2015 FC Ryukyu season

FC Ryukyu
FC琉球
Logo
Full nameFC Ryukyu
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
GroundTapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium
Okinawa, Okinawa
Capacity25,000
ChairmanKeishiro Kurabayashi
ManagerKim Jong-song
LeagueJ3 League
2023J3 League, 17th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

FC Ryukyu (FC琉球, Efu Shī Ryūkyū) is a Japanese professional football club based in Okinawa. The club plays in the J3 League, which is the third tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

The team derive their name from Ryukyu, the historic name for Okinawa Prefecture. The club once had futsal and handball teams.

History

The club was founded in 2003. Most of the players who initially joined the club were those who had left Okinawa Kariyushi FC after a rift with their management, which were beholden to the Kariyushi hotel chain. Their first 2003 season saw them win the championship in Okinawa Prefectural Division 3 North. They were allowed to skip to Division 1 the next season, where they again succeeded in finishing top of the table.

In the 2005 season, they belonged to the Kyūshū Regional League (Kyu League). After finishing 2nd and winning the Regional League play-off, they were promoted to the JFL and became the first ever Okinawan football side who played in a national league.

In December 2007, the club appointed former Japan national coach Philippe Troussier as their general manager. Jean-Paul Rabier was appointed as their manager in January 2008.

They applied for J. League Associate Membership in January 2008, but their application was declined at the J. League board meeting held on February 19, 2008.

In December 2008, the resignation of Rabier was announced. Former coach Hiroyuki Shinzato was promoted to be the new manager in January 2009.

In 2014, FC Ryukyu could finally join the J3 League.

In January 2015, FC Ryukyu announced a partnership with Seoul United from the Korean Challengers League. According to the agreement the teams will play a friendly match every year. The first match was scheduled for 1 March 2015.

FC Ryukyu have made steady progress in recent years, finishing in 8th place in J3 in 2016, and improving on that the following year, finishing 6th.

In the 2018 season they secured promotion to J2 with 3 games left after a 1–1 draw at Nagano Parceiro, and in the following game beat Thespakusatsu Gunma to claim the J3 title with two games to spare.

They started their first season in J2 in 2019, in style with 4 straight wins to top the league, but faded as the season progressed eventually finishing in 14th place.

In 2022, after spending four years in the J2 League, the club was relegated back to the J3 League after scoring their lowest points total in the second-tier. The club finished in 21st place with 37 points, only 3 points off the last placed team.

On 26 October 2023, the club announced that they will use FC Ryukyu Okinawa for branding purpose starting 2024 season, although the club's current name will remain used in any competition.[1] The change initially also included the update of club's emblem. However, the plan eventually revised and Ryukyu decided to keep the current emblem for 2024 season, albeit with modified colorway.[2]

Home stadium

The home stadium is the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium (Okinawa Prefectural Sports Park Athletic Stadium), based in Okinawa City.

Until 2014, the Okinawa City Athletic Stadium in Okinawa City was used as the main home stadium, and multiple stadiums were used.

League & cup record

Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated
League J. League
Cup		 Emperor's
Cup
Season Div. Tier Teams Pos. P W D L F A GD Pts Attendance/G
2005 Kyushu Soccer
League		 4 10 2nd 18 13.5 1 3.5 51 12 -39 42 – Not eligible 3rd round
2006 JFL 3 18 14th 34 6 11 17 29 57 -28 29 3,189 2nd round
2007 18 17th 34 7 6 21 38 82 -44 27 2,443 Did not qualify
2008 18 16th 34 7 6 21 31 58 -27 27 2,882
2009 18 16th 34 11 5 18 42 57 -15 38 1,348
2010 18 10th 34 14 6 14 51 51 0 48 1,777 2nd round
2011 18 9th 33 14 4 15 47 51 -4 46 1,860 2nd round
2012 17 9th 32 12 7 13 58 62 -4 43 2,164 1st round
2013 18 11th 34 12 10 12 47 51 -4 46 2,069 2nd round
2014 J3 3 12 9th 33 8 10 15 31 50 -19 34 1,398 2nd round
2015 13 9th 36 12 9 15 45 51 -6 45 1,498 2nd round
2016 16 8th 30 12 8 10 46 46 0 44 1,561 2nd round
2017 17 6th 32 13 11 8 44 36 8 50 2,508 1st round
2018 17 1st 32 20 6 6 70 40 30 66 3,146 1st round
2019 J2 2 22 14th 42 13 10 19 57 80 -23 49 4,953 2nd round
2020 † 22 16th 42 14 8 20 58 61 -3 50 1,170 Did not qualify
2021 † 22 9th 42 18 11 13 57 47 10 65 1,618 2nd round
2022 22 21st 42 8 13 21 41 65 -24 37 1,996 2nd round
2023 J3 3 20 17th 38 12 7 19 43 61 -18 43 2,534 2nd round
2024 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 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

