Japan eyes parity with English Premier League by aligning calendar with Europe

The chairman of Japan's J.League, Yoshikazu Nonomura, has stated that aligning the league's calendar with Europe's could help clubs secure larger transfer fees for their players. He believes this change is a step towards enabling the J.League to potentially compete with top leagues like the English Premier League in the future.

Currently, Japanese clubs sell many players to European teams, such as Kaoru Mitoma to Brighton, but the transfer fees involved are relatively small compared to the global market. To address this, the J.League has switched from its traditional February-to-December season to a new calendar aligned with Europe.

A shortened interim competition begins this Friday and will run until June, followed by a full league campaign starting after the World Cup. Nonomura argues that this schedule will allow J.League clubs to better capitalize on European clubs' summer spending and close the gap with the world's top leagues.

He expressed a long-term vision, suggesting that with successful business operations, the J.League could alter the current landscape where Europe dominates the top five leagues, potentially within the next 20 years.

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