Football: Decision on summer season start in Japan nearing conclusion

The J-League could indicate as early as Wednesday whether it plans to reschedule the Japanese professional football season and bring it into line with top competitions in Europe. The league has finished interviewing all 60 clubs in its top three divisions about the potential realignment, which would see the season kick off in August, rather than the current February, from 2026 at the earliest. Previous discussions in 2017 ended with the idea being shelved, but the reformatting of the Asian Champions League, which moved its start to September from this term, has given new impetus to changing th...