Feb 24, 2021 If last year was the J. League’s season of uncertainty, this year will be its season of chaos. A scant two months and change after its coronavirus-struck 2020 campaign finally came to a close, the 2021 edition will kick off on Feb. 26 with far more at stake than ever before in the 20-team first division. The J1’s largest-ever field expanded from 18 after officials nixed relegation due to the impact of the pandemic, and it will return to that figure next year after completing this season’s supersized 38-round schedule. With league officials deciding against a promotion-relegation playoff in the name of simplicity, all of that adds up to a four-spot relegation zone — the biggest in J. League history.