is a Japanese 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

Inagi, Tokyo file:Inagi City Hall.jpg, 270px, Inagi City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 92,585 in 41,592 households, and a population densi ...

. The club currently competes in the

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 ...

, following promotion from the

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 ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

History

Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with honours including 2 league titles, 5

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 ...

s, 6

JSL Cup was the original league cup for clubs in the Japan Soccer League, the top level of Japanese football before the creation of the J. League and its cup. The cup was first played in 1973, but only become an annual tournament in 1976. The JSL Cup ...

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

s and an

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

title, and the most successful team in Japanese football history with 25 titles. The club was an original member of the J.League in 1993.

Early years and rise to the top (1969–1983)

In October 1968, following Japan's bronze medal triumph at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and the interest in football that ensued,

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

president

Yuzuru Nozu was a Japanese footballer who made two appearances for Japan at the 1921 Far Eastern Championship Games. Football career Having represented Japan at international level, Nozu was made president of the Japan Football Association in 1955, and ...

visited

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

chairman Matsutaro Shoriki to ask him if Yomiuri was willing to ride on the wave of the game by establishing their own football club. Shoriki died a year later, in 1969, but not before signing his name to the plans to establish Yomiuri Football Club. Backed by the

Yomiuri Group is a Japanese media conglomerate, and the holding company of the ''Yomiuri Shimbun''. Overview On July 1, 2002, Yomiuri Shimbun was divided into two companies: the holding company Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters, ...

and

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...

, Yomiuri Football Club firstly launched at Tokyo Local League B (5th tier) in 1969. They began gaining promotions from the Tokyo Local League to the

Kanto Japanese Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ''Pokémon ...

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

(3rd tier) in 1971. In

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, Yomiuri marked 3rd place and promoted

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 ...

Second Division. They were promoted to First Division in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, starting a long career of success in the top flight. Their first major title was the Japan Soccer League Cup in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Golden era (1983–1994)

From its days as Yomiuri FC, the ownership had visions of a football equivalent of the baseball team Yomiuri Giants – a star-studded powerhouse with fans across Japan. As Japanese football began its transition from the JSL to the J.League in the early 1990s, it invested heavily in stars and featured Japan internationals

Kazuyoshi Miura , nicknamed King Kazu, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Japan Football League club Atletico Suzuka, on loan from J1 League club Yokohama FC. He is the world's second oldest active player to play and oldest to s ...

Ruy Ramos is a Brazilian-born Japanese former football manager and player. He is currently active as a television personality and '' tarento'', represented by Irving. Club career Ramos was one of the first foreign players in Japanese professional f ...

and

Tsuyoshi Kitazawa is a Japanese former football player who played for the Japan national team. He currently works on television as a football commentator. Club career When Kitazawa was a junior high student, he played for Yomiuri Junior Youth. After being re ...

. The last two JSL championships as Yomiuri FC in 1990–91 and 1991–92, and then winning the first two championships as Verdy Kawasaki in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, effectively winning four straight Japanese league titles making a total of seven overall; the highest in the Japanese system. Verdy also won the

1996 Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1996 season. Overview It was contested by 80 teams, and Verdy Kawasaki won the championship. Results First round *Denso 3–1 Juntendo University *Blaze Kumamoto 2–1 Kwansei Gakuin University *World Blitz ...

and three consecutive

s from 1992 to 1994. The JSL disbanded and reformed as the professional J.League in 1993. At this time the team professionalized and renamed itself ''Verdy Kawasaki'', "Coined from the Portuguese "VERDE" meaning "

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

" probably named after their green jersey colour "Tokyo Greens/Tokyo Verdi", although the color was picked in homage to Brazilian club

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

, a team admired by one of Yomiuri's first idols,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

-born

George Yonashiro is a former football player and manager. Born in Brazil, he played for the Japan national team. Club career Yonashiro was born in São Paulo, Brazil on November 28, 1950. He joined Japan Soccer League Division 2 club Yomiuri in 1972. The club ...

. Although ''Yomiuri'' was dropped from the name as the club spun off from the company, the team remained under Yomiuri's ownership until 1997, when it was acquired by Nippon Television Network, the broadcast arm of the Yomiuri Group.

