1.
Oviedo
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Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality contains the city. Oviedo is located approximately 20 km to 25 km south of neighbouring cities Gijón and Avilés and its proximity to the ocean causes Oviedo to have a maritime climate, in spite of it not being located on the shoreline itself. The Kingdom of Asturias began in 720, with a Visigothic Aristocrat Pelagiuss revolt against the Muslims occupying most of Spain at the time, the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 took control of most of the peninsula until the revolt in the northern mountains by Pelagius. The resulting Kingdom of Asturias, located in a poor region of the peninsula, was largely ignored by the Muslims. In 720, the area where Oviedo was located was still uninhabited and it is said that two monks, Máximo and Fromestano, founded the city in 761. That settlement was soon to be completed with the construction of a church dedicated to Saint Vincent. Oviedo was established on a hillside, with no Visigothic or Roman foundation before it became an Asturian city. Following Pelagius, who died in 737, Alfonso I founded a dynasty that would last until 1037, the Asturian Kingdom was on hostile terms with southern Moorish Spain. In 794, Oviedo was sacked and pillaged by Caliph Hisham I in one of his numerous campaigns against the Christian kingdoms. King Alfonso I is said to have set in place the order of the Goths, as it had been in Toledo. The intention with Oviedo was to shape it into a city similar to that of Visigothic Toledo, once kings had settled in Oviedo, they adopted as much of the architectural style and imagery of Toledo. Even with this in mind, Oviedo did not necessarily resemble the old Visigothic capital in Toledo, the churches and buildings of Oviedo follow instead late provincial Roman tradition. Since Asturias at the time was a poor area of Spain the scale of the buildings is quite impressive. Oviedo’s rich architectural tradition began with King Fruela I, King Fruela I of Asturias, the fourth of the Asturian monarchs, was the first decided promoter of the city as may be witnessed by his construction of both a palace and a nearby church. This church was restored by Alfonso II. Also constructed during Alfonso IIs reign was the San Julian de los Prados church, Alfonso IIs successor, Ramiro I, continued Alfonso IIs construction streak. Ramiro I constructed two buildings, the Church Santa Maria del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, the Church Santa Maria de Naranco was likely to originally be Ramiro Is palace and later changed into a church
2.
Real Oviedo
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Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city, Real Stadium Club Ovetense, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays in blue shirts and white shorts in the Estadio Carlos Tartiere, in the all-time league table for the Spanish top division, Oviedo rank in 17th place. Founded in 1926 after a merger with Stadium Ovetense and Real Club Deportivo Oviedo, Oviedo first reached La Liga seven years later, lángara won the Pichichi Trophy three years in a row prior to the Spanish Civil War, as Oviedo broke all scoring records. When football in the country resumed in 1939, Oviedo were relegated to the second division, with the FIFA World Cup to be held on home soil in 1982, the Carlos Tartiere Stadium was completely renewed, the first match being held with the Chilean national team. In 1984–85 Oviedo won the soon-to-be-defunct Spanish League Cup, after successively defeating UD Salamanca, Bilbao Athletic, CF Lorca Deportiva, CE Sabadell FC, after that successful year, there were more brilliant seasons and others where relegation was narrowly dodged. In a nutshell, the Carbayones had a run in La Liga during the 1990s with a team which lined up top international players. In 1992 Real Oviedo as well as most Spanish football clubs were forced to become public limited sports companies, the initial capital stock for Real Oviedo amounted to €3.6 million. In 2000, the new Carlos Tartiere Stadium with 30,500 seats became Real Oviedo’s new ground and it was officially opened on 20 September 2000 with a match between Real Oviedo and Partizan Belgrade, where Real Oviedo lost 0-2 to the Serbian side. Three days before, Real Oviedo and UD Las Palmas had got a 2-2 draw on the first fixture in the 2000–01 season, Oviedo lasted two further campaigns before dropping down a level again. The financial dire straits continued into the 2012–13 season, when Oviedo called on supporters to buy shares in the club, on 17 November 2012 Carlos Slim, the second richest man in the world, invested $2.5 million in the club, therefore gaining a controlling stake. On 31 May 2015, Oviedo confirmed their return to the Spanish Segunda División after a thirteen-year absence with a 2–1 aggregate victory over Cádiz in the 2015 Segunda División B play-offs, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The Asturian derby has been contested throughout its history and the two teams have met 117 times in all competitions. Real Oviedo have won 49 times, while Sporting de Gijón have done so in 38 games,30 draws have been produced, Sporting won the first match ever played, a 2–1 win for the Regional Championships on 6 December 1926. The first top flight derby took place during the 1944–45 season, the inaugural second level season,1929, also brought two local derbies – Oviedo thrashed Sporting 6–2 at home, while Sporting won 3–2 in the return fixture. 5,200 members are kept since 2001, when Real Oviedo was relegated from La Liga, the reserve team, which played since 2010 in the fourth level, was renamed Real Oviedo Vetusta in 2008. Vetusta was also the name of the team, before the Royal Spanish Football Federation decree which banned unique reserve club names in the early 1990s. Official website Futbolme team profile Club magazine Club blog Oviedín, fansite
3.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
4.
