FC Ryukyu

The club was founded in 2003.^[1] 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 as their general manager.^[2] Jean-Paul Rabier was appointed as their manager in January 2008.^[2]

They applied for J. League Associate Membership in January 2008, but their application was declined at the J. League 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.

In January 2015, FC Ryukyu announced a partnership with Seoul United from the Korean Challengers League. 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, and in the following game beat Thespakusatsu Gunma to claim the J3 title with two games to spare.

They started their first season in J2 in 2019, in style with 4 straight wins to top the league, but faded as the season progressed eventually finishing in 14th place.

In 2022, after spending four years in the J2 League, the club was relegated back to the J3 League after scoring their lowest points total in the second-tier. The club finished in 21st place with 37 points, only 3 points off the last placed team.

On 26 October 2023, the club announced that they will use FC Ryukyu Okinawa for branding purpose starting 2024 season, although the club's current name will remain used in any competition.^[3] The change initially also included the update of club's emblem. However, the plan eventually revised and Ryukyu decided to keep the current emblem for 2024 season, albeit with modified colorway.^[4]

For the 2025 season, FC Ryukyu Okinawa announced a new logo.^[5]

This section does not cite any sources. (July 2023)

The home stadium is the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium (Okinawa Prefectural Sports Park Athletic Stadium), based in Okinawa City.^[2]

Until 2014, the Okinawa City Athletic Stadium in Okinawa City was used as the main home stadium, and multiple stadiums were used.

Key

As of 21 March 2025.^[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  JPN Shūta Kikuchi (on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse) 4 DF  JPN Hiroki Fujiharu 5 DF  JPN Kaito Kamiya 7 MF  JPN Shunsuke Motegi 8 MF  JPN Ryota Iwabuchi 10 MF  JPN Yu Tomidokoro 13 MF  JPN Sho Iwamoto 14 DF  JPN Junya Suzuki 15 DF  JPN Ryota Araki 16 GK  JPN Hisaya Sato 17 MF  JPN Takatora Einaga (on loan from Kawasaki Frontale) 18 MF  JPN Sho Hiramatsu 19 FW  JPN Miyu Sato 20 MF  JPN Sota Nagai (on loan from Tokyo Verdy) 21 GK  JPN Shioki Takayama (on loan from Vissel Kobe)

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  JPN Yuzuki Yamato (on loan from Ventforet Kofu) 23 FW  JPN Kazuki Sota 24 MF  JPN Yuta Sato 25 FW  JPN Hidetaka Maie 26 DF  JPN Takeshi Yoshimoto 28 MF  JPN Jitsuki Tsuha 29 DF  KOR Cho Eun-su 32 MF  JPN Anri Narita 33 GK  JPN Akihito Ozawa 37 DF  JPN Koki Gotoda 39 FW  JPN Atsuhito Ihara 47 FW  JPN Mohamad Sadiki Wade (on loan from Kashiwa Reysol) 50 GK  JPN Koki Kawashima 55 MF  JPN Yushin Koki 89 FW  JPN Daisuke Takagi

Close

Club officials for 2025 season ^[7]

More information Position, Name ...

Position	Name
Manager	Tadaaki Hirakawa
Coach	Naotsugu Obata Jin Kanaoya
Goalkeeping coach	Kazushi Haebaru
Analytical coach	Teraoka Hiroki
Physical coach	Sho Watanabe
Chief trainer	Syuta Irei
Trainer	Takuya Kawasaki Ryuki Shindo Ryota Osawa
Side manager	Naoki Egawa

Close

The men team's name is FC Ryukyu Okinawa.

Their team colour is bengara, a shade of red pigment. It is called red ochre in English and can be generally described as claret. Bengara derives from a Dutch word 'bengala' which in turn derives from Bengal, a historic region located 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, 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 similar to Aston Villa from England (the claret and sky-blue pattern was around long before Troussier and the French staff arrived, so a coincidence in colours is feasible).^{[citation needed]}

Their crest features a pair of Shisas, imaginary talismanic creatures in the area, and the crown of the kings of the former Ryukyu Kingdom.