Lack of success and support (1995–2000)

This early success did not last, however, and as the stars aged, the team's performance suffered. Verdy's 1st-place finish in the 2nd stage of the 1995 season would be its last stage victory and the 1996 Emperor's Cup would be its last major title of the decade. A downturn in the national economy and the cooling of the J.League fad meant all teams had to cut expenses. This meant Verdy could no longer buy expensive replacements for its aging stars. The 1996 J.League season saw Verdy Kawasaki finish in 7th place overall, the lowest standing in the league's existence at that point, and would fall further in the 1997 season, finishing 16th and 12th, in the 1st stage and 2nd stage, respectively, and 15th overall out of 17 teams. Although Verdy looked to return to prominence in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, finishing 2nd in the 1st Stage, the resurgence was short-lived as it fell to 10th in the 2nd stage. Meanwhile, the team's efforts to become "Japan's Team" alienated local fans in Kawasaki. The expensive salaries and struggling attendance caused the club's debts to mount. Struggling to compete with the newly professionalized crosstown rival

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

and the nearby

Yokohama Marinos , stylised as Yokohama F·Marinos, is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having w ...

and

Yokohama Flügels The , also known as the AS Flügels, was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999, the club merged with local rivals Yokohama Ma ...

, Verdy made the decision to leave Kawasaki.

Return to Tokyo (2001–2005)

In 2001, the club returned from Kawasaki to Chōfu, Tokyo and was renamed as Tokyo Verdy 1969 to reflect the new hometown and the club's origins as Yomiuri. Although Verdy made the move to increase its fan base and distance itself from its rivals, by this time Tokyo was already home to a J1 club in

FC Tokyo , commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. From 2025, FC Tokyo is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called ''Footb ...

. Despite a sharp increase in crowd numbers for Verdy, this was still well below those of FC Tokyo. Their new local rivals had been promoted to J1 in 2000 and had already captured a vast number of the supporters Verdy had been hoping to attract. In its first year in Tokyo, Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself trailing FC Tokyo in the standings as well, and finished last in the division at 16th in the first stage of the 2001 season. Only the play of midseason acquisition

Edmundo Edmundo is variation of the English name Edmund, meaning “protector of prosperity or riches.” It is common in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. Some individuals include: * Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto (born 1971), former Brazilian foot ...

and a win in the final match of the second stage saved the club from relegation to J2. Tokyo Verdy 1969 was back at the bottom of the table in the first stage of the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

season, but again finished the season strong, placing 4th in the second stage. Two mid-table finishes followed in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, before Tokyo Verdy 1969, under

Osvaldo Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player. A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddl ...

, won the

on 1 January 2005, its first major title in 9 years and the first in Tokyo. Winning the cup earned Verdy a spot in the

2006 AFC Champions League The 2006 AFC Champions League was the 25th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the fourth edition under the current AFC Champions League title. Al-Ittihad automatically qualified for the quarter-finals as the title holders ...

. However, the 2005 season saw Tokyo Verdy 1969 fall to its worst finish of its history, finishing 17th out of 18. This was the first season after the scrapping of the two-stage season format, and Tokyo Verdy 1969 were relegated to J2, after 28 years of top flight football. The season was marked by three huge losses in July: 1–7 to Gamba Osaka on 2 July, 0–7 to

Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...

on 6 July and a 6–0 loss to

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

on 17 July. Tokyo Verdy then sacked Ardiles two days later. At the time of his sacking, Ardiles' team had conceded 23 goals in their last 5 matches and had a 9 match winless streak. However, the struggling Verdy upset European giant

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

(who were in Asia on a preseason tour), 3–0 on 25 July.

Brief promotion (2007–2008)

For the 2006 season, the club appointed former Verdy Kawasaki legend, Ruy Ramos, as manager on 22 December 2005. Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself in the odd position of competing in the AFC Champions League while playing in the second tier of the national league system. After Tokyo Verdy 1969 was relegated, the club released many of the veteran players, leaving a core of young players, most notably

Takayuki Morimoto is a Japanese former professional footballer who plays as a second striker. He holds the record for the youngest Japanese player to make his professional debut, and the youngest scorer in J1 League history. Morimoto represented Japan at the 20 ...

, who became the youngest player to score in the J.League at age 15 in 2004. In the 2007 season, Tokyo Verdy 1969 managed to beat

Thespa Kusatsu , formerly is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club currently play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional football. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, on ...

