The new J. League season kicks off on Friday night ¡ª in a sense, at least, as the competition¡¯s one-off ¡°100 Year Vision League¡± gets under way.
Ahead of a shift to a fall-spring calendar system later this year, some idling time is required to keep things ticking over, and the 100 Year Vision League will act as that stopgap.
The tournament sees the 20 top-flight clubs split into two regional groups ¡ª four for the 40 sides in the joint second¡ª and third-division competition ¡ª each playing 18 games before a series of two-legged ties to decide the overall rankings.
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