JFL History: 2002

In 2002, the number of JFL teams was increased to 18 teams. At the time, this seemed to be a feasable number, with interest high ahead of the World Cup. However, it quickly turned out to be a premature expansion. At the end of the year, the league reverted to a 16 team format and did not return to 18 teams until the 2006 season.

Both the JFA and the J.League did their best to promote the idea that teams will eventually distance themselves from corporate sponsors and concentrate on building a grassroots support base in a local region. However, this took some time to catch on. It was not until the J.League formally proposed the idea that it might form a Division 3, starting around 2010, that the impetus for teams to begin focusing on their independent, local base began to outweigh their corporate ties.

In the mean time, the pressure on JFL teams to shift towards an independent, professional structure produced some casualties, as small and poorly supported clubs were forced to disband. This happened at the end of 2002, when Profesor Miyazaki and Alouette Kumamoto dropped out of the league, returning to the Kyushu regional league where they set about reorganizing and trying to put their houses in order before making another promotion bid.

JFL Standings - 2002

Rank	Team	Matches	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Dif
1	Honda FC	17	41	13	2	2	39	14	+25
2	Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo	17	39	12	3	2	49	22	+27
3	Otsuka/Vortis Tokushima	17	37	10	7	0	38	22	+16
4	Sony Sendai	17	30	8	6	3	25	16	+ 9
5	Kokushikan U.	17	30	9	3	5	28	20	+ 8
6	Ehime FC	17	28	8	4	5	29	18	+11
7	Yokogawa Electric	17	28	8	4	5	21	26	- 5
8	YKK FC	17	26	7	5	5	24	16	+ 8
9	Sagawa Kyubin Osaka	17	24	6	6	5	27	23	+ 4
10	Denso	17	21	6	3	8	32	30	+ 2
11	FC Kyoto1993	17	21	6	3	8	21	25	- 4
12	Tochigi SC	17	18	5	3	9	21	27	- 6
13	SC Tottori	17	15	4	3	10	18	33	-15
14	Alos Hokuriku	17	15	3	6	8	16	34	-18
15	Shizuoka Sangyo U.	17	14	4	2	11	20	32	-12
16	Jatco	17	13	3	4	10	16	28	-12
17	Alouette Kumamoto	17	11	2	5	10	13	31	-18
18	Profesor Miyazaki	17	11	2	5	10	20	40	-20