The former Japan Football League (ジャパンフットボールリーグ, Japan Futtobōru Līgu^?) was a football (soccer) league that existed from 1992 to 1998. Also known as JFL, it was the 2nd tier of the Japanese football hirarchy following J. League. The Japan Professional Football League ), or J. League ), is the top professional soccer league in Japan, and the most successful professional football league in Asia. ...

Note: In Japan's football history, there are two different leagues that have the same English name "Japan Football League" although their Japanese names are different. One (ジャパンフットボールリーグ, Japan futtobōru Līgu^?) does not exists any more and is the subject of this page while the other (日本フットボールリーグ, Nihon futtobōru Līgu^?) is still alive and kicking. In this page, the former is refered to as "the former JFL", and the latter as "the new JFL"

History

When the Japan Football Association decided to found a professional football league, the Japan Soccer League (JSL), the top-flight league until the 1991/92 season, was reorganised into two newly formed leagues. One was the Japan Professional Football League as known as J. League, the first-ever professional football league in Japan. The other was the former Japan Football League. The Japan Football Association (JFA) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football (soccer) in Japan. ... Japan Soccer League ), 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. ...

18 teams out of 28 who were the members of the JSL division 1 and 2 chose not to be professional, at least at that time. They played the inaugural 1992 season of the former JFL togeter with Osaka Gas and Seino Transportation, the winners of the regional league play-off.

The former JFL ceased to exist at the end of the 1998 season when J. League Division 2 was formed. Out of 16 teams who played the last season of the former JFL, 9 decided and were accepted to play in J2 and the other 7 teams joined the new JFL.