Japanese Non-league Football News

English name - Japanese name - 2006 finishing position

Honda Lock -　ホンダロック - 18th, JFL
Kaiho Bank SC - 海邦銀行SC - 9th
Kumamoto Teachers - 熊本教員蹴球団 - Kumamoto Prefectural League
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki - 三菱重工長崎 - 7th
Nanakuma Tombies - 七隈トンビーズ - 8th
New Wave Kitakyushu - ニューウェーブ北九州 - 3rd
Nippon Steel Oita - 新日鐵大分 - 2nd
Okinawa Kariyushi - 沖縄かりゆし - 5th
Osumi NIFS United - 大隈NIFSユナイテッド - 6th
V Varen Nagasaki - V.ファーレン長崎 - Champions
Volca Kagoshima - ヴォルカ鹿児島 - 4th

English name - Japanese name - 2006 finishing position

Kansai League Division 1

Ain Food - アイン食品 - 6th
AS Laranja Kyoto - ASラランジャ京都 - 5th
Banditonce Kobe - バンディオンセ神戸 - Champions
FC Glaspo Kashiwara - FCグラスポ柏原 - Winners, Division 2 (as Technonet Osaka)
FC Kyoto BAMB - FC京都BAMB - Runners-up, Division 2
FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu - FC Mi-o びわこ Kusatsu - 2nd
Kobe FC 1970 - 神戸FC 1970 - 3rd
Sanyo Electric Sumoto - 三洋電機洲本 - 4th


Kansai League Division 2

Hannan University Club - 阪南大クラブ - Osaka Prefectural League
Hermano Osaka - エルマーノ大阪 - 3rd
Kihoku Football Group - 紀北蹴球団 - 6th
Kohga School - ルネス学園甲賀 - 7th
Kyoto Shiko Club - 京都紫光クラブ - 7th, Division 1
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe - 三菱重工神戸 - 5th
Riseisha FC - 履正社FC - 4th
Takada FC - 高田FC - 8th, Division 1

In the Kyushu League Promotion / Relegation Play-off fixture, Kaiho Bank SC scraped home against Nobeoka City SC from Miyazaki to keep their place in the Regional League.

Sun 21 Jan: Kaiho Bank SC 4-3 Nobeoka City SC

Kohga School retained their place in the Kansai League Division 2 for 2007 when they defeated Kumiyama FC in the last of the play-off matches in that region.

Sun 21 Jan: Kohga School 3-2 Kumiyama FC (AET)

19-year-old midfielder Yuki Shibagaki has joined Banditonce Kobe from J-League neighbours Vissel Kobe... Kyushu League champions V Varen Nagasaki have signed ex-Avispa Fukuoka defender Asuka Tateishi from Sagan Tosu and midfield player Yasuhiro Kamata from Rosso Kumamoto... V Varen have also appointed as coach for the forthcoming season Ryusuke Obuchi. The 50-year-old worked with the youth teams at Verdy Kawasaki in the early days of the J-League before moving on to take charge of Fukuoka Brooks / Avispa Fukuoka. He has spent the last five years in charge at Heisei International University in Saitama...

Tochigi SC's former Shonan Bellmare midfielder Tsutomu Kitade has quit the club... three new players have signed for SC Tottori - Yuhei Horiike, a midfielder from Sagawa Printing, and keepers Atsushi Inoue from Yokogawa Musashino and Tomohito Shugyo from Ritsumeikan University... JEF Club have changed their name to JEF United Ichihara Chiba Reserves - or JEF Reserves for short... the 2007 JFL campaign will start on 18th March...

Rosso Kumamoto's defensive lynchpin Shin Asahina has left the JFL club to join Kansai Leaguers Banditonce Kobe... the 2007 amalgamated Sagawa Kyubin SC squad will consist of sixteen Sagawa Kyubin Osaka players and fifteen from Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo... the coach will be Masahi Nakaguchi, who spent 2006 in charge of Sagawa Osaka... Mitsumasa Kosugi has become assistant coach at FC Kariya, having moved from the coaching staff at FC Ryukyu... defenders Osamu Matsumoto and Shinya Hagiuda together with midfield player Takashi Nakagawa have all left Tochigi SC...