Coach (sport)
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In sports, a coach is a person involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. A coach may also be a teacher, the original sense of the word coach is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hungarian city of Kocs where such vehicles were first made. Britain took the lead in upgrading the status of sports in the 19th century, for sports to become professionalized, coacher had to become established. It gradually professionalized in the Victorian era and the role was established by 1914. In the First World War, military units sought out the coaches to supervise physical conditioning, a coach, particularly in a professional league, is usually supported by one or more assistant coaches and specialist support staff. The staff may include coordinators, strength and fitness specialists, in elite sport, the role of nutritionists, biomechanists and physiotherapists will all become critical to the overall long-term success of a coach and athlete. In association football, the duties of a coach can vary depending on the level they are coaching at, in professional football, the role of the coach or trainer is limited to the training and development of a clubs first team in most countries. The coach is aided by a number of assistant coaches, one of which carries the responsibility for the training, the coach is also assisted by medical staff and athletic trainers. The medium to long term strategy of a club, with regard to transfer policies, youth development. The system also provides a level of protection against overspending on players in search of instant success. In football, the director of a football team is more commonly awarded the position of manager. Baseball coaches at that level are members of the staff under the overall supervision of the manager. The baseball field manager is essentially equivalent to head coaches in other American professional sports leagues, the term manager used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, while the general manager is often called the GM. At amateur levels, the terminology is similar to that of other sports. The person known as the manager in professional leagues is called the head coach in amateur leagues. In American football, like other sports, there are many coaches. Sports coaching in the UK follows a structured pattern in principle. In June 2008, the Sports Councils together with the governing bodies of sport formally adopted the UK Coaching Framework at the UK Coaching Summit in Coventry
5.
Asturias
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Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in north-west Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. The most important cities are the capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón. Other municipalities in Asturias include Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado, Langreo, Llanera, Laviana, Lena, Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo, Asturias is also home to the Princess of Asturias Awards. In the Mesolithic period, a culture developed, that of the Asturiense. Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers, with the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus, the region entered into the annals of history. The Astures were subdued by the Romans but were never fully conquered, however, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spains northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. In the 10th century, the Kingdom of Asturias gave way to the Kingdom of León, through the rebellion of Henry II of Castile in the 14th century, the Principality of Asturias was established. The most famous proponents of independence were Gonzalo Peláez and Queen Urraca, after its integration into the Kingdom of Spain, Asturias provided the Spanish court with high-ranking aristocrats and played an important role in the colonization of America. Since 1388, the heir to the Castilian throne has been styled Prince of Asturias, in the 16th century, the population reached 100,000 for the first time, and within another century that number would double due to the arrival of American corn. During the 18th century, Asturias was one of the centres of the Spanish Enlightenment, the renowned Galician thinker Benito de Feijóo settled in the Benedictine Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, a polymath and prominent reformer and politician of the late 18th century, was born in the town of Gijón. At the same time, there was significant migration to America and these entrepreneurs were known collectively as Indianos, for having visited and made their fortunes in the West Indies and beyond. Asturias played an important part in the events led up to the Spanish Civil War. For a month, a Popular Front Committee exercised control in southern Asturias, a war committee dominated by anarcho-syndicalist supporters took power in Oviedo. Troops under the command of a then unknown general named Francisco Franco Bahamonde were brought from Spanish Morocco to suppress the revolt, Franco applied tactics normally reserved for overseas colonies, using troops of the Spanish Legion and Moroccan troops, ferocious oppression followed. As a result, Asturias remained loyal to the government during the Spanish Civil War, and was the scene of an extraordinary defence in extreme terrain. With Franco eventually gaining control of all Spain, Asturias — traditionally linked to the Spanish Crown — was known merely as the Province of Oviedo from 1939 until Francos death in 1975, the provinces name was restored fully after the return of democracy to Spain, in 1977
6.
Real Madrid C.F.
