Japan Soccer League (?????????, Nihon Sakk? R?gu?), or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League.
Each team represented a corporation, and like Japanese baseball teams, went by the name of the company that owned the team. The players were officially amateur and were employees of the parent corporations, but especially in later years, top players were generally paid strictly to play soccer.
Top JSL teams included Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nissan Motors, Toyo Industries (Mazda) and Yomiuri Shimbun, which are now, respectively, Kashiwa Reysol, Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Tokyo Verdy 1969.
In 1991, owners met and agreed to disband the league, and reorganize as the professional J. League. JSL played its final season in 1991/92 and the J. League began play in 1993. Top nine JSL clubs, (along with the independent Shimizu S-Pulse) became the original J. League members. The others except Yomiuri Junior who merged with their parent club Yomiuri Club joined the newly-formed Japan Football League.
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Publish Date: December 31, 1969
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Official Home of Asian Football - Japan
Publish Date: December 31, 1969
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Publish Date: December 31, 1969
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