The head of the body that runs Japan's corporate American football league says he will review its rulebook from top to bottom, after Obic withdrew from the rest of the season over a series of problems including a breach of the limit on pro-contract players.
Daisuke Nishimura, chairman of the Japan American Football Association, which oversees the X League, told reporters on the 3rd that he intends to complete the review by April 2027, when his term ends.
The X Premier, a league category introduced this season, caps each team at four pro-contract players to keep the competition balanced.
Investigation and sanctions
The association began investigating Obic in May and in August found that payments of activity expenses to one player violated the rules. In September it handed indefinite suspensions to Obic representative Ken Namikawa and GM Takuya Furuya for failing to cooperate with the investigation, among other violations.
The association went on to examine two more players and on October 29 decided they did not qualify as pro-contract players, issuing no further sanctions. Obic then announced it was withdrawing from its remaining two games this season and from the Rice Bowl tournament, which decides the corporate champion. The association treated the two games as forfeits.
Nishimura called the withdrawal "a very heavy decision" and said he respects it, adding that he felt "regret" when he thought of the fans and sponsors who had been looking forward to the games.
“If we had strengthened the league's governance, I don't think this problem would have happened.”Daisuke Nishimura, chairman, Japan American Football Association
He also described the definition of a "pro-contract player" as vague and said clearer standards are needed. Strengthening governance will require a stronger operating base, he said, and he intends to push reform alongside efforts to build ways for the league to earn revenue.