Yokohama FC

Yokohama FC
横浜
Logo
Full nameYokohama Football Club
NicknameFulie
Founded25 December 1998 (25 December 1998)
GroundNHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium
Capacity15,046
OwnerOnodera Group
ChairmanYuji Onodera
ManagerDaisuke Sudo
LeagueJ2 League
2025J1 League, 18th of 20 (relegated)
Websiteyokohamafc.com

Yokohama Football Club (横浜, Yokohama Efushī) is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming the first supporter-owned professional sports team in Japan.[1] They are set to play in the J2 League from 2026–27, the second tier of Japanese football, after relegation from J1 League in 2025.

Since gaining J.League membership in 2001, Yokohama spent considerable time in the second tier of the Japanese football league system. The club gained promotion to J.League Division 1 for the 2007 season after winning the Division 2 title. However, YFC were immediately relegated in the following season. After 12 years in the J2 League, they returned to Japan's top tier, now called J1 League, for the 2020 season. The team finished 15th in its first season back in the top flight. But history would repeat itself in 2021, as they were relegated to J2 after finishing the season as J1's last-place team. The team was promoted again to J1 from 2025 after one year stint second tier in 2024.

Yokohama FC is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called Football Club without an extended name or moniker, the others being FC Tokyo, Ehime FC, Iwaki FC, FC Imabari, FC Gifu, FC Ryukyu and FC Osaka which is currently playing their trades in the J.League.

In 2006, Yokohama won their first major honours winning the J2 League in the 2006 season.

History

Graphical timeline of Yokohama football clubs

Yokohama was formed on 25 December 1998 following the merger of Yokohama's two J.League clubs, the Flügels and the Marinos.[2] Flügels supporters felt that their club had essentially been dissolved rather than merged with, so rejected the suggestion that they should start supporting Marinos – who had been their crosstown rivals. Instead, with money raised through donations from the general public and an affiliation with talent management company IMG, the former Flügels supporters founded the Yokohama Fulie Sports Club.[3] Following the socio model used by FC Barcelona, the Fulie Sports Club created Yokohama Football Club, the first professional sports team in Japan owned and operated by its supporters.[1]

For its first season in 1999, Yokohama hired former Germany national team and FIFA World Cup star Pierre Littbarski to be the manager and Yasuhiko Okudera, the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, to be the chairman.[4] The club attempted to gain entry directly into the professional J.League, but the Japan Football Association only permitted entry to the amateur Japan Football League (JFL), at the time the third level of the Japanese football league system, and ruled that the club would not be eligible for promotion into J.League Division 2 at the end of its first season. So, despite finishing as JFL champion in 1999, Yokohama finished as JFL champion again in 2000 before being promoted to J.League Division 2.[5]

Although they had a dire season in 2005, ending 11th out of 12, they were in the top half of table throughout the 2006 season. Yokohama had lost all of their pre-season matches, including against college teams; they later hired player-manager Takuya Takagi, under whom they saw success. On 26 November 2006, they finished in the top spot of the J2 League and were promoted to the J. League 1. Yokohama's financial situation remained poor, with no ownership of their stadium or training ground, and few staff members. One of their players, Kazuyoshi Miura, last played for the team at the age of 53, and a former player, Atsuhiro Miura (one of their main players before his 2010 retirement) was 36 when he last played for the club. These players once played for the Japan national team.

In 2007, just the ninth year of its existence, Yokohama played its first season in the top flight of Japanese football. After a poor season, the team were relegated with five games of the season still remaining. Despite their early relegation, Yokohama defeated title contenders Urawa Red Diamonds on the last day of the season, allowing Kashima Antlers to secure the J.League Division 1 title.[6]

In 2018, Yokohama narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by goal difference. The team made it to the J2 promotion final, losing to Tokyo Verdy on an stoppage time winner. In 2019, Yokohama finished second in J2 and gained automatic promotion to J1.

After finishing in last place in 2021, Yokohama would be relegated back to J2 for the 2022 season, but they bounced back immediately to J1 League the next year. On 25 November 2023, Yokohama FC were relegated from J1 to J2 from 2024 after the club lost to Shonan Bellmare. On 11 November 2024, Yokohama FC secure promotion again to J1 from 2025 after draw against Renofa Yamaguchi 0-0 in final matchweek and ended one year stint in second tier.

