2022 Japanese Regional Football Champions League

The 2022 Japanese Regional Football Champions League (全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022) was the 46th edition of the referred annually contested cup for the best-placed teams of each of their respective Regional Leagues, and of the 2022 Shakaijin Cup. Criacao Shinjuku was the title holder, as winners of the 2021 edition of the tournament.[1] Promoted to the JFL, the club couldn't defend their title. Briobecca Urayasu won the championship at the final round, being promoted to the Japan Football League years after relegated from it on 2017. Finishing as runners-up, Okinawa SV was also promoted to Japan's 4th division for the first time in their history.

2022 Japanese Regional Champions League
Tournament details
CountryJapan
Dates11–27 November 2022
Teams12
Final positions
ChampionsBriobecca Urayasu (1st title)
Runner-upOkinawa SV
Tournament statistics
Matches played24
Goals scored63 (2.63 per match)
Attendance8,452 (352 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Yuta Yamada
(5 goals)
← 2021
2023 →

Format

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As usual, 12 teams participated in the transitional tournament for regional league teams who want to join the JFL. The 2019 format was restored, with three Shakaijin Cup teams that were not yet qualified to the Champions League via the Regional Leagues (being placed below the champions of their league), alongside the nine champions of the 2022 Japanese Regional Leagues.

It featured two stages: The first stage had the 12 teams split into 3 groups with 4 teams in each, with each group winners and the overall best runners-up being qualified to the second stage. This second, and final stage, had the 4 teams playing (again) in a round-robin format, with the winners and runners-up of the competition staying a foot apart from qualifying to the 2023 Japan Football League, pending the league's approval. [2][3] Only teams that want to join the JFL can be promoted. Unlike the previous year, where 11 of the 12 teams submitted applications to the JFL (as Mitsubishi Mizushima didn't expressed a desire to join the league), all the participating teams on this edition submitted documents indicating their intention to join the JFL. The order of priority to join the JFL goes from the first-placed team to the last-placed team in the competition, so, the two best teams amongst those whom the JFL have approved membership can be promoted. A meeting between the JFL Board of Directors, scheduled to be held on 6 December 2022, determines whether the winners and runners-up of the competition will have its membership accepted. Its results will be published on the same day at 13:00 (JST).[4]

Depending on the clubs that ended up as the top 3 teams in the Shakaijin Cup, a specific rank that would take the J.League 100 Year Plan club status clubs and its performances in the 2022 Regional Leagues into account would be applied to determine the final teams on this competition.[5][6] However, the rank was not necessary, as out of the four semi-finalists, only BTOP Thank Kuriyama was already in the competition, as the Hokkaido League champions. The other three semi-finalists had not yet qualified to the Champions League via their Regional Leagues, then, they filled the remaining three slots left, pre-allocated to the top-placed teams of the Shakaijin Cup.

Participating teams

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Returning teams from the previous season were noted in bold. Teams relegated from the previous JFL season were noted in italics.

Region Slots Team Rank
Hokkaido 1 BTOP Thank Kuriyama 1st (League)
Tohoku 1 Cobaltore Onagawa 1st (League)
Kantō 2 Tochigi City
Briobecca Urayasu
1st (League)
1st (Cup)
Hokushin'etsu 1 Artista Asama 1st (League)
Tōkai 1 FC Kariya 1st (League)
Kansai 1 Arterivo Wakayama 1st (League)
Chugoku 1 Fukuyama City 1st (League)
Shikoku 1 FC Tokushima 1st (League)
Kyushu 3 Okinawa SV
Nobeoka Agata
Veroskronos Tsuno
1st (League)
3rd (Cup)
4th (Cup)

First round

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Each group had its matches played in a round-robin format. Each team played three matches in just three days, from 11 to 13 November, with one being played at each day. [7] The draw was conducted on 22 October 2022, streamed live by Kansai Soccer League's official YouTube channel. [8]

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Kariya 3 2 1 0 7 4 +3 7 Advance to the final round
2 Tochigi City 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
3 Nobeoka Agata 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3
4 BTOP Thank Kuriyama 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0
Source: JFFMS
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Tochigi City 1–1 FC Kariya Maebashi, Gunma
10:45
  • Ando   87'
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 350
Referee: Masakazu Kato
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Nobeoka Agata 2–1 BTOP Thank Kuriyama Maebashi, Gunma
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 163
Referee: Masamitsu Hashimoto

12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) Tochigi City 2–0 Nobeoka Agata Maebashi, Gunma
10:45
Report (JFA) Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 284
Referee: Ken Tsukahara
12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) FC Kariya 2–1 BTOP Thank Kuriyama Maebashi, Gunma
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 290
Referee: Kazuki Nakamura

13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) Tochigi City 2–1 BTOP Thank Kuriyama Maebashi, Gunma
10:45
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 328
Referee: Ken Tsukahara
13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) FC Kariya 4–2 Nobeoka Agata Maebashi, Gunma
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Earth Care Gunma Shikishima Football Stadium
Attendance: 187
Referee: Masakazu Kato

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Okinawa SV 3 2 1 0 9 0 +9 7 Advance to the final round
2 Veroskronos Tsuno 3 1 1 1 4 6 −2 4
3 Artista Asama 3 0 2 1 3 9 −6 2
4 Cobaltore Onagawa 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
Source: JFFMS
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Artista Asama 0–6 Okinawa SV Niigata, Niigata
10:45 Report (JFA)
Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 223
Referee: Yasuyuki Matsumoto
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Veroskronos Tsuno 2–1 Cobaltore Onagawa Niigata, Niigata
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 215
Referee: Satoshi Oba