5–0 on the first day. After a brief scuffle with

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club based in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. They will play in the 2025 J2 League, the second tier league of Japanese football, after relegation from the J1 League at conclusion of th ...

over the J2 title, Tokyo Verdy 1969 had to settle for runners-up position, enough to earn promotion back into the top flight for

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. At this time the club renamed itself for the second time, dropping ''1969'' from its team name, but the management corporation name remained as ''Tokyo Verdy 1969''. Verdy would eventually be relegated once again after finishing in 17th place (second to last) in their 2008 J1 League return.

Back to the second tier (2009–2023)

On 17 September 2009, NTV announced it would divest itself of shares in the club and transfer it to a new holding company, Tokyo Verdy Holdings, ending 40 years of Yomiuri/NTV direct financial support. The J.League approved the transfer, but made it a condition that Verdy find a new sponsor by 16 November or risk not being able to play J2 football for the 2010 season. In October 2010, Tokyo Verdy signed a five-year sponsorship deal with sports retail store and apparel company Xebio. The sponsorship deal saw the Xebio logo placed on Tokyo Verdy's kit and included naming rights for two regular season home games. Xebio also produced the clubs football kit, although under their sports brand "Ennerre". After talks with Xebio, several companies decided to invest in the company and the new Xebio led administration was announced in November. The club suffered a mere respite from heartbreak during the 2018 season, when they finished 6th, qualifying then for the promotion/relegation playoffs. They beat

Omiya Ardija is a Japanese professional association football club based in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture. Its "hometown" (as designated by the league) is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. The team currently play in J2 League, the ...

1–0 in the 1st round, and repeated the script against

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...

in the semi-final. They ended just one game short of a J1 League comeback, having lost in the final by 2–0 against

, which saw the promotion hopes fade away for another time. Ever since being relegated to the J2 at the end of 2008 season, the club were unable to return to the J1 and continue to compete in J2 League until 2023 season.

Return to the top-flight (2024–present)

On 2 December 2023, Tokyo Verdy gained promotion to the J1 League for the 2024 season after a 1–1 draw against

Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional association football, football club located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. S-Pulse is going to compete in the J1 League for the 2025 Season, after winning promotio ...

in the promotion play-off final, when Itsuki Someno scored the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 96th minute. As a result, Verdy, who were the top-ranked side entering the J2 League playoffs, returned to the national top tier for the first time since 2008.

Stadium

Verdy plays its home games at the

Ajinomoto Stadium The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The stadium was founded at Kantō Mura, the redevelopment area formerly used by United States Forces Japan, in March 2001. It was the first s ...

, a stadium with the capacity of 49,970. It is shared with the club's main rivals

, although occasional home matches are played in other stadiums in Tokyo, such as the

Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka (味の素フィールド西が丘), originally called Nishigaoka Soccer Stadium (国立西が丘サッカー場, ''Nishigaoka National Soccer Stadium''), is a football stadium in Kita, Tokyo. It was renamed on 1 May 20 ...

Kits and crests

Tokyo Verdy's main colors are green. The club's name was coined from the Portuguese, or

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, or

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, or

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

"verde" meaning "green", probably named after their green jersey colour, so the meaning is "Tokyo Greens/Tokyo Verdi". In

, the form "verdi" indicates the plural form "the greens".

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Kit evolution

Players

Current squad

''As of 1 August 2025.''

Out on loan

Club officials

Managerial history

League and cup record

;Key

Honours

With seven tier one league titles, five Emperor's Cups and six League Cups, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated football clubs in Japan, although nearly all of its titles, came during their stay at Tokyo in the semi-professional era as Yomiuri FC, before the inception of the professional J.League.

Other sports

Verdy is a polideportivo and also fields teams in

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

. Tokyo Verdy's women's football team is the 12 time

Nadeshiko League The , commonly known as the , is a women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respectively. Teams are pro ...

champions, 14 time

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" () or The JFA Empress's Cup (from 2024 onwards), is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be considered the female counterpart to t ...

winners and 1 time

AFC Women's Club Championship The AFC Women's Club Championship was the women's football club competition in Asia. It involved the top clubs from countries affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was designed as a pilot competition for the AFC Women's Cha ...

winners.

Notes

References

External links

*
Tokyo Verdy 1969 – Classic Club Guide at FIFA.comThe club players
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