Team image

Crest

Yokohama's crest features a phoenix, symbolizing the rise of Yokohama from the ashes of the Yokohama Flügels. The blue ribbon on the top represents the Blue Ribbon Movement, a movement that began at the end of the 1998 J.League season to keep the Flugels alive.

Mascot

The Yokohama mascot is named Fulie-maru, an alien-bird like figure. He is, supposedly, a tribute to Yokohama Flügels' mascot, Tobimaru, a flying squirrel.[7]

Yokohama FC fans in the Yokohama Derby

Rivalries

Yokohama derby

The Yokohama derby refers to matches contested between Yokohama FC and city rivals Yokohama F. Marinos, both based in Yokohama. The fixture represents a cross-city rivalry between two clubs with contrasting histories and identities.

Yokohama FC was founded in 1999 by supporters of the former Yokohama Flügels following the club’s merger with Marinos, giving the derby a historical and emotional background. As a result, matches between the two sides are often seen as symbolic of the legacy of Flügels and its fanbase.

Stadium

NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium

Yokohama FC plays its home matches at NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium, a football-specific stadium located in Yokohama. Opened in 1955, the stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 15,046 spectators and is known for its compact design and close proximity between the stands and the pitch.

NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium has a long history in Japanese football and has hosted various domestic competitions as well as international matches, including fixtures during the 1964 Summer Olympics. Its intimate atmosphere is considered a defining feature, providing strong home support for Yokohama FC.

The stadium is occasionally shared with Yokohama F. Marinos back in the days before they went on to move out to the Nissan Stadium. This shared usage reflects the close geographical and historical connection between football clubs in Yokohama.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

As the club could not adopt directly Flügels' white and blue strip given its similarity to that of Marinos, Yokohama FC decided to adopt an all-cyan kit, after NKK SC, a former company club which had closed in 1994. NKK SC was based in Kawasaki and played most matches at Todoroki Athletics Stadium, but used Mitsuzawa Stadium on days when the other Kawasaki clubs at the time (Verdy Kawasaki, Toshiba and Fujitsu) used it.

Season

Year Kit manufacturer Main sponsor
1998–1999 Japan Mizuno Japan Socio Fuliesta
2000–2001 Denmark Hummel Japan Nisso
2002 Japan Norika-Net
2003 Japan Feals
2004–2008 Japan Nisso
2009–2014 Japan LEOC
2015–2019 Japan Soccer Junky
2019–2022 Japan Onodera Group
2023–present Germany Puma

Kit evolution

Home kits - 1st
2001
2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008
2009 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Away kits - 2nd
2001
2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008
2009 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -

Players

First-team squad

As of 17 February 2026.[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  JPN Junya Suzuki
5 DF  JPN Kyo Hosoi (captain)
7 MF  JPN Kota Yamada
8 MF  JPN Hinata Ogura
9 FW  BRA Lukian
10 FW  BRA João Paulo
13 MF  JPN Ryo Kubota
14 MF  JPN Hayase Takashio
16 DF  JPN Makito Ito
17 FW  JPN Keisuke Muroi
18 FW  JPN Kaito Mori
19 DF  JPN Hayato Sugita
20 MF  JPN Toma Murata
21 GK  JPN Akinori Ichikawa
22 DF  JPN Katsuya Iwatake
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 FW  JPN Kantaro Maeda
24 DF  JPN Jui Hata
26 MF  JPN Akiyuki Yokoyama
27 GK  POL Jakub Słowik
28 MF  JPN Koki Kumakura
35 MF  JPN Koshiro Uda
39 MF  JPN Takanari Endo
42 GK  JPN Ryo Ishii
48 DF  JPN Kaili Shimbo
49 FW  JPN Naoya Komazawa
77 MF  JPN Leo Takae
78 MF  JPN Ryosuke Iwasaki
90 FW  BRA Adaílton
94 DF  JPN Soma Sato

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW  JPN Kazuyoshi Miura (at Fukushima United FC)
— DF  JPN Ibuki Matsushita (at FC Tokushima)
— MF  JPN Tomoya Takahashi (at Portugal Pevidém S.C.)
— FW  JPN Izumi Miyata (at Yokogawa Musashino)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  JPN Sota Tsukuda (at Belgium Jong KAA Gent)
— MF  JPN Yuto Shimizu (at Tiamo Hirakata)
— DF  JPN Kengo Hayashi (at Tiamo Hirakata)
— MF  JPN Yoshiaki Komai (at FC Imabari)

