There are nine regional leagues below the JFL -- the Hokkaido League, the Tohoku League, the Kanto League, the Tokai League, the Hoku-Shinetsu League, the Kansai League, the Chugoku League, the Shikoku League and the Kyushu League. A breakdown of the prefectures included in each of these leagues is provided in the table on the right.

The J.League is actively encouraging this transformation through financial and organisational support. The League hopes that within another five to ten years, there will be enough financially stable, independent (ie. non-company-operated) teams in the JFL and its affiliated regional leagues that it will be possible to expand the J.League to include a third division. In any event, now that several teams have been promoted from the JFL to the J2, interst in the JFL iotself has begun to grow, throughout the country. Now that a few pioneers have paved the way, we can expect many more regional clubs to advance through the ranks and become J.League clubs themselves, in the years ahead. Some observers have commented that 2006 was a "setback year" for independent JFL teams, because they were outperformed on the football pitch by corporate teams like Honda FC and the Sagawa Kyubin group. But we think this is a temporary thing, that reflects a few realities whicnh the J.League, JFL and JFA are just now starting to address.

In a nutshell, by forcing teams that aim for J.League promotion to adopt a "football only" buisines structure, the league is forcing them to build a solid financial base that will not collapse simply due to the whims of some suits in the corporate boardroom (as happened to the Yokohama Flugels). But this means that teams vying promotion will not be able to pay their players very well until the team establishes itself in the local community, builds up ticket sales, lands some good advertising contracts and all the other things that a club needs to do to become profitable. Corporate teams, however, can "hire" players as company employees, pay them generous salaries, and yet assign them to "jobs" that basically amount to practicing and playing football. Since the company generates money from its other operations (building cars, delivering parcels, or whatever), it doesnt need to worry if the football team is unable to make ends meet.

Following the strong performances of teams like Honda FC and Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo in 2006, the JFL and J.League have begun discussing this inequitable situation. Teams hoping for promotion to the J1 some day should not find themselves "outspent" by a team with no intention of becoming a J.League club. So far, there has been no decision on what to do about the current inequities, but there have been hints about asking the government to pass laws that will tax corporations for losses that they incur in supporting their football teams. Just the hint of such legislation may do the trick, and prompt the corporate clubs to either turn professional themselves, or stop trying to lure good players with dodgy "employment contracts".

In any event, it is no surprise that recently formed teams like FC Ryukyu, Arte Takasaki and Kariya FC have not yet managed to achieve success on the playing field. It will take time for these clubs to develop a revenue stream that can support a winning squad. Not everyone can hope for the sort of windfall that Thespa Kusatsu received, when five former J.League stars decided to volunteer their services as players, to help the team gain promotion. In the long run, though, this is for the best. By the time the teams DO improve to the point where they can finish in the top three of the JFL, their financial base should be sound, and they will not need to go through the difficult financial times that clubs like Ventforet, Sagan Tosu and Mito Hollyhock have experienced.