12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) Artista Asama 2–2 Veroskronos Tsuno Niigata, Niigata
10:45
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 220
Referee: Ryo Munakata
12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) Okinawa SV 0–0 Cobaltore Onagawa Niigata, Niigata
13:30 Report (JFA) Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 262
Referee: Sho Yanagida

13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) Artista Asama 1–1 Cobaltore Onagawa Niigata, Niigata
10:45
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 189
Referee: Yasuyuki Matsumoto
13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) Okinawa SV 3–0 Veroskronos Tsuno Niigata, Niigata
13:30
Report (JFA) Stadium: Niigata Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 170
Referee: Akira Munakata

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Briobecca Urayasu 3 3 0 0 5 2 +3 9 Advance to the final round
2 Fukuyama City 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3 Arterivo Wakayama 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4 FC Tokushima 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0
Source: JFFMS
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Arterivo Wakayama 0–2 Fukuyama City Naruto, Tokushima
10:45 Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: Yasuhiro Udagawa
11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) Briobecca Urayasu 2–1 FC Tokushima Naruto, Tokushima
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 350
Referee: Toshiro Hori

12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) Arterivo Wakayama 1–2 Briobecca Urayasu Naruto, Tokushima
10:45
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 250
Referee: Tomomasa Toshiki
12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) Fukuyama City 2–1 FC Tokushima Naruto, Tokushima
13:30
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 700
Referee: Yasuhiro Udagawa

13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) Arterivo Wakayama 2–1 FC Tokushima Naruto, Tokushima
10:45
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 400
Referee: Toshiro Hori
13 November 2022 (2022-11-13) Fukuyama City 0–1 Briobecca Urayasu Naruto, Tokushima
13:30 Report (JFA)
Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: Tomomasa Toshiki

Ranking of second-placed teams

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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tochigi City 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7 Qualification for the final round
2 Fukuyama City 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3 Veroskronos Tsuno 3 1 1 1 4 6 −2 4
Source: JFFMS

Final round

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The group had matches played in a round-robin format. Slightly different from the previous round, each of the four teams qualified to this stage plays three matches in a five-days span, from 23 to 27 November. The top 2 teams qualified to the 2023 Japan Football League, as before mentioned.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Briobecca Urayasu 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Promoted to the JFL
2 Okinawa SV 3 1 2 0 4 0 +4 5
3 Tochigi City 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4 FC Kariya 3 0 0 3 0 7 −7 0
Source: JFFMS
23 November 2022 (2022-11-23) Okinawa SV 0–0 Briobecca Urayasu Kumagaya, Saitama
10:45 Report (JFL) Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 449
Referee: Yoshihito Hori
23 November 2022 (2022-11-23) Tochigi City 2–0 FC Kariya Kumagaya, Saitama
13:30
Report (JFL) Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 398
Referee: Takamasa Funahashi

25 November 2022 (2022-11-25) Okinawa SV 0–0 Tochigi City Kumagaya, Saitama
10:45 Report (JFL) Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 432
Referee: Kiminori Yasukawa
25 November 2022 (2022-11-25) Briobecca Urayasu 1–0 FC Kariya Kumagaya, Saitama
13:30
Report (JFL) Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 302
Referee: Hiroki Tanabe

27 November 2022 (2022-11-27) Okinawa SV 4–0 FC Kariya Kumagaya, Saitama
10:45
Report (JFL) Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 773
Referee: Tomomasa Toshiki
27 November 2022 (2022-11-27) Briobecca Urayasu 3–1 Tochigi City Kumagaya, Saitama
13:30
Report (JFL)
Stadium: Kumagaya Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 1,117
Referee: Masashi Harada

Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Yuto Yamada Okinawa SV 5
2   Ryuichi Ichiki Okinawa SV 4
  Rai Ijuin Nobeoka Agata
4   Joe Caletti Tochigi City 3
5   Shuga Arai Okinawa SV 2
  Shuto Kammera BTOP Thank Kuriyama
  Kanta Kajiyama Veroskronos Tsuno
  Daisuke Kato Briobecca Urayasu
  Tsubasa Misao FC Tokushima
  Masato Nomura FC Kariya
  Naoto Suzuki FC Kariya
  Yo Uematsu Briobecca Urayasu

References

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  1. ^ "全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022". jffms.jp. Japan Football Federation for Members of Society. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  2. ^ "【2022】JFL・地域サッカーリーグ入れ替え方式". ginnojo.com. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  3. ^ "全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022 開催概要及び抽選結果について". jfa.jp (in Japanese). JFA. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  4. ^ "JFL Membership Submission 2022". jfl.or.jp (in Japanese). Japan Football League. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ^ "2022年全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022". soccergen.info (in Japanese). Soccer Gen. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  6. ^ "全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022 大会要項". jffms.jp. Japan Football Federation for Members of Society. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  7. ^ "全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022" (PDF). jfa.jp (in Japanese). JFA. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  8. ^ "全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2022 組合せ抽選会をKSLTV(関西サッカーリーグTV)でインターネットライブ配信". jfa.jp (in Japanese). JFA.
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