Even without an international A-match, 63,960 spectators set a 'record-breaking attendance'... The opening match of Japan's J League, which has switched to a spring-autumn schedule, was a huge hit.

*This content was translated by AI.

Japan's professional soccer J League achieved a huge hit right from its opening match of the season after switching to a spring-autumn schedule. A single official opener drew as many as 63,960 spectators, setting a new all-time attendance record for the league.

The J League kicked off the new season on the 7th at 7:25 p.m. with Round 1 of the 2026-2027 J League between Yokohama F. Marinos and Kashima Antlers at MUFG Stadium (Tokyo National Stadium) in Tokyo, Japan.

Until now, the J League operated on a spring-autumn schedule like South Korea's K League, starting in spring and ending in late autumn, but it has switched to a spring-autumn format for the 2026-2027 season.

Following the AFC Champions League's transition to a spring-autumn schedule, the J League had been preparing for this change due to reasons such as resolving scheduling conflicts with ACL fixtures and major European leagues, and preventing performance declines during the scorching summer heat. Today marked the first match of the spring-autumn season.

With the historic start of the spring-autumn season, many Japanese soccer fans flocked to stadiums. The official attendance at MUFG Stadium on this day reached 63,960 spectators—truly generating A-match-level excitement for a single J League professional soccer game.

According to local reports, today's attendance set a new all-time record for the J League. The previous record was 63,854 spectators during the 2019 championship-deciding match between Yokohama F. Marinos and FC Tokyo. Today's event has rewritten J League history, surpassing even the opening match attendance of 59,626 in 1993 between Verdy Kawasaki (now Tokyo Verdy) and Yokohama Marinos during the league's inaugural year.

This was not limited to this match. Just five minutes later, 34,855 spectators attended the game between Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds at Panasonic Stadium Saitama in Suita, Japan. This figure filled more than 86% of the stadium's capacity (40,022 seats). With only two matches held today, total attendance reached 98,815—nearly approaching 100,000 spectators.

The players on both sides responded with thrilling contests. Kashima Antlers, trailing 2-3, scored consecutive goals in stoppage time of the second half to secure a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over Yokohama F. Marinos. Gamba Osaka also staged multiple comebacks against Urawa Reds, overturning a 2-3 deficit to win 4-3.

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*This content was translated by AI.