are a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 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 100 Year Plan club sta ...

, they are currently playing in the

Tōkai Adult Soccer League Until the 2024 season, the league was known as the . is the Japanese fifth tier of league football, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. It covers most of the Tōkai region, as well as the prefectures of Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu is ...

, which part of

Japanese Regional Leagues are a group of parallel association football leagues in Japan that are organized on the regional basis. They form the fifth and sixth tier of the Japanese association football league system below the nationwide Japan Football League. Overview ...

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 ; 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 ...

by the club belonging to

Toyota Industries is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively (), a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues. ...

(not to be confused with nearby Toyota Motors, which is the club that became

Nagoya Grampus ; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...

). 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), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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. 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 Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

, 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. Led 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

FC 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)

Current squad

References

External links

Official Website

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