第26回西日本社会人サッカー大会

Details have been released of the ever-confusing 26th Western Japan Football Tournament, which is due to be played in Yamaguchi over the weekend of 23rd - 25th February. This is a competition for teams finishing the previous season in the top two places of the Kyushu, Shikoku, Chugoku and Kansai Regional Leagues, and which last year was won by FC Ryukyu.

Moreover, as well as an early opportunity to see some of the key non-league sides in the country play each other in a competitive environment, the tournament also offers fans a chance to puzzle over its unusual format, which JNFN will here attempt to explain...

Group 1

Fri 23 Feb: Match 1: Banditonce Kobe - FC Central Chugoku
Fri 23 Feb: Match 2: V Varen Nagasaki - Nangoku Kochi

Sat 24 Feb: Match 3: Winner Match 1 - Winner Match 2
Sat 24 Feb: Match 4: Loser Match 1 - Loser Match 2

Group 2

Fri 23 Feb: Match 5: Fagiano Okayama - Nippon Steel Oita
Fri 23 Feb: Match 6: Kamatamare Sanuki - FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu

Sat 24 Feb: Match 7: Winner Match 5 - Winner Match 6
Sat 24 Feb: Match 8: Loser Match 7 - Loser Match 8

Sun 25 Feb: Tournament Decider: Winner Match 3 - Winner Match 7
Sun 25 Feb: 3rd / 4th place Decider: Loser Match 3 - Loser Match 7
Sun 25 Feb: 5th / 6th place Decider: Winner Match 4 - Winner Match 8
Sun 25 Feb: 7th / 8th place Decider: Loser Match 4 - Loser Match 8

Tomoki Ikemoto, the New Wave Kitakyushu striker who played such a vital role in the Regional League Championship Winners' Play-off tournament on loan at FC Gifu, has moved to J1 newcomers Kashiwa Reysol... twelve players have departed V Varen Nagasaki, mainly to local Prefectural League teams...

Major changes to report at Arte Takasaki, who have appointed as coach Jorge "Pipo" Rossi, a 40-year-old Argentinian / Italian. Rossi spent his playing career in Italy and began coaching there before moving to Argentina, where he was most recently in charge of the Argentinos Juniors club... other new arrivals at Arte include Tiago Luiz Potti - a forward from Brazilian side Inter de Limeira - and three players from Tokai League outfit Shizuoka FC... nine players from the late 2006 squad are nevertheless leaving the club... there are four new incomers at Yokogawa Musashino, including striker Takahashi Shuta from J2 side Mito Hollyhock...

Ex-Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Cerezo Osaka and Tokyo Verdy 1969 defender Kenichi Uemura, a Japanese international, has joined Rosso Kumamoto after a spell with surprise Kanto League winners YSCC... Rosso have also signed 22-year-old defender Yuichi Yamauchi from Fukuoka University, but have let midfielder Teruo Hamada go to FC Ryukyu... other new signings by Ryukyu are goalkeeping player-coach Hiroki Nakamura from Hanno Bruder; Tetsuro Yoshimoto, a goalkeeper from Kyoto Sangyo University; and Masatomo Ono, brother of Shinji, from Saarbrucken in Germany



FC Ryukyu players relax and enjoy their pre-season ceremonial chores

Masayoshi Yoshida, a 24-year-old former Ventforet Kofu defender, has joined Hokushinetsu Leaguers Matsumoto Yamaga Club from FC Kariya... Kansai League champions Banditonce Kobe will in 2007 be coached by the experienced Shinji Tanaka, a player at Nissan Motors, Urawa Reds and Kyoto Purple Sanga before going on to coach at Fukushima FC, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and latterly J2 strugglers Tokushima Vortis...

