 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2017) |
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| Founded | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Region | Japan |
| Number of teams | 60 |
| Current champions | Nagoya Grampus (2nd title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Kashima Antlers (6 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | Fuji TV, SKY PerfecTV! (live matches) |
| Website | jleague.jp/cup |
 2024 J.League Cup | |
The J.League Cup (Japanese: Jリーグカップ, Hepburn: Jē-rīgu Kappu) is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is a.k.a. J.League YBC Levain Cup (Japanese: JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ, Hepburn: Jē-rīgu Waibīshī Ruvan Kappu) or YBC Levain Cup (Japanese: ルヴァンカップ、ルヴァン杯, Hepburn: Ruvan Kappu) (Levain is one of YBC's products).[1] It was a.k.a. J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (Japanese: Jリーグヤマザキナビスコカップ, Hepburn: Jē-rīgu Yamazaki Nabisuko Kappu) or Nabisco Cup (Japanese: ナビスコカップ、ナビスコ杯, Hepburn: Nabisuko Kappu) until August 2016.
It is generally regarded as the Japanese equivalent to league cup competitions played in many countries, such as the Football League Cup in England, as complementary to the Emperor's Cup competed between clubs from all divisions of professional football in Japan. Before the J. League Cup was created, the old Japan Soccer League had its own Japan Soccer League Cup since the 1976 season.
The tournament format varies almost each year largely depending on the schedule of international matches such as the Olympic Games and World Cup games (see the Format section below).
From 2007 to 2023, the winners qualified for the J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship held in the following summer, where they played against the winners of the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but was not held for 2021 and 2022, before ultimately being cancelled in 2023.
- ^ "2016 J.League Cup renamed to J.League YBC Levain Cup". J. League. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2016.