The J. League — and its fans — have been here before.
The debate over whether the league should adopt the fall-spring schedule favored by Europe and South America, rather than the calendar-year schedule that has governed Japanese soccer for much of its existence, has been a longstanding point of contention.
For many years, the Japan Football Association has argued that such a switch would not only protect players from the country’s sweltering summers, but bring the J. League in line with soccer’s powerhouse regions, making it easier for clubs to sign elite foreign players — and for Japanese talent to make the jump overseas.