, full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional

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 the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club that 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 ...

. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. Of its club name, ''JEF'' is taken from the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

and Furukawa Electric companies and ''United'' is meant to represent the unity of the club and its home city. Also, JEF United is the only team in J.League which corporate name survived the transition from the

JSL JSL may refer to: * JSL, Joint Station LAN, International Space Station * JSL S.A., a Brazilian logistic company * '' Japanese: The Spoken Language'', a Japanese textbook ** JSL romanization, the romanization system used in the text * Jamaican Sig ...

in 1992, as J.League mandated that "corporate teams are not allowed in the J.League", and that any corporate teams need to adapt a hometown.

History

Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1991)

The club began as the

company team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

, in 1946. As the company team, it won the Japan Soccer League twice, the

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 ...

four times and the JSL League Cup three times. Furukawa also won the

1986–87 Asian Club Championship The 1986 Asian Club Championship was the 6th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Several Asian clubs started the qualifying round in Fall of 1986. The final round was held in Riyadh, Saud ...

, the top club honor in Asia; they were the first Japanese club to do so. The club was a founding member (''"Original Eight"'') of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, the club had always played in the top flight in Japan and was the only Japanese club to never be relegated from the JSL Division 1, a record they kept into the J1 years. They did finish the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

season in a relegation position (last of 10) but stayed up after beating

Honda FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was founded as Honda Motor, Honda works team in 1971. They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 i ...

1–0 on aggregate in a two-legged playoff. The last place was not automatically relegated until the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

season.

JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004)

In 1991, it merged with the JR East's company team to become and rebranded itself as JEF United Ichihara upon the J.League's founding in 1993. JEF United Ichihara was an original member (''"Original Ten"'') of the J.League in 1993. The club initially built itself around the former Germany national football team player Pierre Littbarski. From 1998 to 2000, the club struggled to stay in the J.League and it began a series of efforts to be a competitive team. Since the hiring of

Ivica Osim Ivan Osim (6 May 1941 – 1 May 2022), best known as Ivica Osim, was a Bosnian professional footballer and football manager. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football managers of all time and as one of the most influential foo ...

in 2003, JEF United has contended for the league title each year despite limited resources and struggling attendance.

JEF United Chiba (2005–)

On July 16, 2006, Osim left the club to take over the coach of the Japan national team and was succeeded by

Amar Osim Amar Osim (born 18 July 1967) is a Bosnian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. Osim was a talented player during ...

, his son and assistant coach. On December 5, 2007, it was announced that Amar Osim had been sacked after the club's lowly 13th-place finish in the 2007 season. After 13 games in the 2008 season

Josip Kuže Josip Kuže (13 November 1952 – 16 June 2013) was a Croatian football manager and footballer. He was a player and later a manager of Dinamo Zagreb where he played for 10 years, making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Playing c ...

was sacked as team manager. On 8 May 2008 it was announced that the new manager was Alex Miller. Miller was First Team Coach at Liverpool F.C. alongside Rafael Benítez prior to joining JEF United. The Furukawa Electric is no longer the main sponsor of the club, a job these days taken over by Fuji Electric. On November 8, 2009, JEF United Chiba was relegated to J2 after 44 seasons in the Japanese top division; since 2010, JEF United Chiba is playing in J.League Division 2. JEF United Chiba was close to being promoted to

J.League Division 1 The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 ...

during the 2012 season. The club was considered one of the favorites to be directly promoted to J1. However, after defeats to clubs considered lesser than them such as

FC Gifu Football Club Gifu, abbreviated as is a Japanese football club based in Gifu, Japan. They play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional football. They also run a reserve team that play in the Tōkai Adult League Division 2. Hi ...

and

F.C. Machida Zelvia is a Japanese People, Japanese football (soccer), football club based in Machida, Tokyo, Machida, Tokyo. History Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest n ...

, JEF played the playoffs, making their road to the final. They defeated Yokohama FC by 4–0, but lost the final match to

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

by 1–0, at Tokyo National Stadium. In the 2013 season they played in the promotion to J1 playoffs. They lost the semi final match to Tokushima Vortis by 1–1(Chiba was 6th place and Tokushima was 3rd place in the league, regulation decides up high club can go final even draw.) In the 2014 season they played in the promotion playoffs to J1 again. The club did not have to play in the semi-final(Chiba was 4th place but the 3rd place club named Giravanz Kitakyushu had a J League original stadium problem so Kitakyushu could not go to the promotion play off). In the final against Montedio Yamagata, they lost by 0–1, at Ajinomoto Stadium.

