is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently plays as a defender for Michigan Stars in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

. Umeda was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan but grew up in the United States, where he played several championships before turning professional in Brazil, playing for

Joinville Esporte Clube Joinville Esporte Clube, JEC or simply Joinville, is a Brazilian football team from Joinville in Santa Catarina. Founded on 29 January 1976 they have won the Série B and Série C once and they have the largest sequence of consecutive state ...

Early life

Born in

, Japan, Umeda and his family moved to the United States when he was six years old. At the age of nine, he was spotted by

Kia Zolgharnain Kia Zolgharnain (born November 10, 1965) is an Iranian-American soccer coach and former player. As a player, Zolgharnain was a forward who led the American Indoor Soccer Association in scoring during the 1986–1987 season. He coaches youth so ...

, who helped his evolution into a professional footballer. Umeda is a Mayfield High School alumni and played

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

soccer at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

before becoming a pro in Brazil. Umeda played youth football in the United States. He was a member of the Internationals Soccer Club and the Cleveland Soccer Academy in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Club career

Joinville

In 2019, Umeda joined

and competed in the Brazilian Championship. He is the first-ever Asian athlete to represent Joinville. After the 2019 season, Umeda made his debut in the Portuguese Championship. He returned to Joinville in May 2021. Umeda became the brand ambassador for Joinville Esporte Clube and helped to benefit Joinville, according to football director Leo Roesler. The partnership intends to expand the JEC brand's international reach in the Asian market.

Portugal

In the Campeonato de Portugal, Umeda made his debut in November 2019. He joined

Pevidém Pevidém is a village in the municipality of Guimarães, province Minho, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point i ...

in 2020 and made an appearance for their "B" team, in the Divisão de Honra

AF Braga The Braga Football Association (''Associação de Futebol de Braga'', abrv. ''AF Braga'') is the district governing body for the all football competitions in the Portuguese district of Braga since 1992. It is also the regulator of the clubs regis ...

, on 11 August.

Resources Capital

On 10 January 2024, Umeda joined

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inau ...

club Resources Capital.

Personal life

Umeda published his first book, I'm With You, in English in 2019. He also published the book in Portuguese. Umeda promotes help to needy families while sharing football responsibilities with Joinville Esporte Clube. Umeda became an ambassador for the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

of Greater Cleveland in 2020, an endowment that supports low-income families and fights prejudice. Umeda is a brand ambassador for Obsesh, which is an online platform that communicates directly with fans and supporters.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

Louisville profile

Kotaro Umeda
at the

Portuguese Football Federation The Portuguese Football Federation ( , FPF) is the governing body of Association football, football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (, UPF) by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon Footbal ...

Kotaro Umeda
at the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

*
NISA stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umeda, Kotaro 1998 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Association football people from Tokyo Men's association football defenders USL League One players National Premier Soccer League players Hong Kong Premier League players Louisville Cardinals men's soccer players Akron Zips men's soccer players Cleveland SC players Joinville Esporte Clube players Pevidém S.C. players Tormenta FC players Resources Capital FC players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Soccer players from Cleveland Michigan Stars FC players National Independent Soccer Association players