is a Japanese professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

. In 2014 they entered the

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

after previously playing in the

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

, the third tier of the

Japanese association football league system The Japanese association football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape similar to football league systems in many other countries around the world. The leagues are bound by the principle of promotion and relegation; however, there are s ...

. Due to the club's former ownership by

TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". "TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...

and thus formerly known as the TDK S.C. ( JaWiki), most of the players were employees of TDK's Akita factory. The club currently plays in the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...

, which is the second tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Soyu Stadium, also known as "Yabase" (capacity 20,125 and the J.League's second oldest serving stadium) . The club practices at the adjacent

Akigin Stadium for their sponsor the Akita Bank, is a football stadium in Akita, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 4,992 and has been the home ground of J3 League club Blaublitz Akita since 2013. It was formerly known as Akita Yabase Pl ...

and Space Project Dream Field.

History

The club based in

Nikaho, Akita is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 24,291 in 9,371 households, and a population density of 100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Nikaho is located at the far south ...

, was founded in 1965. They were promoted to the Tohoku Regional League in 1982. They played in the

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

Division 2 in 1985 and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. They were the only club in Tohoku region competing in the JSL. In 2006, they won the Tohoku Regional League championship for the fifth straight year. They were automatically promoted to the

after they won the National Regional League Playoffs. The team has announced that it would separate from its parent company and join the

J. League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...

if the club's final yearly standing should ever allow promotion. In May, 2009, TDK announced that the football club will become independent for the 2010 season and be based around Akita. Later in 2010 the club's name was changed to "Blaublitz Akita". ''Blau'' and ''Blitz'' mean ''blue'' and ''lightning'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

respectively. The club moved to

Akita City 'Autumn field' is the capital city of Akita Prefecture, Japan, and has been designated a core city since 1 April 1997. , the city has an estimated population of 305,625, 136,628 households and a population density of 340 persons per km2. The to ...

and entered the

for the 2014 season. The club finished 8th in each of its first two years in the professional competition. In the 2017 season, their fourth, they won the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

, however due to their lacking a license to play upper-tier football, they were not promoted, becoming the first professional third-tier champion not to be promoted. However, Akita acquired the J2 license on September 27, 2018, after which they won the title again in the 2020 season, returning to the second tier for the first time in 34 years. * See historical emblems

League and cup record

;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 season attendance reduced by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

worldwide pandemic *Source: Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

(2): **

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...

: 2017,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* Regional Promotion Series (1): ** Champions: 2006 **Promotion to Japan Soccer League: 1984 *

Tohoku Soccer League is a Japanese football league covering the Tōhoku region, the 6 prefectures of Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. It is one of the nine Japanese Regional Leagues, the fifth and sixth league levels in the Japanese association ...

(11): **Champions:

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, 1983, 1984,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, 1989,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 2003, 2004,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

(shared with

Grulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, wh ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Current squad

''As of 8 August 2022''. ^{DSP
DSP may refer to:

Computing
* Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal
* Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing
* Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2}

Club Officials

Managerial history

List of captains

{, class="wikitable" ! # !!Name !!Captaincy years , - , align="right", - ,

Akira Sasaki is a Japanese alpine skier. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Sasaki ranked 34th in the giant slalom. He did not finish in the slalom event. His best result in the Alpine Skiing World Cup is from 2003 slalom in Wengen, where he finished in a surpris ...

, align="center", JSL Era , - , align="right", 7 , Satoshi Sato , align="center", , - , align="right", 17 , Moriyasu Saito , align="center", , - , align="right", 4 , Masatoshi Ozawa , align="center", 2007–2009 , - , align="right", 18 ,

Satoshi Yokoyama is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Yokoyama was born in Hirao, Yamaguchi on February 14, 1980. After dropped out from Waseda University, he joined J2 League club Omiya Ardija in 2001. He debuted in May 2001 and play many m ...

, align="center", 2010 , - , align="right", 2 , Hiroyuki Kobayashi , align="center", 2011 , - , align="right", 10 , Masatoshi Matsuda , align="center", 2012-2013 , - , align="right", 10 ,

Shingo Kumabayashi is a former Japanese football player. He is the support coach J2 League club of Blaublitz Akita. Playing career Kumabayashi was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido on June 23, 1981, and raised in Akita, Akita. After graduating from high school, he joine ...

