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.
Japan Football League
The Japan Football League started from the 1999 season when the second division of J.League (J2) was also born. Until then, J.League consisted of only one division and the former JFL was the second highest division. Out of 16 teams who played the last season of the former JFL, 9 decided and were accepted to play in J2 and the other 7 teams as well as Yokogawa Electric, the winners of the Regional League Promotion Series, formed the new Japan Football League. These 8 teams together with Yokohama FC that was allowed to participate as a special case after the merger of Yokohama Flügels and Yokohama F. Marinos competed in the inaugural 1999 season.