Japan: Clubs Ranked - 1965 to 2025 (Updated)

Football's evolution in Japan has been gradual. A semi professional Japan Soccer League started in 1965, moving on to the fully professional J League in 1993. 

The Emperor Cup is the longest competition but I decided to start counting from 1965 in line with the Japan Soccer League's inception. The JSL Cup started from the 1970's and it also became the J League Cup in 1993.  

Before the J League, clubs were connected to companies and carried their names too. When the J League was initiated, most club names were changed and they are the ones used here. 

Some clubs have been introduced during this period under consideration and a few have folded. With the introduction of the professional J League, the amount of success a club enjoyed changed too. So no club really dominates the list above. 

The chart to the right / top shows points for the Japanese domestic competition (Jap) and then includes Asia (Tot). The points are: J League (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Emperor Cup competitions 4 and 2 points for the finalists only.  The JSL Cup is 3 and 1 points. The Asia Club Championship is 8, 4 and 2 points. The Asian CC includes 2026. 

For the J League (plus JSL) the most successful club is the Urawa Red Diamonds and a more recently successful club the Kashmiri Antlers second. The Yokohama Marinos are also proving competitive. Vissel Kobe won on 2023 and 2034. The Kashima Antlers are the current champions won in 2020 and 2021, the Yokohama F Marinos 2022 and Vissel Kobe in 2023. Most recent winners are the Kashima Antlers.

The Emperor's Cup dates back to 1921 but I only counted from 1965 when the sport was getting more professional. The Urawa Red Diamonds is the most successful with eight wins in twelve finals appearances since 1965. They last won in 2021. Recently the more successful clubs historically have not done so well. The Machiva Zelvia are the current holders. 

The J League Cup is not old (mid 1970's) so the points are not high. It's the equivalent of the league Cup in England. The Kashmira Antlers and Tokyo Verdy have each won it six times. As with the Emperor's Cup, the more successful clubs historically are not doing so well. The current holders is the Sanfrecce Hiroshima club.

The Asia Club Championship started in earnest in the 1985-86 season. Of the 38 times it has been held, Japanese clubs have won it on eight different occasions. They have also been losing finalists seven times. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment. 

Kantō covers Tokyo and the surrounding area so there is no surprise it has won 62.3% of all points among Japanese clubs. Kansai is two regions down from there and is next (15.5%). Chūbu is between them and third with 11.2%. The south is whatever is below Chūbu (9.8) and the north is above Kantō. 

England Clubs Ranked - 1960/61 to 2025/26 (Updated)

When you look at the past sixty five seasons, how do you quantify success? By allocating points for the top finishing sides. 

Over that time there have been many clubs that have managed to score points but there are some sides that shine. The lists you see here reflect that. 

To the right are the top ten, with points for local competitions on the extreme right and European success added for the 'Tot' figure. 

For the Premier League (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The top five are to the left. There is nothing between Liverpool and Man United with the next three too far behind to realistically catch them anytime soon. Arsenal is the current champion.

The FA Cup 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In this Man United lead from Arsenal with Chelsea third. There isn't much between them though, the uncertainty of knock out sport a leveller. Manchester City are the holders.

The League Cup just 3 and 1 point to reflect its lesser status. Liverpool do better in this than the FA Cup as does Man City. Aston Villa too has done better here than elsewhere. Manchester City are the current holders of the trophy. 

For Europe, I put them together. For the Champions League (European Cup) I gave 8 , 4 and two from the semi finals. The Europa League (UEFA Cup) got 6, 3 and 1. The new Conference League I added to the long time defunct Cup Winner's Cup. They get 4 and 2 for the finalists. 

Liverpool are big winners here from Man Utd and Chelsea. I did a top nine here to show the depth of success. Aston Villa and Crystal Palace were winners in Europe in 2025/26. Arsenal lost the CL final.

So putting it together and covering all the clubs that have accumulated points, what do we have? What is below, broken down into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place against all the other clubs. 

The strongest region is the North West where the powerhouse football cities of Manchester and Liverpool are situated. They account for 46.9% of the total. Liverpool passed Manchester Utd in the 2024/25 season to become the most successful domestically but are well ahead when Europe is added.  

London is next with several strong clubs and 30.0%. The Midlands total 10.7% and the last three 4.5% combined. So putting it together and covering all the clubs that have accumulated points, what do we have? What is below, broken down into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place against all the other clubs. 

Australasia: Clubs Ranked - 2006/07 to 2025/26 (Updated)

Football (or soccer) isn't the big sports code in Australia like it is in so many countries. The season is held in summer to avoid clashing with more popular codes.Clubs are spread across the country and now includes two teams from New Zealand, one of which has always been part of the competition. What has happened is that teams have been added, names changed and other variances have occurred. 

Sydney FC is the most successful club, narrowly ahead of the Melbourne Victory. The Central Coast Mariners north of Sydney are next, followed by Adelaide Utd.

For points, the A league has 6, 3, 2, and 1 point for the top four. The top sides go into playoffs to win the grand final, the points are 6, 4 and two receiving 2 points each. Slight variances to that for earlier years when there were fewer finalists. There was a preseason competition for the first four years of competition. One point for each winner. 

Top clubs don't dominate proceedings here like in most leagues around the world. Of the 252 points awarded so far, the leading club has just 40 of them. It makes for a more interesting competition than the same few winners all the time. Of the 21 years so far, no club has won more than four. 

The play offs feature the top placed league teams. This list only covers the last remaining four. It rewards the top league sides so success is similar to what we see in the league chart above. 

280 points have been awarded and again no side dominating . Sydney FC have won five grand finals of the eight they have qualified for.  

The four years of preseason tournaments early in proceedings produced just 12 points. They are added in the totals below but are of insufficient importance to be broken down into clubs. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

The state of New South Wales is the leader with 41.5% of all points. Victoria is next with 27.8% West has 14.9%, Queensland 10.5%. and New Zealand 5.3%. NZ has been a one team affair until two years ago when Auckland FC joined. Auckland FC is already making a mark but has a lot of ground to make up on clubs with a much longer history. 

I will explain the symbols that come after some of the names below. Melbourne City was the Melbourne Heart, the Brisbane Roar was Queensland Roar, the Wellington Phoenix previously were in Auckland and were the NZ Knights. Finally, the Gold Coast and North Queensland clubs folded after three and two years respectively. Western Utd was recently forced out due to financial issues after five years of competing.