FC Ryukyu (FC琉球, Efu Shī Ryūkyū) is a Japanese professional football club based in Okinawa. The club plays in the J3 League, which is the third tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

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Quick Facts Full name, Founded ...

FC Ryukyu
FC琉球

Full name	FC Ryukyu
Founded	2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Ground	Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium Okinawa, Okinawa
Capacity	25,000
Chairman	Keishiro Kurabayashi
Manager	Kim Jong-song
League	J3 League
2023	J3 League, 17th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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The team derive their name from Ryukyu, the historic name for Okinawa Prefecture. The club once had futsal and handball teams.

The club was founded in 2003. 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. Jean-Paul Rabier was appointed as their manager in January 2008.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.

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 15 March 2024.^[3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  JPN Yuji Rokutan (on loan from Yokohama FC) 2 MF  JPN Takayuki Fukumura 3 DF  JPN Yuri Mori 4 DF  JPN Hiroki Fujiharu 5 MF  JPN Kazuto Takezawa 6 MF  JPN Kosei Okazawa (on loan from Cerezo Osaka) 7 FW  JPN Haruto Shirai 8 FW  JPN Ryota Iwabuchi 9 FW  JPN Ryunosuke Noda 10 MF  JPN Yu Tomidokoro 11 FW  JPN Taisei Ishii 13 MF  JPN Sho Iwamoto 14 DF  JPN Junya Suzuki 15 DF  JPN Ryota Araki 16 DF  JPN Takayuki Fukumura 17 DF  JPN Kosuke Masutani 18 MF  JPN Sho Hiramatsu

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 DF  JPN Takayuki Takayasu 21 GK  KOR Jeon Ji-wan (on loan from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) 22 DF  JPN Makito Uehara 23 DF  JPN Shusei Yamauchi 24 MF  JPN Yuta Sato 26 DF  JPN Takeshi Yoshimoto 28 MF  JPN Jitsuki Tsuha 29 DF  KOR Cho Eun-su 31 GK  KOR Park Seong-soo 32 MF  JPN Yusuke Ogawa 35 GK  JPN John Higashi (on loan from Nagoya Grampus) 39 FW  JPN Atsuhito Ihara 40 DF  JPN Daito Yoshinao Type 2 41 DF  JPN Keiji Kagiyama 42 GK  JPN Yuto Kamimura Type 2 55 MF  JPN Yushin Koki 89 FW  JPN Daisuke Takagi

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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 and 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.