Management and staff

For the 2026 season.[9]

Role Name
Manager Japan Fumitake Miura
Assistant manager Japan Takafumi Hori
First-team coach Japan Seiya Takeuchi
Japan Shunsuke Nakamura
Japan Shingi Ono
Goalkeeper coach Japan Yoichi Doi
Assistant goalkeeper coach Japan Taiki Murai
Physical coach Japan Takeshi Ikoma
Conditioning coach Japan Akihiro Tanaka
Analyst Japan Shohei Waki

Honours

Type Honours Titles Season
League J2 League 1 2006
Japan Football League 2 1999, 2000

Bold is for those competition that are currently active.

Records and statistics

As of 6 April 2026.

Top 10 all-time appearances
Rank Player Years Club appearance
1 Japan Kensuke Sato 2011–2020 317
2 Japan Kazuyoshi Miura 2005–present 298
3 Japan Tomoya Uchida 2002–2007,

2012–2016

266
4 Japan Shingi Ono 1999–2005 231
5 Japan Tomonobu Hayakawa 2003–2010 227
6 Japan Shinichi Terada 2010–2017 226
7 Japan Tomoyoshi Ono 2002–2010 223
8 Japan Tetsuya Ōkubo 2003–2004,

2012–2017

220
9 Japan Yōsuke Nozaki 2011–2017 210
10 Japan Takanori Nakajima 2004–2007,

2012–2015

202
Top 10 all-time goalscorer
Rank Player Club appearance Total goals
1 Norway Ibba Laajab 163 80
2 Japan Tetsuya Ōkubo 220 47
3 Japan Shoji Jo 152 44
4 Japan Shingi Ono 231 34
5 Japan Hiroaki Namba 167 33
6 Japan Kōki Ogawa 56 32
7 Japan Kenji Arima 95 30
8 Brazil Kaio 77 27
Japan Kazuyoshi Miura 298
10 Japan Yōsuke Nozaki 210 23
  • Biggest wins: 14–0 vs Saitama SC (25 November 2001)
  • Heaviest defeats: 1–8 vs Yokohama F. Marinos (11 August 2007)
  • Youngest ever debutant: Kantaro Maeda ~ 16 years 9 months 14 days old (On 24 April 2004 vs Fagiano Okayama)
  • Oldest ever player: Kazuyoshi Miura ~ 54 years 2 months 23 days old (On 19 May 2021 vs Urawa Red Diamonds)
  • Youngest goal scorers: Kōki Saitō ~ 17 years 7 months 24 days old (On 3 April 2019 vs Ehime FC)
  • Oldest goal scorers: Kazuyoshi Miura ~ 50 years 14 days old (On 12 March 2017 vs Thespa Gunma)

Award winners

As of the end of the 2025 season.

  • J.League Best XI:
  • J2 League
    • Japan Tatsuya Hasegawa (2022)
    • Japan Kōki Ogawa (2022)
    • Japan Akito Fukumori (2024)
    • Japan Boniface Nduka (2024)
    • Brazil Yuri Lara (2024)
  • J.League Best Young Player:
    • Japan Takanori Sugeno (2007)
  • J2 League Top Scorer:

Managerial history

Manager Period Honours
Germany Pierre Littbarski 1 February 1999 31 December 2000 – 1999 Japan Football League

– 2000 Japan Football League

Japan Yoshikazu Nagai 1 January 2001 10 September 2001
Japan Yūji Sakakura 11 September 2001 15 September 2001
Japan Yūsuke Adachi 1 January 2005 6 March 2006
Japan Takuya Takagi 7 March 2006 27 August 2007 – 2006 J2 League
Brazil Júlio César Leal 28 August 2007 31 December 2007
Japan Satoshi Tsunami 1 February 2008 31 January 2009
Japan Yasuhiro Higuchi 1 February 2009 31 January 2010
Japan Yasuyuki Kishino 1 February 2010 18 March 2012
Japan Takahiro Taguchi 18 March 2012 21 March 2012
Japan Motohiro Yamaguchi 21 March 2012 31 January 2015
Slovenia Miloš Rus 1 January 2015 14 September 2015
Japan Hitoshi Nakata 14 September 2015 1 December 2015
Slovenia Miloš Rus (2) 1 December 2015 15 June 2016
Japan Hitoshi Nakata (2) 16 June 2016 15 October 2017
Japan Tomonobu Hayakawa 15 October 2017 17 October 2017
Slovenia Yasuhiko Okudera 19 October 2017 23 October 2017
Brazil Edson Tavares 24 October 2017 13 May 2019
Japan Takahiro Shimotaira 14 May 2019 8 April 2021
Japan Tomonobu Hayakawa (2) 8 April 2021 31 January 2022
Japan Shūhei Yomoda 1 February 2022 23 July 2025[10]
Japan Fumitake Miura 23 July 2025[11] present

