| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Albirex Niigata 1stJ2 title 1stD2 title |
| Promoted | Albirex Niigata Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| Matches | 264 |
| Goals | 678 (2.57 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Marcus Vinícius (32 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 42,223 (Round 44, Albirex vs.Ardija) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,337 (Round 4, HollyHock vs.Ardija) |
| Average attendance | 7,895 |
←2002 2004 → | |
The2003 J. League Division 2 season was the 32nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 5th season since the establishment ofJ.League Division 2.
In this season, twelve clubs competed in the quadruple round-robin format. The top two received promotion to theJ. League Division 1. There were no relegation to the third-tierJapan Football League.
The following twelve clubs participated in J. League Division 2 during 2003 season. Of these clubs, Consadole Sapporo and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were relegated from Division 1 last year.


Twelve clubs played in quadruple round-robin format, a total of 44 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs would be declared as the champions. The top two clubs are promoted to J1.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albirex Niigata(C, P) | 44 | 27 | 7 | 10 | 80 | 40 | +40 | 88 | Promotion to2004 J. League Division 1 |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima(P) | 44 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 86 | |
| 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 44 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 88 | 47 | +41 | 85 | |
| 4 | Avispa Fukuoka | 44 | 21 | 8 | 15 | 67 | 62 | +5 | 71 | |
| 5 | Ventforet Kofu | 44 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 69 | |
| 6 | Omiya Ardija | 44 | 18 | 7 | 19 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 61 | |
| 7 | Mito HollyHock | 44 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 56 | |
| 8 | Montedio Yamagata | 44 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 52 | 60 | −8 | 55 | |
| 9 | Consadole Sapporo | 44 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 52 | |
| 10 | Shonan Bellmare | 44 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 44 | |
| 11 | Yokohama FC | 44 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 49 | 88 | −39 | 42 | |
| 12 | Sagan Tosu | 44 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 40 | 89 | −49 | 20 |
| Home \ Away | ALB | SFR | FRO | AVI | VEN | ARD | HOL | MON | CON | BEL | YFC | SAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 2–1 | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 6–3 | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 5–2 | |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Omiya Ardija | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
| Mito HollyHock | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Montedio Yamagata | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |
| Consadole Sapporo | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Yokohama FC | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Sagan Tosu | 0–1 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 |
| Home \ Away | ALB | SFR | FRO | AVI | VEN | ARD | HOL | MON | CON | BEL | YFC | SAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 7–1 | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Ventforet Kofu | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| Omiya Ardija | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| Mito HollyHock | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Montedio Yamagata | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |
| Consadole Sapporo | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | |
| Shonan Bellmare | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Yokohama FC | 1–7 | 0–2 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| Sagan Tosu | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albirex Niigata | 667,447 | 42,223 | 8,644 | 30,339 | +41.3%† |
| 2 | Consadole Sapporo | 236,861 | 23,590 | 3,653 | 10,766 | −44.5%† |
| 3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 198,004 | 26,158 | 3,471 | 9,000 | −17.7%† |
| 4 | Avispa Fukuoka | 163,165 | 13,921 | 3,448 | 7,417 | +14.3%† |
| 5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 159,678 | 22,087 | 2,438 | 7,258 | +38.3%† |
| 6 | Ventforet Kofu | 127,515 | 13,043 | 2,382 | 5,796 | +17.9%† |
| 7 | Omiya Ardija | 111,274 | 20,686 | 1,357 | 5,058 | −3.9%† |
| 8 | Shonan Bellmare | 104,085 | 8,276 | 2,772 | 4,731 | +4.0%† |
| 9 | Montedio Yamagata | 96,142 | 10,096 | 2,743 | 4,370 | +16.4%† |
| 10 | Yokohama FC | 82,351 | 8,574 | 1,851 | 3,743 | +7.7%† |
| 11 | Sagan Tosu | 69,789 | 5,756 | 1,585 | 3,172 | −18.5%† |
| 12 | Mito HollyHock | 67,874 | 5,889 | 1,337 | 3,085 | +12.6%† |
| League total | 2,084,185 | 42,223 | 1,337 | 7,895 | +15.4%† |
Updated to games played on November 23, 2003
Source:J. League Division 2
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J1.