, align="center", 2014 , - , align="right", 4 , Toshio Shimakawa , align="center", 2015 , - , align="right", 24 ,

Naoyuki Yamada is a Japanese football player. He plays for Vanraure Hachinohe. Playing career Naoyuki Yamada joined MIO Biwako Shiga in 2010. In 2013, he moved to Blaublitz Akita. Club statistics ''Updated to 26 December 2021''.Nippon Sports Kikaku Publi ...

, align="center", 2016-2018 , - , align="right", 39
24 , Hiroki Kotani

, align="center", 2019 , - , align="right", 24 ,

, align="center", 2020 , - , align="right", 9 ,

Ryota Nakamura , nicknamed Azuki, is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for J2 League club Blaublitz Akita. Playing career Ryota Nakamura played for J2 League club; Matsumoto Yamaga FC in 2013 season. On 4 April 2015, he scored his first hat-tri ...

, align="center", 2021 , - , align="right", 23 ,

Shuto Inaba is a Japanese football player. He is a midfielder currently playing for Blaublitz Akita. Personal life He graduated with first-class honours in Sports Science from Fukuoka University. Career Singapore He signed for Albirex Niigata FC (Sing ...

, align="center", 2022 , - , colspan="2", To be determined , align="center", 2023– , -

Kit evolution

{, class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="double #005BAB" style="width:65%; font-size:smaller" !colspan="5", Home kits - 1st , - , , , , , , - , , , , , , - , , , - , , , , , , , , , , - Big shirt of BlauBlitz

{, class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="double #005BAB" style="width:65%; font-size:smaller" !colspan="5", Away kits - 2nd , - , , , , , , - , , , , , , - , , , - , , , , , , , , ,

Award winners

The following players have won the awards while at TDK/Blaublitz: *JFL Top Scorer ** Masatoshi Matsuda (2011) *JFL Best XI ** Masatoshi Matsuda (2010)

Top scorers by seasons

{, , - , valign="top", {, class="wikitable" , - !Season !!Name !!Goals , - ,

, ,

Go Togashi is a Japanese football player who played for Blaublitz Akita is a Japanese professional association football team based in Akita, Akita Prefecture. In 2014 they entered the J3 League after previously playing in the Japan Football League, t ...

, style="text-align:center;", 12 , - , 2007, , Masatoshi Matsuda , style="text-align:center;", 18 , - , 2008, ,

, style="text-align:center;", 14 , - , 2009, ,

Masahiro Ikeda is a former Japanese football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where ...

Masatoshi Matsuda , style="text-align:center;", 7 , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , rowspan="4", Masatoshi Matsuda , style="text-align:center;", 24 , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:center;", 20 , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", 12 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, style="text-align:center;", 10 , - , 2014, , Hirochika Miyoshi , style="text-align:center;", 12 , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , Kyohei Maeyama , style="text-align:center;", 10 , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , rowspan="2", Tomohiro Tanaka , style="text-align:center;", 8 , - , 2017 , style="text-align:center;", 15 , - , 2018, , Tomohiro Tanaka

Ken Hisatomi Ken Hisatomi (久富賢, born September 29, 1990) is a Japanese football player who plays as a midfielder for Vonds Ichihara. Career On 5 December 2013, Hisatomi was selected as Fujieda MYFC's player of the 2013 season by a fan blog. Club stat ...

, style="text-align:center;", 6 , - , 2019, , rowspan="2",

, style="text-align:center;", 11 , - ,

, style="text-align:center;", 10 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, ,

Hayate Take is a Japanese football player currently playing for Thespakusatsu Gunma is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in ...

, style="text-align:center;", 7 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , Ibuki Yoshida
Shota Aoki , style="text-align:center;", 5 , -

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
Record (1984-2014)

JSL Cup was the original league cup for clubs in the top levels of Japanese soccer before the creation of the J. League and its cup. The cup was first played in 1973, but did not become an annual tournament until 1976. The JSL/JFL Cup included clubs fr ...
Record

Seasons

2022 Blaublitz Akita season The 2022 season is Blaublitz Akita' s second season in the J2 League,. The annual club slogan is "超秋田一体". Squad ''As of 2022''. Type 2 Type 2 J2 League Emperor's Cup Other games Gallery ...