Season by season record

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J.League
Cup		 Emperor's
Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW) D L (OTL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G
2001 J2 12 9th 44 12 (3) 1 25 (3) 58 81 -23 43 3,007 2nd round Round of 16
2002 12th 44 8 11 25 43 81 -38 35 3,477 – 3rd round
2003 11th 44 10 12 22 49 88 -39 42 3,743
2004 8th 44 10 22 12 42 50 -8 52 4,219 Round of 16
2005 11th 44 10 15 19 48 64 -16 45 5,938 4th round
2006 13 1st 48 26 15 7 61 32 -29 93 5,119 3rd round
2007 J1 18 18th 34 4 4 26 19 66 -47 16 14,039 Group stage Round of 16
2008 J2 15 10th 42 11 17 14 51 56 -5 50 6,793 –
2009 18 16th 51 11 11 29 43 70 -27 44 3,535 3rd round
2010 19 6th 36 16 6 14 54 47 7 54 5,791
2011 20 18th 38 11 8 19 40 54 -14 41 5,770 2nd round
2012 22 4th 42 22 7 13 62 45 17 73 6,039 3rd round
2013 11th 42 15 13 14 49 46 3 58 6,064 2nd round
2014 42 14 13 15 49 47 2 55 5,146
2015 15th 42 13 13 16 33 58 -25 52 5,113
2016 8th 42 16 11 15 50 51 -1 59 4,892 Round of 16
2017 10th 42 17 12 13 60 49 11 63 5,967 2nd round
2018 3rd 42 21 13 8 63 44 19 76 6,141 3rd round
2019 2nd 42 23 10 9 66 40 26 79 7,061
2020 † J1 18 15th 34 9 6 19 38 60 -22 33 3,559 Group stage Did not qualify
2021 † 20 20th 38 6 9 23 32 77 -45 27 4,511 Group stage 2nd round
2022 J2 22 2nd 42 23 11 8 66 49 17 80 5,088 – 3rd round
2023 J1 18 18th 34 7 8 19 31 58 -27 29 9,128 Group stage 3rd round
2024 J2 20 2nd 38 22 10 6 60 27 33 76 6,963 3rd round 3rd round
2025 J1 18th 38 9 8 21 27 45 -18 35 10,199 Semi-final 3rd round
2026 J2 10 TBA 18 –
2026–27 20 TBA 38
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • † 2020 & 2021 season's attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
  • Source: J. League Data Site

References

  1. ^ a b Ichiro Hirose (2014). スポーツ・マネジメント入門 [Introduction to Sport Management] (in Japanese). Toyo Keizai. p. 123. ISBN 978-4492502600.
  2. ^ "クラブ概要". yokohamafc.com. Yokohama FC. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  3. ^ John Horne, Wolfram Manzenreiter (2013). Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 978-0415275637.
  4. ^ Kumi Kinohara (27 July 2000). "Yokohama FC struggling to survive despite JFL success". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Interview with Tomio Tsujino" (PDF) (in Japanese). Yokohama City. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. ^ Andrew Mckirdy (2 December 2007). "Inspired Antlers squad captures J.League title". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  7. ^ A brief history of J.League mascots | Mascot madness in Japanese football, 30 January 2022, retrieved 2022-04-07
  8. ^ "選手・スタッフ" (in Japanese). Yokohama FC. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  9. ^ 選手・スタッフ [Players/staff]. Yokohama FC. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. ^ "四方田修平監督 解任のお知らせ". 横浜FCオフィシャルウェブサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  11. ^ "三浦文丈 監督就任のお知らせ". 横浜FCオフィシャルウェブサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yokohama FC.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.