Tokyo Goannas
The Tokyo Goannas Football Club was formed in 1991 and is the strongest and best known Australian sporting team in Japan. The Goannas are the premier team in the Japan AFL (JAFL) Competition – having won the Championship trophy a record ten times "(7 times in the Japan AFL Top League format)". The Tokyo Goannas F.C. is a non-profit organization created to advance Australian Football and Australian sporting culture in Japan. The Tokyo Goannas are continually contributing to the expansion of AFL in Japan and this is reflected in the JAFL’s Top League making considerable steps towards a consolidated and sustainable national competition for 2010 and beyond.
J2 League
Second-tier club football has existed in Japan since 1972; however, it was only professionalized during the 1999 season with ten clubs. The league took one relegating club from the top division and nine clubs from the second-tier semi-professional former Japan Football League to create the J2 League. The remaining seven clubs in the Japan Football League, the newly formed Yokohama FC, and one promoting club from the Regional Leagues, formed the nine-club Japan Football League, then the third tier of Japanese football. The third tier is now represented by the J3 League.