English name - Japanese name - 2006 finishing position

Tokai League Division 1

Chukyo University - 中京大学 - 7th
Fujieda City Hall - 藤枝市役所 - 6th
Honda Suzuka - 本田鈴鹿 - Runners-up, Division 2
Kasugai Club - 春日井クラブ - Winners, Division 2
Maruyasu Industries - マルヤス工業 - 5th
Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo - 佐川急便中京 - 4th
Shizuoka FC - 静岡FC - 2nd
Yazaki Valente - 矢崎バレンテ - 3rd

Tokai League Division 2

ACM Central - 中央防犯藤枝 - 8th, Division 1
Fuyo Club - 芙蓉クラブ - 6th
Konica Minolta Toyokawa - コニカミノルタ豊川 - 4th
MIE Rampole - MIE.ランポーレ - Mie Prefectural League
Mind House TC - マインドハウスTC - 3rd
Morishin's FC - Morishin's FC - 7th
Nagoya Club - 名古屋クラブ - 5th
Toyota Football Group - トヨタ蹴球団 - Aichi Prefectural League

The Kyushu League Prefectural Promotion Play-offs have also been taking place over this weekend, to decide the final places in the Kyu League for 2007. At the end of the eight-team knock-out competition, Kumamoto Teachers make a return to the league, having most recently appeared at Regional level in 2002.

They were in fact founder members back in 1973, winning the title on one occasion four years later - which in turn led to the club participating in the first ever Regional League Championship Winners' Play-off, although a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Dainichi Nippon Cables put paid at the First Round stage to their hopes of promotion.

Runners-up in Sunday's final were Miyazaki prefecture's Nobeoka City SC. They take on Kaiho Bank SC next week in the final Play-off - alongside the equivalent fixture in Kansai, the last piece of action of the 2006 season.

Sat 13 Jan: Kyushu Sogo Sports College 1-2 Kumamoto Teachers
Sat 13 Jan: Kawasoe Club 8-3 NST Dreams
Sat 13 Jan: Mitsubishi Electric Nagasaki 0-4 Nobeoka City SC
Sat 13 Jan: Oroku Club 1-2 Miyake Club

Sun 14 Jan: Kumamoto Teachers 2-1 Kawasoe Club
Sun 14 Jan: Nobeoka City SC 5-3 Miyake Club

Sun 14 Jan: Kumamoto Teachers 5-2 Nobeoka City SC

Kaiho Bank SC subsequently retained their place in the Kyushu League for 2007 with a narrow win over Nobeoka in the final Promotion / Relegation Play-off.

Sun 21 Jan: Kaiho Bank SC 4-3 Nobeoka City SC

Hannan University Club are promoted to the Kansai League Division 2 for 2007. Kumiyama FC have a final opportunity to gain promotion next Sunday, when they take part in an additional Play-off against Kohga School.

Sun 14 Jan: Hannan University Club 3-1 Kumiyama FC

The results here for this weekend's Play-off tournament to decide the final two places in the 2007 Tokai League Division 2.



Mie Prefectural League champions, Ise Personna FC



Ogaki FC Kogans take on C’est La Vie in the Gifu Prefectural League

Sat 13 Jan: Yamaha Motors 2-0 Ogaki FC Kogans
Sat 13 Jan: FC Goal 0-4 MIE Rampole
Sat 13 Jan: Yoro Club 2-3 Fujieda Nelson
Sat 13 Jan: Ise Personna FC 0-2 Toyota Football Group

Sun 14 Jan: Yamaha Motors 0-1 MIE Rampole
Sun 14 Jan: Fujieda Nelson 1-3 Toyota Football Group

MIE Rampole and Toyota Football Group are therefore promoted to replace FC Kawasaki. Morishin's FC avoid relegation due to the promotion of FC Gifu to the JFL.

Hokushinetsu League Division 1 side Zweigen Kanazawa are continuing the significant task of repopulating their first team squad after the disaster of a fourth place finish in 2006. The main signing announced to date is that of 24-year-old Brazilian striker Danilo, who moves to Ishikawa from JFL side JEF Club, having previously played at Gunma FC Horikoshi.

