are 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 ...

club based in Kariya, Aichi. They're aiming to gain professional status. Since the 2022 season, after being relegated from 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 a ...

, they are playing in the

Tōkai Adult Soccer League is a Japanese football league covering most of the Tōkai region, the prefectures of Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played a ...

History

The club was founded in 1949 as Nippon Denso Soccer Club. They mainly played in the Tōkai Regional League; Kariya was already represented 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 ...

by the club belonging to Toyota Industries (not to be confused with nearby Toyota Motors, which is the club that became Nagoya Grampus). Nippon Denso were finally promoted to the

in 1996. They played their first JFL season under new name DENSO Soccer Club because of the change of their owner's name. DENSO relinquished the ownership at the end of the 2005 season and

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Kaeru Sports Club took over. Their name F.C. Kariya was chosen from entries from the public. Despite this change of ownership, F.C. Kariya did not show much ambition for J. League status in subsequent campaigns and finished in 17th place on the 2009 season of the

, being relegated back to the Tokai Regional League after losing a promotion/relegation series to the more ambitious

Zweigen Kanazawa Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, ''Tsuēgen Kanazawa'') is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japan's 2nd tier of professional league football. History The club was form ...

. In 2015, Kariya became champions of the

and participated in the 2015 Regional League promotion play-offs, reaching the Top 4, but not the promotion back to JFL. They also featured three times in 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 ...

, reaching 2nd round both in 2007 and in 2012. In 2020 season, the Tōkai Adult Soccer League was held in an irregular knock-out format due to the covid-19 pandemic. Lead by a new manager Koji Kadota, FC Kariya won the tournament to qualify for the Regional Champions League, and finished on it as runners-up, resulting in their return to the Japan Football League comeback for the 2021 season, after 11 seasons of unsuccessful promotion attempts. On the same season, they were relegated back to the Tōkai Adult Soccer League. On 2022, they already won the tournament, pushing themselves to another promotion race with other 11 teams highly ranked either at their Regional Leagues or at the 2022 Shakaijin Cup, at the 2022 Regional Champions League. On the first group stage round, FC Kariya did well, with a 3-match unbeaten streak to secure a place in the Final Round. The top 2 of the 4 teams at the group would qualify to the JFL. In the 2nd of the 3 matches to be played at it, FC Kariya lost their promotion hopes for the season, as they lost their first two matches and couldn't overcome a 4-point gap within just a game left.

Shirt and colours

F.C. Kariya's shirt features the red sash (or ''Aka Dasuki'' in Japanese). This design was originally adopted by Kariya High School's soccer club who introduced the sport to the area in the Taishō period. Because of this, the red sash is regarded as the symbolic design of Kariya's football.

Stadiums

They play their home games mainly at Kariya Municipal Athletic Park, but Toyohashi City Iwata General Ballgame Stadium and Nagoya City Port Soccer Stadium are also used a couple of times a year. They practice at Denso Ikeda Factory ground which is not open to the public because it is in Denso's factory site.

League and cup record

''Here are listed only the seasons disputed as "FC Kariya". ;Key * Pos. = Position in league; GP = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained

Honours

Nippon Denso SC (1949–2005) / FC Kariya (2006–present) *

**Champions (6): 1993, 1995, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022 * Japanese Regional Champions League **Champions (2): 1993, 1995

Current squad

References

External links

Official Website

Official Facebook page
{{Japanese Club Football, group=clubs Football clubs in Japan Sports teams in Aichi Prefecture Kariya, Aichi Association football clubs established in 1949 1949 establishments in Japan Japan Football League (1992–1998) clubs Japan Football League clubs