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Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real outside Spain frontiers, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has worn a white home kit since inception. The word Real is Spanish for Royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the crown in the emblem. The team has played its matches in the 85, 454-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrids members have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The club was estimated to be worth €3.24 billion in 2015, the club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world. Real Madrid is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona, Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s, winning five consecutive European Cups and reaching the final seven times. This success was replicated in the league, where the club won five times in the space of seven years. In domestic football, the club has won a record 32 La Liga titles,19 Copa del Rey, nine Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte, and a Copa de la Liga. Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 23 December 2000, the club received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. The club is ranked first in the latest IFFHS Club World Ranking, setting a new ranking-points record, the club also leads the current UEFA club rankings. They founded Football Club Sky in 1897, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa and it split into two clubs in 1900, New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Madrid Football Club. On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC won its first title after defeating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final. The club became one of the sides of the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 4 January 1909. After moving between grounds the team moved to the Campo de ODonnell in 1912, in 1920, the clubs name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII granted the title of Real to the club. In 1929, the first Spanish football league was founded, Real Madrid led the first league season until the last match, a loss to Athletic Bilbao, meant they finished runners-up to Barcelona. Real Madrid won its first League title in the 1931–32 season, Real won the League again the following year, becoming the first team to have won the championship twice
7.
Catalonia
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Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia consists of four provinces, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain, Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, in the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts, and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War, Catalonia revolted against a large and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic, in the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic, after the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia has regained some political and cultural autonomy and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain, the origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the medley of Goths with Alans. Other less plausible theories suggest, Catalunya derives from the land of castles, having evolved from the term castlà or castlan. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root, the source is of Celtic origin, meaning chiefs of battle. Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, the Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans. In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/, the native name, Catalunya, is pronounced in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña, and the Aranese name is Catalonha, the first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive
8.
Andalusia
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Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is recognised as historical nationality. The territory is divided into eight provinces, Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and its capital is the city of Seville. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, the small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, in the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spains Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, the name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. Including an intense relationship with Naples, Italy, Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the community especially in the sectors of industry and services was above average in Spain, the region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin and these include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles. Andalusias hinterland is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba, Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C until close to midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average temperature in mainland Spain and mainland Europe. Its present form is derived from the Arabic name for Muslim Iberia. However, the etymology of the name Al-Andalus is disputed, the Spanish place name Andalucía was introduced into the Spanish languages in the 13th century under the form el Andalucía. This was a Castilianization of Al-Andalusiya, the form of the Arabic language al-Andalus. The etymology of al-Andalus is itself somewhat debated, but in fact it entered the Arabic language before this came under Muslim rule. Like the Arabic term al-Andalus, in historical contexts the Spanish term Andalucía or the English term Andalusia do not necessarily refer to the territory designated by these terms today. To designate the territories the Christians had regained by that time in the Guadalquivir valley and in the Kingdoms of Granada, in a document from 1253, Alfonso X styled himself Rey de Castilla, León y de toda Andalucía
9.
Frank Rijkaard
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Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch former footballer and manager who played as a midfielder or defender. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side 73 times, in his managerial career, he has been at the helm of the Netherlands national team, Sparta Rotterdam, Barcelona, Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national team. His mother, Neel, is Dutch and his father, Herman, was a former Surinamese footballer, Rijkaard was just 17 when Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker gave him his senior squad debut on 23 August 1980. He made an impact, scoring the third goal in a 4–2 away victory over Go Ahead Eagles. He would play another 23 games for Ajax in his first season, in 1981–82, he won his first league championship with Ajax and went on to successfully defend that title in the following season. Rijkaard stayed at Ajax for seven-and-a-half seasons as a defender, a right midfielder. During this period, he won the Dutch league championship three times and the Dutch Cup three times, in the 1986–87 season, he won the Cup Winners Cup with Ajax over Lokomotiv Leipzig, winning 1–0. In September 1987, what would have been Rijkaards third season under Dutchman Johan Cruyff as head coach, Rijkaard stormed off the training field and he was subsequently signed by Sporting Clube de Portugal, but he signed too late to be eligible to play in any competition. He was immediately loaned out to Real Zaragoza, but upon completing his first season at Zaragoza was signed by A. C. Milan, Rijkaard played for five seasons at Milan. Playing alongside fellow country-men Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, Rijkaard won the European Cup twice, in the 1990 European Cup Final, he scored the only goal to win the cup for Milan. After five seasons in Italy, Rijkaard returned to Ajax in 1993, with Louis van Gaal at the helm, Rijkaard and Danny Blind formed the experienced defensive core of the Ajax team that won the first two of three consecutive Dutch championships. Ajax were the champions of the Netherlands in the 1994–95 season. In his final game, Rijkaard won the Champions League with a 1–0 victory over Milan in the 1995 final at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna and he was named in the FIFA100, Pelés list of the 125 Worlds Greatest Footballers. On the international stage, Rijkaard made his debut for the Netherlands in 1981 and he was part of the Dutch side that won UEFA Euro 1988 with a 2–0 win in the final over the Soviet Union, playing at centre-back alongside Ronald Koeman. He won a total of 73 caps and scored 10 goals, Rijkaard also played for the Netherlands during the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups and at Euro 1992. Rijkaard was the cause of an incident with Rudi Völler when West Germany played the Netherlands in the 1990 World Cup, Rijkaard was booked for a tackle on Völler and, as Rijkaard took up position for the free kick, he spat in Völlers hair. Völler complained to the referee and was booked as well, van Breukelen was angry at this but Rijkaard, already annoyed by Völlers previous antics, again confronted the West German by twisting his ear and stamping on his foot. As he jogged back to the tunnel, Rijkaard again spat in Völlers hair as they left the pitch
10.
