Kyoto Sanga FC

Kyoto Sanga (京都サンガ) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word sangha, a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist temples.[3]

Kyoto Sanga
京都サンガ
logo
Full nameKyoto Sanga Football Club
Nickname(s)Purple Sanga
Founded1922 (1922),
as Kyoto Shiko Club (京都紫光クラブ)
GroundSanga Stadium by Kyocera
Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Capacity21,600
OwnerKyoto Purple Sanga Co., Ltd.
ChairmanMasaaki Ito
ManagerCho Kwi-jae
LeagueJ1 League
WebsiteClub website
Kyoto Purple Sanga Co., Ltd.
Company typePublic
IndustrySports
FoundedJanuary 13, 1994 (1994-01-13) in Kyoto, Japan[1]
Key people
Hiroshi Imai (Chairman)
Kazuo Inamori (Honorary President)[1]
ProductsFootball club
RevenueIncrease ¥ 2140 million (2014)[1]
OwnersKyocera (55.4%)[2]
Nintendo (16.6%)[2]

The club was formerly known as Kyoto Purple Sanga with "purple", the colour of the team uniforms, an imperial colour reflecting Kyoto's status as Japan's ancient imperial capital city. It was decided that, from 2007, the team will simply be known as "Kyoto Sanga". They are the oldest club competing in the J.League.

Kyoto Sanga have won 2 J2 League title and 1 Emperor's Cup.

History

The club was started as Kyoto Shiko Club, one of the few proper Japanese football clubs in the sense of being strictly dedicated to football and not being part of a company. Like Ventforet Kofu, it could not rise to a Japan Soccer League First Division dominated by company teams; in 1993, after the J.League was created, Kyoto Shiko Club, aided by funds from local new sponsors Kyocera and Nintendo, professionalized (though some players broke away and formed their own clubs, see below) and joined the former Japan Football League under the new name Kyoto Purple Sanga.

First joining the J.League in 1996, Kyoto Purple Sanga hold the dubious distinction of being the League's most relegated side, having been demoted on three separate occasions. Relegation to J2 League occurred at the end of the 2000, 2003 and 2006 seasons; more than any other team.[3] The 2003 relegation happened despite having many national team players such as Park Ji-sung and Daisuke Matsui on its roster and they eventually left for European clubs.

In December 2007, the club gained J1 League status for the fourth time in their history via the promotion/relegation playoff and therefore shorten its club name to Kyoto Sanga.[4] A 0-2 home defeat to Urawa Reds on 14 November 2010 confirmed Sanga's relegation back to J2, bringing an end to their three-season spell in the top flight.[5]

In 2021 season, Kyoto Sanga secure return to J1 League after a 11 years absence and finish in runner-up. In 2022 season, Kyoto Sanga stay in J1 League after draw 1–1 against Roasso Kumamoto in Promotion Relegation play-offs.

Affiliated clubs
  • Amitie SC (Kansai Soccer League Division 1) – broke away from the original Kyoto Shiko Club upon professionalization; amateur club
  • Kyoto Shiko Club (Kansai Soccer League Division 2) – broke away from Kyoto BAMB 1993 (now Kyoto Amitie) in 1998; amateur club
  • Shiko Club women's (Kansai Women's Soccer League) – linked with today's Kyoto Shiko Club

Kit and colours

Colours

Kyoto Sanga is considered the main continuation of the Kyoto Shiko Club that competed in the Japan Soccer League Second Division. "Shiko" (紫光) means "brilliant purple" and is the colour that Shiko/Sanga have always worn.

Kit evolution
Home Kit - 1st
1997 - 1998
1999
2000
2001 - 2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008
2009 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015 - 2016
2017 - 2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
Away Kit - 2nd
1997 - 1998
1999 - 2000
2001 - 2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008 2nd
2007 - 2008 3rd
2009
2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015 - 2016
2017 - 2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
3rd choice
2007 - 2008 3rd
2019
Club 25th Anniversary
2022
September Home Limited

Home stadium
Sanga Stadium by Kyocera

Takebishi Stadium Kyoto

Kyoto Sanga played most of their home match at the Takebishi Stadium Kyoto since their interception. The stadium holds up to 20,588 capacity and was built in 1942. In 2019, Kyoto Sanga announced plans to move to Sanga Stadium by Kyocera, a new, football-specific stadium being built in Kameoka, in time for the 2020 season .

Sanga Stadium by Kyocera

On 11 January 2020, Kyoto Sanga moved to their new stadium, the Sanga Stadium by Kyocera which is the first professional football-specific stadium in Kyoto. The naming rights were purchased by ceramic company Kyocera having signed a 20-years deal worth ¥2 billion.

