline of the tournament was presented by the Japan Football Association. The quota for the National Adult Soccer Championship, which was cancelled the previous year, has been restored, but from the previous two years in the 2019 tournament, the participation requirements have been partially changed, and the top three teams in each regions highest league in 2021.
The 57th All Japan Adult Soccer Championship, originally planned to take place in Tochigi Prefecture, was cancelled on September 11, 2021, marking the second consecutive year of cancellation. Due to the cancellation of the tournament, the eligibility criteria, and the participation requirements were revised.

Venue

First round
GroupVenueLocationImage
AAsahi Gas Energy Tojin StadiumHigashiman Town, Mie
BIwagin StadiumMorioka, Iwate
CBalcom BMW Hiroshima General GrandHiroshima, Hiroshima

Final round
VenueLocationImage
Ajinomoto Field NishigaokaKita-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo

Participating teams

Initially, the top three teams in the top 4 of each regional league in 2021 and the top 4 or higher of the 57th All Japan Adult Football Championship were supposed to be eligible to participate, but the tournament itself was cancelled, so the conditions for participating teams were changed on September 11, 2021
1. 2021 Japanese Regional Leagues winners
2. Supplement the J.LEAGUE Centennial Vision Club that finished second in each regional league
3. If the number of teams is less than 12 under the conditions 1 and 2, the teams that wish to join the JFL among the second-place teams in the regional league will be replenished by a rotating rotation in the order of the number of registered teams for the All Japan Adult Football Federation as of the end of June 2010 ". For year 2021, the order was Tokai → Hokkaido → Chūgoku → Hokushi'netsu.
4. If twelve teams do not reach twelve under the conditions 1 to 3, the participating teams will be decided after a ruling by the All-Japan Adult Football Federation.
  • Not applicable.

Match format

Based on the tournament guidelines announced by the JFA.
  • In the first round, the twelve participating teams will be divided into three groups of four teams each to play a first-round robin league match. A total of four teams, which includes the three first-place teams in each group and the top-performing team from the second-place finishers in each group, will advance to the final round. In the final round, four teams will play in a single round robin league.
  • The draw was held on 16 October 2021 at the Japan Football Association Building in the following manner and streamed on the official YouTube channel of the Kansai Football League. In addition, the representative of each team is usually in the lottery, but the representative of the Chugoku region and the third representative of the rotation slot were not decided at the time of the lottery day. The secretariat of the Chugoku Adult Soccer League participated in the lottery on behalf of the team.
1. Three of the regional league champions are in a region that includes first-round venues,, the other six regional league winners, and the three teams that will compete in the rotating bracket and "Pot 2" with two balls each, three types of "Pot A, B, C" with balls with the position number for each group, and a "lottery box" with numbers 1 to 4.
  • The competition has three groups for the first round.
  • * Teams are split into three tiers based on their regional performance:
  • ** "Group 1": Regional champions from the host areas.
  • ** "Group 2": Remaining regional league winners.
  • ** "Group 3": Teams selected via rotational slots.
3. The three teams in the first group will draw "Pot 1" and the corresponding "Pot A, B, and C" will be drawn to link the group to the venue of the first round and determine the position of each team.
  • Pot 1 & Pot 3: Each contains one ball labelled "A", "B", or "C" to assign teams to groups.
  • Pot 2: Has two balls per group for position numbers. Each "Pot A", "Pot B", and "Pot C" includes these position balls.
  • Lottery Box : Used to assign the finishing positions in the final round or to place wildcards after first-round draws.
4. The six teams in the second group will draw "Pot 2" and the corresponding "Pot A, B, and C" to determine the position of each team.
5. Finally, the three teams in the third group will draw "Pot 3" to determine the position of each team. In this case, the possibility of being in the same group as a team from the same regional league is not taken into account.
  • The matches will be played in 45-minute halves with no extra time or penalty shootouts.
  • In both the first round and the final round, points will be awarded for each match. The ranking will be determined by the cumulative points won in the three matches. If there are teams tied on points, then the following criteria will be used.
  • Goal difference
  • Total number of goals scored
  • The head-to-head record between the teams concerned
  • If there is still no difference, a draw will be held.

Match schedule

The draw was held on 16 October 2021.

First round

The first round was played behind closed doors.

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Ranking of second-placed teams

The three winners of each group of the first round qualified for the final round, alongside the best-placed team among the runners-up of each group.

Final round

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Final result

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JFL playoff games

Promotion and relegation based on results of JFL playoff matches.
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