Kei Kinoshita has moved on after having failed as coach to life SC Tottori above eleventh place in the 2006 JFL table. His replacement is 62-year-old Yuji Mizuguchi, whose coaching experience stretches back to the old Japan Soccer League days of Yanmar Diesel and Matsushita - now better known as Cerezo Osaka and Gamba Osaka. Most recently, he has been in charge of the football team at Kobe International University, but for 2007 sees a marked step up in responsibility following Tottori's application to become associate members of the J-League.



Yuji Mizuguchi, looking frankly nervous

Despite Rosso Kumamoto's failure to achieve promotion out of the JFL at the end of 2006, four more clubs have applied for associate membership of the J-League as a vital part of their progress towards professional status. Tochigi SC, SC Tottori, FC Gifu and Tohoku Leaguers FC Perada Fukushima have all made their applications to the J-League, although for Tochigi this amounts to the second time that they have done so. The target date for the three JFL sides to gain entry into J2 is 2008, i.e. they are all hoping to finish in the top two of the JFL, while Perada can take things easy until 2011.

21-year-old defender Tsuneyuki Ueda has moved from Consadole Sapporo to Hokushinetsu League team Zweigen Kanazawa on loan until the end of January next year. Ueda spent 2006 loaned out to Albirex Singapore.

What with Northern Peaks Koriyama having recently announced their intention to regroup as Biancone Fukushima as part of the Tohoku League Division 2 (South) team's attempts to provide Fukushima prefecture with a J-League team, news emerges that they now have a more immediate rival that had previously been the case. Fukushima Junkers have for some years been battling through the divisions of the Prefectural League with a long-term eye on turning professional - but having finally reached Division 1, they have also confirmed that the club is to merge management with Biancone's fellow Regional League members FC Perada Fukushima.

Despite now being a single organisational entity, the separate names will be retained: as of the 2007 season, FC Perada will continue to compete in the Tohoku League Division 2 (South) but now have the definite target of a J2 place. Junkers meanwhile will exist as a reserve team in the Prefectural League. The scene is set for one of Japanese football's smaller-scale, but nevertheless still intriguing, battles.



The Fukushima dream continues to take shape

Teenage Kashiwa Reysol striker Yu Hasegawa has returned to the J1 newcomers at the end of his loan spell with FC Gifu.



Babyfaced Yu Hasegawa

Defender Takaki Shigemitsu, 23, has extended his loan from Tokyo Verdy 1969 to Chugoku League champions Fagiano Okayama until the end of January next year... Zweigen Kanazawa in the Hokushinetsu League Division 1 have released no fewer than nineteen of their 2006 squad members, who failed to elevate the club beyond fourth place in the table...

Some details are now available of the forthcoming tournament to decide promotion from the eight relevant Prefectural Leagues into the Kyushu League for 2007. The competition itself will be held over the weekend of 13th and 14th January in Nagasaki prefecture, with the First Round on the Saturday and the Semi-Finals and Final the following day.

The overall winners of the competition will be automatically promoted, while the runners-up will on Sunday 21st January take on Kaiho Bank SC - who finished bottom of the 2006 Kyushu League - in a last opportunity to move up to Regional level football. Information about the Prefectural competition, meanwhile, is as follows:

Participants

Fukuoka: Miyake Club - 三宅クラブ
Kagoshima: NST Dreams - NST DREAMS
Kumamoto: Kumamoto Teachers - 熊本教員蹴友団
Nagasaki: Mitsubishi Electric Nagasaki - 三菱電機長崎
Nobeoka: Nobeoka City SC - 延岡市 SC
Oita: Kyushu Sogo Sports College - 九州総合スポーツカレッジ
Okinawa: Oroku Club - 小禄オロククラブ
Saga: Kawasoe Club - 川副クラブ

First Round

Sat 13 Jan: Kyushu Sogo Sports College - Kumamoto Teachers
Sat 13 Jan: Kawasoe Club - NST Dreams
Sat 13 Jan: Mitsubishi Electric Nagasaki - Nobeoka City SC
Sat 13 Jan: Oroku Club - Miyake Club