Current squad
As of 19 April 2024.[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Japan JPN Shinnosuke Fukuda
3 DF Japan JPN Shogo Asada
4 DF Japan JPN Yoshihiro Matsuda
5 DF Japan JPN Hisashi Appiah Tawiah
6 DF Japan JPN Yuto Misao
7 MF Japan JPN Sota Kawasaki
8 MF Japan JPN Koki Tsukagawa (on loan from FC Tokyo)
9 FW Brazil BRA Marco Túlio
10 MF Japan JPN Shimpei Fukuoka
11 FW Japan JPN Ryogo Yamasaki
13 FW Japan JPN Takumi Miyayoshi
14 FW Japan JPN Taichi Hara
16 MF Japan JPN Shohei Takeda
17 FW Japan JPN Yuto Anzai
18 MF Japan JPN Temma Matsuda
19 MF Japan JPN Daiki Kaneko
20 DF Japan JPN Kazunari Kita
21 GK Suriname SUR Warner Hahn
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Japan JPN Kazunari Ichimi
23 FW Japan JPN Yuta Toyokawa
24 DF Japan JPN Yuta Miyamoto (on loan from Urawa Reds)
25 MF Japan JPN Teppei Yachida
26 GK Japan JPN Gakuji Ota
28 DF Japan JPN Toichi Suzuki
30 DF Japan JPN Rikuto Iida
31 FW Japan JPN Sora Hiraga
36 GK Japan JPN Akira Fantini
39 MF Japan JPN Taiki Hirato
44 MF Japan JPN Kyo Sato
45 DF Japan JPN Kotaro Kanda Type 2
46 MF Japan JPN Taiga Ishimoto Type 2
47 FW Japan JPN Yuma Nishioka Type 2
48 MF Japan JPN Ryuma Nakano DSP
50 DF Japan JPN Yoshinori Suzuki
94 GK South Korea KOR Gu Sung-yun

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Japan JPN Tomoya Wakahara (on loan to V-Varen Nagasaki)
— DF Japan JPN Takahiro Iida (on loan to Ventforet Kofu)
— DF Japan JPN Yuta Ueda (on loan to Omiya Ardija)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Japan JPN Yudai Kimura (on loan to Tokyo Verdy)
— FW Japan JPN Fuki Yamada (on loan to Tokyo Verdy)

Club officials

For the 2024 season.

Position Name
Manager South Korea Cho Kwi-jae
Assistant manager Japan Tetsu Nagasawa
First-team coach Japan Ryuji Ishikawa
Japan Koichi Sugiyama
Japan Naomichi Wakamiya
Japan Shuto Wakui
Goalkeeping coach Japan Yasuhiro Tominaga
Physical coach Japan Hirokazu Nishigata
Chief Trainer Japan Minoru Kimoto
Trainer Japan Yoshiaki Shirai
Japan Masaki Dozono
Japan Takuya Kawada
Interpreter Japan Taketo Okamoto
Japan Hiroki Kimura
Competent Japan Naoya Omae
Side Affairs Japan Ryusei Ishikura
Kit man Japan Noriyuki Matsuura

Honours
Kyoto Sanga honours
HonourNo.Years
Kansai Soccer League 4 1969, 1971, 1979, 1988
All Japan Senior Football Championship 1 1988
J2 League 2 2001, 2005
Emperor's Cup 1 2002

Managerial history
ManagerNationalityTenure
StartFinish
Bunji Kimura Japan1 January 198330 June 1990
George Yonashiro Japan1 February 199431 January 1995
Oscar Brazil1 February 199510 June 1996
George Yonashiro Japan11 June 199631 January 1997
Pedro Rocha Uruguay1 January 199731 December 1997
Hans Ooft Netherlands1 February 19981 June 1998
Hidehiko Shimizu Japan2 June 199830 June 1999
Shū Kamo Japan1 July 199931 May 2000
Gert Engels Germany1 June 200031 May 2003
Bunji Kimura Japan1 June 200330 June 2003
Pim Verbeek Netherlands1 July 200331 December 2003
Akihiro Nishimura Japan1 February 200413 June 2004
Kōichi Hashiratani Japan14 June 20044 October 2006
Naohiko Minobe Japan5 October 200611 October 2007
Hisashi Katō Japan12 October 200727 July 2010
Yutaka Akita Japan27 July 201031 January 2011
Takeshi Ōki Japan1 February 201131 January 2014
Valdeir Vieira Brazil1 January 201418 June 2014
Ryōichi Kawakatsu Japan29 June 201431 January 2015
Masahiro Wada Japan1 February 201510 July 2015
Kiyotaka Ishimaru Japan11 July 20156 December 2016
Takanori Nunobe Japan1 January 201710 May 2018
Boško Gjurovski North Macedonia11 May 201831 January 2019
Ichizō Nakata Japan1 February 201931 January 2020
Noritada Saneyoshi Japan1 February 202031 January 2021
Cho Kwi-jae South Korea1 February 2021Current