FC Ryukyu Honours
Honour No. Years
Okinawa Prefectural League Division 3 North 1 2003
Okinawa Prefectural League Division 1 1 2004
Japanese Regional Promotion Series 1 2005
J3 League 1 2018

Current squad

As of 14 February 2024.[3][4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Club officials

For the 2023 season.[5]

Position Name
Head coach North Korea Kim Jong-song
Assistant coach Japan Norichika Kanemura
Japan Hiroyuki Shirai
First-team coach Brazil Duda Dos Santos
Goalkeeping coach Japan Hiroaki Hidaka
Physical coach Japan Tatsuaki Shimoji
Analytical coach Japan Yamato Saino
Chief trainer Japan Keita Miyazawa
Trainer Japan Ryuki Take
Japan Hayato Yamakawa
Manager Japan Takumi Kato
Japan Keita Higa
Sports director Japan Minoru Takehara
Assistant sport director Japan Tetsuhiro Kina
Medical director Japan Kenji Murakami
Chief doctor Japan Kotaro Ishizuka
Medical supervisor Japan Tomoyuki Oshiro
Doctor Japan Fuminari Uehara
Japan Hiroki Yabiku
Japan Naori Akamine

Managerial history

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
George Yonashiro  Japan 1 February 2004 31 January 2007
Hideo Yoshizawa  Japan 1 February 2007 31 January 2008
Jean-Paul Rabier  France 1 January 2008 31 December 2008
Hiroyuki Shinzato  Japan 1 February 2009 31 January 2012
Takeo Matsuda  Japan 1 February 2012 31 January 2013
Norihiro Satsukawa  Japan 1 February 2013 31 January 2016
Kim Jong-song  North Korea 1 February 2016 31 January 2019
Yasuhiro Higuchi  Japan 1 February 2019 [6] 20 October 2021
Tetsuhiro Kina  Japan 20 October 2021 [7] 8 June 2022 [8]
Kazuki Kuranuki (caretaker)  Japan 9 June 2022 13 June 2022
Nacho Fernández  Spain 14 June 2022 31 January 2023
Kazuki Kuranuki  Japan 1 February 2023 [9] 16 May 2023 [10]
Tetsuhiro Kina  Japan 16 May 2023 15 September 2023 [11]
Kim Jong-song  North Korea 16 September 2023 Current [12]

Team colour and crest

Their team colour is bengara, a shade of red pigment. It is called red ochre in English and can be generally described as claret. Bengara derives from a Dutch word 'bengala' which in turn derives from Bengal, a historic region located in India and Bangladesh. This name was given because the pigment was traditionally imported from Bengal to Japan. Okinawa has a close association with the bengara colour which is prominently applied to Shuri Castle, one of the most symbolic historical buildings in the area.

In 2008 they adopted a sky-blue trim for their home uniform, as their bengara pigment pattern was considered too and similar to Aston Villa from England (the claret and sky-blue pattern was around long before Troussier and the French staff arrived, so a coincidence in colours is feasible).[citation needed]

Their crest features a pair of Shisas, imaginary talismanic creatures in the area, and the crown of the kings of the former Ryukyu Kingdom.

Kit evolution

Home kits - 1st
2003
2004
2005
2006 - 2007
2008
2009 - 2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 -
Away kits - 2nd
2006 - 2007
2008
2009 - 2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021 -
2022
2023 -
3rd kits - Other
2011 3rd
2020
charity
2021 3rd
2022 3rd
2022
Shuri Castle Reconstruction
Support Charity Match
Okinawa Legend

References

  1. ^ "新チーム名称・エンブレム決定のお知らせ". fcryukyu.com (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. ^ "2024シーズン使用プロパティの一部見直し 及びリブランディングプロジェクト再始動について". fcryukyu.com (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ "2023シーズン ＦＣ琉球 トップチーム体制". FC Ryukyu. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  4. ^ "PROFILE | 選手・スタッフ". FC Ryukyu. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Ryukyu Club Profiles". fcryukyu.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Yasuhiro Higuchi sacked". fcryukyu.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Tetsuhiro Kina appointed as manager". fcryukyu.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ^ "喜名哲裕監督 解任のお知らせ" [Notice of dismissal of Tetsuhiro Kina]. fcryukyu.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  9. ^ "倉貫一毅ヘッドコーチ　監督就任のお知らせ". fcryukyu.com (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  10. ^ "倉貫一毅監督　解任のお知らせ". fcryukyu.com (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. 16 May 2023. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  11. ^ "News Interim manager appointed". FC琉球公式サイト | FC Ryukyu Official Website. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  12. ^ "金鍾成（キン・ジョンソン） 氏　監督就任のお知らせ". fcryukyu.com (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.

External links