Symbols

Stadiums

It had played its home matches at

Ichihara Seaside Stadium is a football and athletics stadium located in Ichihara, Japan. Completed in 1987, the stadium consists of a large main stand and several smaller stands in a ring. Approximately 500 seats are covered; the cold Ichihara winds tend to create an unco ...

, but has since moved to the larger, football-specific and more conveniently located

Fukuda Denshi Arena , known commonly as Fuku-Ari (フクアリ), is a football (soccer), football stadium in Chiba (city), Chiba, Japan. It was completed in 2005 and is home to the J. League club JEF United Ichihara Chiba following their move from the Ichihara Sea ...

, which opened in Chiba during the 2005 season. The club had initially practiced at Urayasu, Chiba planning to base itself in Narashino, Chiba before opposition by those living around Akitsu

Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

forced it to be based in Ichihara. Since 2000, training has been held at Footpark Anesaki in Ichihara in normally. Since 1 October 2009, they made new practice place UNITED PARK near the Fukuda Denshi Arena.

Mascot

JEF United Ichihara's mascot characters are

Akita Inu The is a historic dog breed of large size originating from the mountains of northern Japan. The two separate varieties of Akita are a pure Japanese strain, commonly called Akita-ken (''ken'' is the on'yomi for ''inu'' meaning dog in Japanese), and ...

brothers named Jeffy and Unity. The squad number of Jeffy is 2 and that of Unity is 9. They are also joined by a third mascot named Mina, or Mina-chan. Her backstory was that she one day came to Soga Station (the railway station nearest to

) and offered to work alongside Jeffy and Unity. Her squad number is 12.

Slogan

JEF United considers its philosophy to be encapsulated in its tagline "Win By All" since 2001.

Affiliated clubs

Furukawa Electric Chiba

This was JEF's reserve team during the JSL years. They were formed in 1967 and were first promoted to the JSL Second Division in 1975. They still exist, although they are no longer affiliated on paper, and play in the Kanto Regional League. In 2008 they renamed themselves ''S.A.I. Ichihara'' and in 2011 they adopted the name

Vonds Ichihara Vonds Ichihara (''VONDS市原'') is a Japanese football club based in Ichihara, Chiba. The club plays in the first division of Kantō Soccer League, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. History Founded in 1967, the club was tied ...

. Now separate from Furukawa Electric control, they aim to form its power base in Ichihara as JEF is now based in Chiba city.

JEF Reserves

JEF's reserve team played until 2011 in the Japan Football League, the third tier of Japanese football. But in 2011, the club announced the end of the B team because of financial problems.

JEF United Chiba Ladies

Rivalries

Marunouchi Gosanke

Historically, JEF United's fiercest rivals have been Kashiwa Reysol and Urawa Reds, both close neighbors. The three were co-founders (''"Original Eight"'') of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, and spent most seasons in the top tier through the JSL era. Because of their former parent companies' headquarters being all based in

Marunouchi Marunouchi () is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. It is also Tokyo's financial di ...

, Tokyo, the three clubs were known as the ''Marunouchi Gosanke'' (丸の内御三家) and fixtures among them were known as the Marunouchi derbies.

Chiba derby

JEF United and Reysol first met in 1941 in ancient

Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

regional football league. The two clubs both now based in Chiba Prefecture, and their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. They annually contest a pre-season friendly match well known as the Chibagin Cup (i.e., '' Chiba Bank Cup'') since 1995.

Record as J.League member

;Key

Honours

As Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1992), JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004), and JEF United Chiba (2005–present)

National

League

* JSL Division 1 **Champions (2):

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Cups

* JSL Cup / J.League Cup **Winners (5):

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

**Winners (4):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

(shared),

* Japanese Super Cup **Winners (1):

*All Japan Works Football Championship **Winners (3): 1959, 1961, 1962 (shared) *All Japan Inter-City Football Championship **Winners (4): 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964

International

* Asian Club Championship **Winners (1):

League history

*Division 1 (

Div. 1): 1965–1992 *Division 1 ( J1): 1993–2009 *Division 2 ( J2): 2010–present

Players

Current squad

''As of 19 August 2022.'' ^{Type 2} ^{DSP^{^{Type 2}
^{Type 2}
^{Type 2}
^{Type 2}

Out on loan

International capped players

Coaching staff

Managerial history

Kit and colours

The club colours of JEF United Chiba are yellow, green and red.

Kit evolution

Notes

References

External Links.

Official website

{{Authority control

J.League clubs
Japan Soccer League clubs
Football clubs in Japan
Association football clubs established in 1946
1946 establishments in Japan
Emperor's Cup winners
Japanese League Cup winners
Sports teams in Chiba Prefecture
AFC Champions League winning clubs}}