Club captains
  • Naohiko Minobe 1994
  • Makoto Sugiyama 1995
  • Satoru Mochizuki 1996
  • Ruy Ramos 1997
  • Yuji Okuma 1997
  • Hajime Moriyasu 1998
  • Hisashi Kurosaki 1999
  • Kazuyoshi Miura 2000
  • Naoto Otake 2001
  • Hiroshi Noguchi 2002
  • Kiyotaka Ishimaru 2003–2004
  • Daisuke Nakaharai 2005-2006
  • Daisuke Saito 2007
  • Yuto Sato 2008-2009
  • Atsushi Yanagisawa 2010
  • Diego 2011
  • Hiroki Nakayama 2012
  • Jun Ando 2013
  • Koji Yamase 2014
  • Satoshi Yamaguchi 2015
  • Takanori Sugeno 2016–2017
  • Yuta Someya 2018
  • Takumi Miyayoshi 2019
  • Jun Ando 2020
  • Temma Matsuda 2021–2022
  • Sota Kawasaki 2023–

Record as J.League member
Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
SeasonDiv.TeamsPos.PW (OTW / PKW)DL (OTL / PKL)FAGDPtsAttendance/GJ.League
Cup		Emperor's
Cup
Kyoto Purple Sanga
1996 J11616th3080222254-32249,404Group stageQuarter-finals
1997 1714th329 (0 / 0)-18 (3 / 2)4070-30277,881Group stageRound of 16
1998 1813th3410 (4 / 1)-16 (3 / 0)4763-16398,015Group stage3rd round
1999 1612th309 (2)015 (4)3858-20318,8592nd roundRound of 16
2000 1615th307 (1)215 (5)3966-27257,253Semi-finals3rd round
2001 J2121st4423 (5)511 (0)794831843,8081st roundRound of 16
2002 J1165th3011 (6)112444224610,352Group stageWinner
2003 1616th3065192860-322310,850Group stage3rd round
2004 J2125th44191213655312697,807Not eligible4th round
2005 121st443077894049977,8574th round
2006 J11818th34410203874-36229,781Group stage4th round
Kyoto Sanga
2007 J2133rd48241410805921866,629Not eligible3rd round
2008 J11814th34118153746-94113,687Group stageRound of 16
2009 1812th34118153547-124111,126Group stage3rd round
2010 1817th3447233060-301910,510Group stage3rd round
2011 J2207th381771450455586,294Not eligibleRunners-up
2012 223rd4223514614516747,2733rd round
2013 223rd42201012684622707,8913rd round
2014 229th4214181057525607,5203rd round
2015 2217th421214164551-6507,4913rd round
2016 225th4218159503713696,5242nd round
2017 2212th4214151355478576,7482nd round
2018 2219th42127234058-18435,6633rd round
2019 228th4219111259563687,8502nd round
2020 † 228th4216111547452592,924Did not qualify
2021 † 222nd4224126593128845,207Round of 16
2022 J11816th34812143038-83611,692Play-off stageSemi-finals
2023 1813th34124184045-54012,141Group stage2nd round
2024 18TBA382nd Round
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
  • OTW / PKW = Overtime wins / Penalty kicks wins 1997 & 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002 Overtime wins only
  • OTL / PKL = Overtime losses / Penalty kicks losses 1997 and 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000 & 2001 Overtime losses only
  • 3 points for a win; 2 points for an overtime win (OTW), 1 point for a penalty kick win (PKW); 1 point for a drawn game.
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

League History
  • Kansai Soccer League: 1966–1971 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1972–1978 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Kansai Soccer League: 1979–1988 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1989–1991 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 3 (Old JFL Division 2): 1992 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (Old JFL Division 1): 1993–1995 (as Kyoto Shiko Club 1993; Kyoto Purple Sanga afterwards)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 1996–2000 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2001 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2002–2003 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2004–2005 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2006 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2007
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2008–2010
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2011–2021
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2022–present

(As of 2023): 13 seasons in the top tier, 28 seasons in the second tier, 1 season in the third tier and 16 seasons in the Regional Leagues.

References
  1. "Club profile". Kyoto Sanga. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  2. Sasaki, Norihiko. "Thoroughly analyzed the financial results of J-League". Shūkan Tōyō keizai. 6058. Toyo Keizai: 148–151.
  3. Daniel Sloan (November 5, 2011). Playing to Wiin: Nintendo and the Video Game Industry's Greatest Comeback. John Wiley & Sons. p. 126. ISBN 978-0470825129.
  4. "Kyoto Sanga earns promotion to J.League's first division". Japan Times. December 9, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  5. "Shonan, Kyoto dropped to J-League's second division". Japan Times. November 25, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  6. "２０２４シーズン トップチーム編成決定のお知らせ". 京都サンガF.C.｜オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). 13 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
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