2025 Japanese Regional Football Champions League
Football tournament season
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The 2025 Japanese Regional Football Champions League (全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ2025) was the 49th edition of the referred annually contested cup for the best-placed teams of each of their respective Regional Leagues, and of the 2025 Shakaijin Cup. Due to the winner being promoted to the Japan Football League (JFL), the club couldn't defend their title. Asuka FC were the title holders, as they won the championship in the final round. As Asuka were in the JFL, they were unable to defend their title.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Dates | 7–24 November 2025 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | J-Lease FC (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Vonds Ichihara |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
Format
Twelve teams participated in the transitional tournament for regional league teams that want to join the JFL. Nine qualified as champions of their respective Regional Leagues in 2025. The other three spots were by default allocated to the best three Shakaijin Cup teams out of its semi-finalists that were not yet qualified to the Champions League via the Regional Leagues (being placed below the champions of their league).
In case the slots couldn't be filled, in a situation where more than one semi-finalist had already qualified to the Champions League as regional champions, the empty slot(s) was rewarded to the J.League 100 Year Plan club status holders that finished the season as a Regional League runner-up. If more than one "status holders" finished the season as the 2nd-placed team in their respective Regional Leagues, an annually-rotated order of priority is taken into consideration. Only teams that want to join the JFL can be promoted. If a team with no intention to join the JFL ends up winning the final round, the promotion spot is allocated to the runner-up. If the runner-up also has no intention to be promoted, a spot is also allocated to the third-placed team. If they also refuse, the bottom-placed team is promoted instead. In all mentioned scenarios, the bottom-placed team of the 2025 Japan Football League could be relegated, and no play-off held. If both Regional Champions League winner and runner-up aim to be promoted, the winner is automatically promoted, whereas the runner-up holds a play-off match with JFL's bottom-placed team.
Depending on the clubs that ended up as the top three 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 2025 Regional Leagues into account was applied to determine the final teams in this competition.
Participating teams
Based on the tournament guidelines announced by the JFA[1]
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 Hokkaido | 1st (League) |
| Tohoku | 1 | Cobaltore Onagawa | 1st (League) |
| Kantō | 2 | Tokyo United FC | 1st (League) |
| Vonds Ichihara | 3rd (Cup) | ||
| Hokushin'etsu | 1 | Toyama Shinjo Club | 1st (League) |
| Tōkai | 1 | Gakunan F Mosuperio (ja) | 1st (League) |
| Kansai | 2 | Arterivo Wakayama | 1st (League) |
| Basara Hyogo (ja) | Finalist (Cup) | ||
| Chugoku | 1 | Fukuyama City | 1st (League) |
| Shikoku | 1 | FC Tokushima | 1st (League) |
| Kyushu | 2 | J-Lease FC | 1st (League) |
| Veroskronos Tsuno | Finalist (Cup) |
Venue
First round
Each group had its matches played in a round-robin format. Each team played three matches in just three days, from 7 to 9 November, with one being played on each day.[3]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veroskronos Tsuno (A) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to the final round |
| 2 | Gakunan F Mosuperio (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Toyama Shinjo Club (E) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Arterivo Wakayama (E) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated
| 7 November | Toyama Shinjo Club | 1 - 1 | Gakunan F Mosuperio | Sakai |
| 10:45 | Iyima  83' |
Report | Edo 53' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
| 7 November | Arterivo Wakayama | 0 - 0 | Veroskronos Tsuno | Sakai |
| 13:30 | Report | Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
| 8 November | Toyama Shinjo Club | 0 - 0 | Arterivo Wakayama | Sakai |
| 10:45 | Report | Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
| 8 November | Gakunan F Mosuperio | 0 - 1 | Veroskronos Tsuno | Sakai |
| 13:30 | Report | Yamada 61' |
Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
| 9 November | Toyama Shinjo Club | 1 - 3 | Veroskronos Tsuno | Sakai |
| 10:45 | Report | Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
