NKK Soccer Club (NKKサッカー部, ''Enu Kei Kei Sakka Bu'', formerly Nippon Kokan Soccer Club (日本鋼管サッカー部, ''Nippon Kokan Sakka Bu'')) was a 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 the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club which operated from 1932 to 1994. It played in the old Japan Soccer League since 1967 until its closing. It was affiliated with NKK, a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

company that today is part of the JFE Holdings conglomerate.

History

The club was formed in 1932 although it didn't start playing football until the mid-1930s. It played its matches at Todoroki Athletics Stadium in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...

and at Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama. From 1985 to 1988 it was a regular contender for the JSL title, and was runners-up three times in a row. NKK was the first club to win both 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 ...

and promotion as second tier champions, achieved this in 1981. Yamaha Motor, now known as

Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

, would follow the next year, and

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

would accomplish that as well in 2011. When 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 successfu ...

was formed in 1992, NKK decided not to turn professional and join the former Japan Football League. They were entered into the JFL's first division but were relegated at the end of the season. With the presence of Verdy Kawasaki and the move of Toshiba's club north to become Consadole Sapporo, plus the rise of

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...

(which would later become Kawasaki Frontale), NKK decided to call it a day.

League history

*1967: Promoted to the Japan Soccer League *1979: Relegated to JSL Division 2 *1981: JSL Division 2 champions *1982: Relegated to JSL Division 2 *1983: JSL Division 2 champions *1985: JSL Division 1 runners-up *1986–87: JSL Division 1 runners-up *1987–88: JSL Division 1 runners-up *1990–91: Relegated to JSL Division 2 *1992: League restructured. Joined Japan Football League Division 1. Relegated to JFL Division 2. *1993: JFL Division 2 third place. Folded.

Honours

* Shakaijin Cup: 1965 * Japan Soccer League Division 2: 1981, 1983 *

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

* JSL Cup:

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 – ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Other sports

* Volleyball — men's club was Japan National League champions multiple times in the 1960s. * Baseball * Basketball —

NKK Sea Hawks The NKK Sea Hawks were a Japanese basketball team that played in the Japan Basketball League. They were based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. Notable players *Joe Courtney (basketball) * Yutaka Fujimoto * Manabu Fujita * Nobuo Hattori *Kevin H ...

{{Japanese Club Football, group=clubs Defunct football clubs in Japan Japan Soccer League clubs Multi-sport clubs in Japan Association football clubs established in 1932 Association football clubs disestablished in 1994 Emperor's Cup winners Japanese League Cup winners Sport in Kawasaki, Kanagawa 1932 establishments in Japan 1994 disestablishments in Japan Japan Football League (1992–1998) clubs Works association football clubs in Japan