Analysis
J.League Management Cup 2018
Ranking of J.League club teams by business management
Based on the publicly available financial information of J.League club teams for 2018, the report quantifies their business management from four perspectives of marketing, efficiency, management, and finance.
In the 2018 season, the J.League celebrated the momentous occasion of the 25th anniversary since its founding.
On the competitive side, the world-class player Iniesta's participation in the J.League attracted considerable attention, and J.League clubs won two consecutive titles in the AFC Champions League, making it a newsworthy season befitting of this milestone. On the business side, the number of registered J.League IDs promoted by the League, which provide all-in-one access to League services, exceeded one million. A door to a new age of digital marketing has opened, and J.League has confidently declared that it will raise its social value moving forward through the concept of "social collaboration".
Regarding the League management, the supply of additional prize money started in the 2018 season, and the League clarified its goal of breaking free of the convoy system (sheltering weaker clubs). Friday Night J.League has also started, a promotion to acquire new customers who do not have chances to watch J.League matches over the weekend. It is evident that the League is undergoing a great business shift.
To help the league connect its many years of experience to sustainable growth moving forward, Deloitte Tohmatsu Sports Business Group has ranked the business management (BM) of every club in the League in the fifth edition of this report, J.League Management Cup 2018.
Ranking
J1
Rank | Club | Overall points | Marketing | Efficiency | Management | Finance |
1 | Kawasaki-F | 171 | 52 | 21 | 58 | 40 |
2 | Kashima | 169 | 44 | 18 | 60 | 47 |
3 | Urawa | 149 | 43 | 23 | 52 | 31 |
4 | G-Osaka | 144 | 47 | 25 | 44 | 28 |
5 | Nagoya | 143 | 49 | 18 | 41 | 35 |
J2
Rank | Club | Overall points | Marketing | Efficiency | Management | Finance |
1 | Matsumoto | 204 | 70 | 27 | 53 | 54 |
2 | Chiba | 190 | 67 | 22 | 52 | 49 |
3 | Yamaguchi | 188 | 64 | 32 | 65 | 27 |
4 | FC Gifu | 166 | 43 | 27 | 49 | 47 |
5 | Tochigi | 165 | 36 | 24 | 60 | 45 |
J3
Rank | Club | Overall points | Marketing | Efficiency | Management | Finance |
1 | Kitakyushu | 129 | 51 | 15 | 31 | 31 |
2 | Sagamihara | 124 | 36 | 22 | 49 | 17 |
3 | Kagoshima | 113 | 37 | 16 | 35 | 25 |
4 | Tottori | 112 | 33 | 21 | 40 | 18 |
5 | FC Ryukyu | 109 | 28 | 14 | 39 | 28 |
Full text of the report [PDF]
The full text of the J.League Management Cup 2018 can be downloaded from here.
Deloitte Tohmatsu Group’s Sports Business
The Deloitte Tohmatsu Group has professionals in a wide range of areas such as finance/accounting, strategy, marketing, and business reforms. We have an established structure to provide full business support while making use of abundant knowledge in the sports business area on a global scale. In addition to consulting business, we actively make contribution to the overall sports industry through contributing articles to sports-related media outlets at home and abroad, among other activities.