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 ...
club from the
Okinawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city o ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In 2022, after spending four years 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 ...
, the club was relegated. They will play on
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 ...
from the 2023 season.
The team derive their name from
Ryukyu
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
, the historic name for Okinawa Prefecture. The club once had
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
and
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
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
Philippe Omar TroussierOctober's ten - Religious conversions 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
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 ...
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
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 ...
.
In January 2015, FC Ryukyu announced a partnership with
Seoul United
Seoul Nowon United FC (Korean: 서울 노원 유나이티드 FC) (formerly known as Seoul United FC) is a South Korean semi-professional football club based in Nowon District, Seoul. It currently competes in the fourth tier of the South Korean fo ...
from the Korean
Challengers League
Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to:
Entertainment
Comics and manga
* Challenger (character), comic book character
* ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga
Film and TV
* ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 197 ...
. 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 Nagano may refer to:
Places
* Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan
** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture
*** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics
*** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano
*** Nagano Univer ...
, and in the following game beat
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 Japan.
History
The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most we ...
to claim the J3 title with two games to spare.
They started their first season in J2 in style with 4 straight wins to top the league, but faded as the season progressed eventually finishing in 14th place.
Team colour and crest
Their team colour is ''bengara'', a shade of red
pigment
A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...
. It is called
red ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
in English and can be generally described as claret. ''Bengara'' derives from a Dutch word ''bengala'' which in turn derives from ''
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
'', a region 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
was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroye ...
, 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
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(the claret and sky-blue pattern was around long before Troussier and the French staff arrived, so a coincidence in colours is feasible).
Their crest features a pair of
Shisa
is a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some ...
s, imaginary talismanic creatures in the area, and the crown of the kings of the former
Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in 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 ...
:
**
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 ...
: 2018
Current squad
''As of 24 October 2022''.Type 2Type 2Type 2
Out on loan
Club Officials
''For the 2022 season:''
Managerial history
Kit evolution
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:FC Ryukyu
Ryukyu
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
Ryukyu
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...