Season 2016 Goals scored 805 | Start date 2016 Matches played 306 | |
 | ||
Champions Kashima Antlers
8th J. League title
18th Japanese title Champions League Kashima Antlers
Urawa Red Diamonds
Kawasaki Frontale
Gamba Osaka Top goalscorer Leandro (Vissel Kobe)
Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
(19 goals each) Highest attendance 59,837
Urawa vs Kashima
(3 December) Lowest attendance 5,870
Fukuoka vs Nagoya
(2 July) Relegated Nagoya Grampus, Shonan Bellmare, Avispa Fukuoka Similar 2015 J1 League, 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, 2014 JLeague Division 1, 2016 JLeague Cup, 2016 K League Classic | ||
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan, and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1993.
Contents
- Format
- Overall table
- First stage
- Second stage
- Overall
- Championship stage
- Top scorers
- Best Eleven
- Attendances
- References
For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.
Format
Teams play a single round-robin in the first stage and a single round-robin in the second stage. After that an overall table is calculated and a championship stage is played. The winners of the first and second stages and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall rankings advance to the championship stage. The team that finishes atop the overall table automatically qualifies for the final, while the remaining teams play-off for the other spot in the final.
Overall table
1 The winner of the 2016 Emperor's Cup qualifies for the Group Stage of the 2017 AFC Champions League. Since the Emperor's Cup winner would already have qualified for the AFC Champions League, the play-off round spot was awarded to the fourth-placed team.
First stage
Last updated: 25 June 2016
Source: J. League Data Site
Note 1: Two games for Matchday 7 (Avispa Fukuoka vs. Nagoya Grampus; Sagan Tosu vs. Vissel Kobe) scheduled on 16 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, and thus postponed and rescheduled on 2 June 2016. Results of these matches were included in Matchday 15 ranking.
Note 2: Matchday 10 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Participants (FC Tokyo vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima; Gamba Osaka vs. Urawa Red Diamonds), held on 15 June 2016, were included in Matchday 16 ranking.
Note 3: Matchday 13 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage Participants (Urawa Red Diamonds vs. FC Tokyo), held on 22 June 2016, were included in Matchday 17 ranking.
Second stage
Last updated: 3 November 2016
Source: J. League Data Site
Overall
Last updated: 28 September 2016
Source: J. League Data Site
Note 1: Two games for Matchday 7 (Avispa Fukuoka vs. Nagoya Grampus; Sagan Tosu vs. Vissel Kobe) scheduled on 16 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, and thus postponed and rescheduled on 2 June 2016. Results of these matches were included in Matchday 15 ranking.
Note 2: Matchday 10 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Participants (FC Tokyo vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima; Gamba Osaka vs. Urawa Red Diamonds), held on 15 June 2016, were included in Matchday 16 ranking.
Note 3: Matchday 13 results for 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage Participants (Urawa Red Diamonds vs. FC Tokyo), held on 22 June 2016, were included in Matchday 17 ranking.
Championship stage
The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second Stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table. The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final. The remaining teams playoff for the other spot in the final.
First stage
Updated to games played on 25 June 2016.
Source: J. League Data
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Second stage
Updated to games played on 3 November 2016.
Source: J. League Data
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top scorers
Updated to games played on 3 November 2016
Source: J. League Data Site
Best Eleven
Source:
Attendances
These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include the Championship stages attendances.
Updated to games played on 3 November 2016
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.