| 9 November | Gakunan F Mosuperio | 4 - 3 | Arterivo Wakayama | Sakai |
| 13:30 | Harashina 59', 62' Hiramayu 61' Nakajima 68' |
Report | Wada 43' Mukai 70' Fukasawa 82' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Technoport Fukui Stadium |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo United FC (A) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to the final round |
| 2 | Fukuyama City (E) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Basara Hyogo (E) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Cobaltore Onagawa (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated
| 7 November | Cobaltore Onagawa | 0 - 3 | Tokyo United | Morioka |
| 10:45 | Report | Okada 6' Matsukubo 48' Takizawa 67' |
Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 7 November | Fukuyama City | 1 - 0 | Basara Hyogo | Morioka |
| 13:30 | Okubo 11' |
Report | Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 8 November | Cobaltore Onagawa | 1 - 2 | Fukuyama City | Morioka |
| 10:45 | Shimura 18' |
Report | Takahashi 66' Son Ho-Gyon 82' |
Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 8 November | Tokyo United | 0 - 1 | Basara Hyogo | Morioka |
| 13:30 | Report | Konobu 50' |
Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 9 November | Cobaltore Onagawa | 0 - 1 | Basara Hyogo | Morioka |
| 10:45 | Report | Mori 47' |
Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
| 9 November | Tokyo United | 1 - 0 | Fukuyama City | Morioka |
| 13:30 | Hakazaki 45+1' |
Report | Stadium: Iwagin Stadium |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vonds Ichihara (A) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 9 | Advance to the final round |
| 2 | J-Lease (A) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | Tokushima (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | BTOP Hokkaido (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated
| 7 November | Vonds Ichihara | 5 - 0 | Tokushima | Kochi |
| 10:45 | Fujisaki 33' Hashimoto 37' Gunji 54' Shinohara 76' Goto 90+1' |
Report | Stadium: Kochi Haruno Stadium |
| 7 November | J-Lease | 1 - 0 | BTOP Hokkaido | Kochi |
| 13:30 | Takabatake 90+4' |
Report | Stadium: Kochi Haruno Stadium |
| 8 November | Vonds Ichihara | 1 - 0 | J-Lease | Kochi |
| 10:45 | Numa 49' |
Report | Stadium: Kochi Haruno Stadium |
| 8 November | FC Tokushima | 4 - 0 | BTOP Hokkaido | Kochi |
| 13:30 | Sata 13' Taniyama 17' Kato 41' Fujiwara 61' |
Report | Stadium: Kochi Haruno Stadium |
| 9 November | Vonds Ichihara | 5 - 0 | BTOP Hokkaido | Kochi |
| 10:45 | Otsuka 18' Nishinoue 56' Yuji Besana Kato 60' Yoshida 70' Otomo 74' |
Report | Stadium: Kochi Haruno Stadium |
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.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J-Lease (A) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Qualification for the final round |
| 2 | Fukuyama City (E) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Gakunan F Mosuperio (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
Final round
The group had its matches played in a round-robin format, held in a five-days span, from 20 to 24 November.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J-Lease (C, P) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 | Promoted to the JFL |
| 2 | Vonds Ichihara (O, P) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | Qualification for JFL promotion/relegation play-off |
| 3 | Veroskronos Tsuno (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Tokyo United (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
(C) Champions; (E) Eliminated; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
| 20 November | Tokyo United | 0 - 1 | Vonds Ichihara | Ichihara |
| 10:45 | Report | Ryuichi 50' |
Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium |
| 20 November | Veroskronos Tsuno | 0 - 0 | J-Lease | Ichihara |
| 13:30 | Report | Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium |
| 22 November | Tokyo United | 1 - 2 | Veroskronos Tsuno | Ichihara |
| 10:45 | Ito 90+3' |
Report | Suzuki 34' Nakayama 90' |
Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium |
| 22 November | Vonds Ichihara | 0 - 1 | J-Lease | Ichihara |
| 13:30 | Report | Torigai 51' |
Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium |
| 24 November | Tokyo United | 0 - 1 | J-Lease | Ichihara |
| 10:45 | Report | Takayasu 63' |
Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium | |
| Note: J-Lease was promoted to the JFL | ||||
| 24 November | Vonds Ichihara | 1 - 0 | Veroskronos Tsuno | Ichihara |
| 13:30 | Otsuka 65' |
Report | Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium | |
| Note: Vonds Ichihara qualified for the relegation play-off against Atletico Suzuka Club. | ||||