is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a striker for Albanian club Kamza.

Club career

Gainare Tottori

In 2011, he joined

Gainare Tottori are a Japanese football club, based in Tottori, Tottori. They play in the J3 League. Their team colour is green. Their team name ''Gainare'' derives from the Tottori dialect word ''gaina'' meaning "great" and Italian ''sperare'' meaning "to hop ...

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 6 March 2011 he made his first appearance for the team.

Home United

In 2013 the striker signed for

Home United Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Since the 2021 season, the ...

on a free transfer. He played thirteen games in the

S.League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

without scoring.

Sutjeska Nikšić

On 26 July 2013, Fukui signed for

Montenegrin First League The First League of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ) is the top football league in Montenegro. Founded in 2006, competition is headed by the Football Association of Montenegro. 10 tea ...

side Sutjeska Nikšić on a free transfer. He made his debut on 10 August, scoring in a 2–0 win over Mornar. He scored a goal from 70 metres against FK Mladost for 2–0 win.

Tirana

On 16 July 2015, Fukui joined

Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

side

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract and becoming the first Japanese player to sign for an Albanian club. In his unofficial debut on 22 July, he came on the field and scored twice to lead his team into a 2–1 win against Mladost Carev Dvor in the first match of the preparation phase in Macedonia. On 23 August 2015, in the Tirana's opening match of the 2015–16 season against the newcomers of Tërbuni Pukë, Fukui gave an assist for

Gilman Lika Gilman Lika (born 31 January 1987) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Vllaznia Shkodër in the Albanian Superliga and the Albania national team. Having started his career with Vllaznia Shkodër in 2004, he ...

to score an equalizer, which ended Tërbuni's superiority, and then scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, giving Tirana a 1–2 away win.

Skënderbeu Korçë

On 21 June 2016, Fukui signed a two-year contract with fellow Albanian Superliga side

Skënderbeu Korçë , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

after he couldn't reach an argument with Tirana for the new deal. Due to Skënderbeu's ban from European football over match-fixing allegations, on 10 July, Fukui was sent on loan at Kukësi for their European campaign along with teammates Liridon Latifi and

Sabjen Lilaj Sabien Lilaj (born 10 February 1989) is an Albanian professional footballer who most recently played as a central midfielder for Albanian Superliga club Dinamo Tirana and the Albania national team. He is a versatile midfielder who mainly operate ...

. Four days later, he played 82 minutes in the first leg of UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...

which ended in a 1–0 defeat. He also featured 61 minutes in the second leg at

Elbasan Arena Elbasan Arena ( sq, Elbasan Arena, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) is a multi-purpose stadium in Elbasan, Albania. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction a ...

as the match finished in a 1–4 defeat, which confirmed Kukësi elimination from the competition with the aggregate 1–5. After Kukësi's elimination, Fukui returned to Skënderbeu along with his teammates, and made his first appearance on 25 August in the

2016 Albanian Supercup The 2016 Albanian Supercup was the 23rd edition of the Albanian Supercup, an annual Albanian football match. The teams were decided by taking the winner of the previous season's Albanian Superliga and the winner of the Albanian Cup. The match was ...

, scoring the temporary equalizer with a header in an eventual 1–3 defeat to Kukësi at

Selman Stërmasi Stadium The Selman Stërmasi Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Selman Stërmasi) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tirana, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KF Tirana. The stadium holds 9,500 people (all seated). It i ...

. He made his first league appearance in the opening matchday on 7 September by playing full-90 minutes against

Flamurtari Vlorë Flamurtari FC is a professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, and it is also one ...

in an eventual 2–1 home win. After playing as a starter in the first matches, Fukui lost his place by the beginning of November, recording 94 minutes until January. In January, the new manager convinced him to stay for the second part of season, but nevertheless, he played only two league matches.

Kamza

On 3 August 2017, after a failed season at Skënderbeu, Fukui signed for newly promoted side Kamza as a free agent. He wasn't part of the team during their winter training camp in

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

, Turkey due to having visa problems; he instead trained with

Kastrioti Krujë KS Kastrioti, also known as Kastrioti Krujë, is an Albanian football club based in the city of Krujë. The club's home ground is the Kastrioti Stadium which has a capacity of 8,000 spectators and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superi ...

and played in one friendly. Fukui was one of the most used players in the Kamza squad during the 2017–18 season, making 33 league appearances, scoring no goals as the team avoided relegation only in the final matchday. He left the club initially during the summer transfer window, and also claiming that the club had not paid him correctly, however, on 31 August he returned and signed a contract for the 2018–19 season. He scored his league goal of in his first appearance the new season on 15 September against Kastrioti Krujë, netting the second to help the team win 2–0.

Club statistics

Honours

;Sutjeska *

: 2013–14

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fukui, Masato 1988 births Living people Nippon Bunri University alumni Association football people from Tottori Prefecture Japanese footballers Men's association football forwards Gainare Tottori players Lion City Sailors FC players FK Sutjeska Nikšić players KF Tirana players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players FC Kamza players J2 League players Singapore Premier League players Kategoria Superiore players Japanese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Singapore Expatriate footballers in Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Albania Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Albania