Thai League 1
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The Thai League, commonly known as the T1, is a Thai professional league for Football Association of Thailand clubs. At the top of the Thai football league system, it is the premier football competition. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League T2, the Thai League is a corporation in which the 18 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from March to October, with teams playing 34 games each with a total of 306 games in the season and it is sponsored by Toyota and therefore officially known as the Toyota Thai League. In the Thai League, most of the games are played during Saturdays and Sundays, before the inception of the Thai League, the highest level of club football was the Kor Royal Cup which was contested in a tournament format from 1916 to 1995. Thai League was introduced in 1996 by the Football Association of Thailand under the name Thailand Soccer League, eighteen clubs who earlier competed for the Kor Royal Cup were registered to play in the first edition of a double round-robin league system. Thai Farmers Bank was crowned as the first champion of the 1996–97 Thailand Soccer League, the Thai League originally had 10 to 12 clubs each season until 2007, when it was expanded to 16 clubs. At the end of season, the three bottom placed clubs are relegated to the Thai Division 1 League. Most of Thai League clubs in that time were the organization of government authorities club that based in Greater Bangkok, meanwhile, the other local clubs had competed in the semi-pro league called the Provincial League. Thai Premier League faced the issue of low attendance and lack of local loyalties while the Provincial league suffered the financial issue, in 2007, Thai League was integrated with Provincial League completely. Chonburi from the Provincial League was the first champion of the new Thailand Premier League in 2007 season, in 2009 season, there were significant changes in the lead to the new era of the Thai Premier League. Asian Football Confederation declared the regulations for the associations that have the intention to send the clubs to compete in AFC Champions League starting from 2011, clubs were forced to separate themselves from the parent organizations and registered as the independent football authorities. The massive changes occurred in that season, Thailand Premier League renamed to Thai Premier League. Two times league champion Krung Thai Bank failed to complete the new regulations, the organization decided to sell the club. The club was acquired by Boon Rawd and rebranded to be Bangkok Glass, Bangkok University had expelled their football club section. The club rebrand itself to Bangkok United since then, the organization-based clubs had to relocate to find the local supporters to backup the clubs. Muangthong United were promoted from Thai Division 1 League in that season and won Thai Premier League in their first year in the top league, Thailand Clasico or The Classic Match of Thailand is the matchup between Muangthong United and Chonburi. It is the matchup that presents Thai football in the modern era, the name was given to the encounter of two teams due to the hype and massive atmosphere around the match
11.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
12.
J2 League
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The J2 League is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League and the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. It is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life and it is officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J2 League. Until the 2014 season it was named the J. League Division 2, currently, the J2 League is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 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 third tier is now represented by J3 League. For history of Japanese club football before the inception of the league in 1993. For detailed history of J1 League, see J1 League#History, a national second tier of Japanese association football was first established in 1972, when the Japan Soccer League formed a Second Division. Among the founding 10 clubs,5 later competed in the J. League, Toyota Motors, Yomiuri, Fujitsu, Kyoto Shiko Club, the requirement was abolished for the champions in 1980, and for the runners-up in 1984. After 1977, the new Regional Football League Competition served as provider of aspiring League clubs, in 1985, the Second Division increased to 12 clubs and in 1986, the number reached 16. Until 1989, the table was divided into East and West groups, depending on location, after that year. In 1992, following the formation of the J. League, the league was divided into two hierarchical, non-equal divisions of 10 clubs each. In 1994, the JFL was again reunified into a single division, as the J. League expanded in numbers, the need for another second tier with promotion and relegation arose, as the number of clubs which wanted to become professional increased. The infrastructure of the league was changed in 1999. The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL and one club from J. League to create a two-division system, the top flight became the J. League Division 1 with 16 clubs while J. League Division 2 was launched with ten clubs in 1999. The second-tier Japan Football League, became the third-tier Japan Football League at that time, the criteria for becoming a J2 club were not as strict as those for the top division. This allowed smaller cities and towns to maintain a club successfully without investing as much as clubs in J1, in fact, clubs like Mito HollyHock only draw an average of 3,000 fans a game and receive minimal sponsorship, yet still field fairly competitive teams in J2. Clubs such as Oita Trinita, Albirex Niigata, Kawasaki Frontale, all these clubs originally started as J2 in 1999 and were comparatively small, but they eventually earned J1 promotion, in 2002,2003,2004, and 2005 respectively. Even though Kofu and Oita were later relegated back to Division 2, they are well-established association football clubs, the league also began to follow European game formats, as time went on
