Tournament Title

The 38th All Japan Regional Football League Competition

Organisers

Japan Football Association, Japan Football Federation for Members of Society

Managing Organisations

Ibaraki Football Association, Yamanashi Football Association, Yamaguchi Football Association, Chiba Football Association, Kanto & Chugoku Adults Football Federations, Ibaraki, Yamanashi, Yamaguchi & Chiba Adults Football Federations

Dates

First Round: Friday 7 November to Sunday 9 November 2014
Final Round: Saturday 22 November to Monday 24 November 2014

Venues

First Round
Group A: Hitachinaka Sports Park Athletic Stadium (One pitch)
Group B: Fuji Hokuroku Park Athletic Stadium (One pitch)
Group C: Shimonoseki City Nogihama Sogo Park Multi-purpose Ground B (One pitch)
Final Round: ZA Oripri Stadium (One pitch)

Eligibility

Teams shall be registered for the Japan Football Association and the Japan Football Federation for Members of Society as Class 1 (including associate members) and shall meet the following provisions.

• 1) Teams shall complete the federation registration for the year 2014 and be in good standing.
• 2) The number of players of foreign nationality is limited to three per team (except associate members.) (Those three are allowed to play in the same match at the same time.)
• 3) Player must play for their team at least one third of all matches the team play in the regional league. This provision does not apply to players who do not play in the regional league, however the deadline of an additional registration is defined as follows.
• 4) Additional Registration
  
  • i) Teams from regional leagues: Players to be added are limited to the players only with their registration approved by the JFA by the prerequisite date. The prerequisite date is the certain match date determined by counting matches backwards from the team’s last match of the season by the number which is calculated by dividing the total number of the team’s matches in the season by 3. If the date determined above falls after 22 August, the registration deadline shall be 22 August, the deadline of submission of the All Japan Adults Football Tournament application form, and only players approved by the JFA by the date will be allowed to play.
  • ii) Teams from adults tournament spots: Players to be added shall be approved their registration by the JFA by the application deadline of the 50th All Japan Adults Football Tournament (22 August). (For teams belonging to a regional league or prefectural league, the provision i) shall be applied.)
• 5) Any question arising out of player eligibility shall be consulted by the local adults football federation. The Japan Football Federation for Members of Society will assess the matter accordingly.
• 6) If a team belongs to the “Club” approved for “Club Registration” by the JFA, a player who belongs to another team in the same “Club” will be allowed to participate in the tournament without transfer procedure. In this case, a player can play on multiple teams, if the teams are within the same “club”. However, this rule applies only to players of Class 2 generation and the team can bring and list players from other Class 2 registered team within the same “club”. The rule does not apply to players of Class 1 and Seniors.
• 7) Players shall not be double-registered for another team.

Number of Participating Teams

• 1) The following 12 teams shall be selected.
  • i) One team each from the nine regional football associations (Nine teams)
  • ii) Maximum three teams from the All Japan Adults Football Championship (Three teams)
    (Top three teams out of the Adult Championships'’ top four teams and also the teams who have not earned the berth)
    Note: If the total number of teams does not reach 12 based on i) and ii), the participating teams are determined in accordance with the following priority. The remaining spots are allocated to the regions in the order of the higher number of the JFFMS registered teams each region has as of the end of June 2010. (Kanto, Kansai, Kyushu, Tokai, Hokkaido, Chugoku, Hokushinetsu, Tohoku, Shikoku)
    (In 2014, Tokai, Hokkaido and Chugoku are given the spots, and in 2015 it will start from the next prefecture in the order.)
    (In 2010: Kanto, in 2011: Kansai, in 2012: None, in 2013: Kyushu)
    Note: The provision ii) will be determined at the completion of the final match of the All Japan Adults Football Championship.
• 2) How to determine participating teams: Each regional league shall principally determine its representing team by Monday 13 October 2014.
  The participating teams shall be top teams in each regional league. If a league’s top team are not able to participate in the tournament, a team placed next will be granted a selection (A region with one spot shall select second-placed team, and a region with two spots shall select third-placed team.)
  If a region has no team to play, the Japan Football Federation for Members of Society will determine the allocation.

Tournament System

• 1) First Round: The 12 teams, drawn into three groups of four, play the round-robin contest, and the top teams in each group and the best second-placed team, the total four teams, will advance to the final round.
• 2) Final Round: The round-robin matches among the four teams
  Note: The standings both in the First Round and the Final Round will be determined by points earned. A team will receive three points for a win within the regulation, two for a penalty shootout win, one for a penalty shootout loss and zero for a loss.
  - Standings within a group
  If multiple teams are equal on points earned, the following criteria will be applied to determine the standings in the written order: Goal difference, Total goals scored, Match result between the teams in question, Goal difference in penalty shootouts (This does not apply when the teams in question play different times of penalty shootouts), Foul points and Drawing of lots.
  # Foul points shall be determined as follows
  i) Two points per expulsion
  ii) One point per warning
  iii) Points shall be added for the penalties given substitutes and staff members on bench as well.
  iv) Points shall not be added for the suspension penalties given due to matches played in other tournaments.