Support

Blaublitz Akita's main active supporters' group is called the Blue tasu Akita.

Stadium and facilities

* Soyu Stadium *

Akita Prefectural Central Park Akita Prefectural Central Park ( ja, 秋田県立中央公園) is a group of sports facilities in Yuwa, Akita, Akita, Japan. Facilities Akita Sky Dome The dome is the practice facility for the Blaublitz Akita is a Japanese professional ass ...

* JA Kyosai

Tsuchizaki is a neighbourhood located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the neighbourhood had an estimated population of 21,310 and a population density of 3,400 persons per km². The total area of the neibourhood is . Annexed by the city in 1941 ...

Indoor Practice Facility () * Akita Prefecture Football Centre () *Versity Weight Room () * Nipro Hachiko Dome *Dormitory * Green Thumb no Mori

Former facilities

Nikaho Green Field is a football stadium in Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 4,430 and was the home ground of J3 League club Blaublitz Akita is a Japanese professional association football team based in Akita, Akita Prefecture. ...

Nishime Country Park Soccer Field is a football stadium in Nishime, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 4,328 and was the home ground of J3 League club Blaublitz Akita is a Japanese professional association football team based in Akita, Aki ...

TDK Akita General Sports Center TDK Akita General Sports Center is a group of sports facilities located in Nikaho, Akita, Japan. It opened in 1985 and hosted National Sports Festival of Japan soccer games in 2007. It is the former home ground of the TDK SC is a Japanese ...

() * Mizubayashi Athletic Field () * Oga Athletic Stadium ()

Team mascots

The official team mascot is a 8-year-old

Ryūjin Ryūjin ( 龍神), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge on ...

, named Blaugon and wears #00. Blaugon3

Songs and chants

* Akita Prefectural Anthem
song
* We are Akita -
songRakan edition
composed by Berabow * Akita Olé
songchamp edition

Related clubs

TDK Shinwakai is a Japanese football club based in Nikaho, Akita, the southern city of Akita Prefecture. They play in the Tohoku Soccer League. Their team colour is blue. League record ;Key Honours * Akita Prefecture League:(3) **Champions: 2005, 20 ...

(

Division 2 North) – Based in

. * Tsuruoka TDK

TDK derby list

Rivalries

Ōu Honsen (Dewa derby)

TDK and NEC Yamagata first met in 1990 in old Tohoku regional football league. The two clubs have been based in former

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

, and their rivalry is renamed as

Ōu Honsen The Ōu Honsen (奥羽本戦, ''Main battle of Ōu Mountains#Naming, Ōu'', a pun on the Ou Line railroad traversing the prefectures) is a association football, footballing Sports rivalry, rivalry played between Blaublitz Akita and Montedio Ya ...

(奥羽本戦) after the

Japan Railways The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1992, the Fukushima–Yama ...

(奥羽本線) in 2021. *

Battle of Ōshū The Battle of Ōshū (奥州合戦, ''Ōshū-kassen'') was a major battle between the Kamakura government and the Northern Fujiwara that took place in the Tōhoku region of Japan from September 1 to October 14, 1189. It resulted in the downfall ...

Broadcasters

* Yuji Hirota *

Francesco Bellissimo (born 3 January 1979 in Rome) is an Italian celebrity chef, actor, foreign tarento, social media personality, businessman, martial artist and sommelier dell' Olio. He holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin karate. He is living and ...

Toshifumi Takeshima is a Japanese television announcer for the Akita Television in Akita and the play-by-play broadcaster for the Akita Northern Happinets of the B.League in Japan. Born in Akita, Takeshima graduated from Toin Gakuen High School in Yokohama and earne ...

Shirt sponsorship by TDK

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

(1982–91) *

Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club is a professional football club based in Selhurst in the Borough of Croydon, South London, England, who compete in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Although formally created as a profes ...

(1993–99)

References

External links

*(Japanese
Official site
*(Japanese
Club Introduction in the J3 League official site
{{coord, 39, 43, 9.2, N, 140, 6, 20.1, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in Japan Japan Soccer League clubs Association football clubs established in 1965 1965 establishments in Japan Nikaho, Akita Sport in Akita (city) Sports teams in Akita Prefecture TDK Japan Football League clubs J.League clubs