is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

after being promoted from

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

as champions in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

History

For many years it had been a local autonomous amateur club, ''Niigata 11'', that could never hope to see the light of day in an old

Japan Soccer League ; 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 Cup, JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professi ...

dominated almost entirely by company teams. The creation of the J. League spurred the club to rise, and in the 1990s it began climbing fast through the divisions. In 1998, Albirex Niigata joined 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 100 Year Plan club sta ...

, and was merged into the

after its creation in 1999. The team gradually became competitive and in 2001 and 2002 it came close to getting promoted to J1 and in 2003, it became the champion of J2 and finally joined the top flight.

Name changed

The team name is made from combining the star '' Albireo'' of the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) and the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''Rex'' meaning 'king'. In 1997, due to copyright issues, the team name was changed from Albireo Niigata to the current Albirex Niigata.

Team name transition

*Niigata Eleven SC ''(Soccer Club)'' (1955) *Albireo Niigata FC (1995) *Albirex Niigata (1997)

Home stadium

Joining the J. League in 1999, its hometowns are Niigata and Seiro. Until 2003, it used Niigata Perfectural Sport Ground as the home ground but since 2004, the team began using Niigata Stadium Big Swan as well and now plays most of its games there. In 2003, it set a record for highest attendance in the J. League with the cumulative total of around 660,000. Its practice grounds are Albirex's training facilities in Seiro Albillage and the in Shibata. The club plays its home games in the Niigata Stadium "Big Swan", which is currently called Denka Big Swan Stadium through a sponsorship deal. The stadium was opened in 2001 and has a capacity of 42,300. Prior to this the club had played its matches in the Niigata City Athletic Stadium constructed in 1938 with a capacity of 18,000. The stadium was the site of two first round matches and one Round of 16 match in the past 2002 FIFA World Cup. It was also the venue for the 2009 National Sports Festival.

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

Club officials

Managerial history

Correct as of 23 October 2022

League & cup record

;Key

Honours

Kit and colours

Colours

Orange represents the sunset of Niigata, and blue represents the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

Kit evolution

Affiliated clubs

Since 2004, Albirex Niigata has selected a number of players for its satellite team in the Singapore Premier League. Albirex also has a women's team and joined L2 league (an equivalent of J2) in 2004. Albirex Ladies won the L2 title in 2006, and went on to join L1 in 2007.

Currently affiliated clubs

* Albirex Niigata Ladies ( Japan Women's Football League) * Japan Soccer College (

Hokushinetsu Football League is a soocer league based in five prefectures in the Hokushinetsu region, which comprises Hokuriku and Shin'etsu in Japan. They are ( Nagano, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui). It is a league of club teams registered in Class 1. Its nam ...

) * Albirex Niigata Singapore ( Singapore Premier League)

Formerly affiliated club

* Albirex Niigata Phnom Penh ( Cambodian Premier League) In addition to the J1 Albirex Niigata football team, there is a Niigata Albirex basketball club in the B.League, as well as a ski, snowboard,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and track and field team. Even though the teams share the same name, the management and finances are completely separate for each team.

References

External links

* {{Authority control J.League clubs Football clubs in Japan Association football clubs established in 1955 Sports clubs and teams in Niigata Prefecture Multi-sport clubs in Japan 1955 establishments in Japan Japan Football League (1992–1998) clubs Articles which contain graphical timelines Sport in Niigata (city)