RB Ōmiya Ardija (RB大宮アルディージャ, Arubi Ōmiya Arudīja)[a] is a Japanese professional association football club based in 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 Japanese second tier of professional football, after promotion from the third tier in 2024.
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| Full name | RB Ōmiya Ardija | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Reddoboru (Red Bulls) (current) Risu (Squirrels) (former) Ardija | ||
| Founded | 1969 as NTT Kantō SC 2024 as RB Ōmiya Ardija | ||
| Stadium | NACK5 Stadium Ōmiya (Omiya-ku, Saitama, Saitama) | ||
| Capacity | 15,491 | ||
| Owner | Red Bull GmbH | ||
| Chairman | Masashi Mori | ||
| Manager | Mitsuhiro Toda (caretaker) | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2025 | J2 League, 6th of 20 | ||
| Website | rbomiya | ||
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The club was known as Ōmiya Ardija (大宮アルディージャ, Ōmiya Arudīja), before club administration was taken over by Red Bull GmbH in late November 2024 who renamed the club.
The club has won 1 J2 League title and 1 J3 League title in their history.
History
editThe team were founded in 1968 as NTT Saitama Soccer Selection in Urawa, Saitama and later known as the NTT Kantō Soccer Club in 1969. They were first promoted to the Japan Soccer League (JSL) Division 2 in 1987/88, and when the JSL folded, joined the former Japan Football League.[2]
In 1998 the club was separately incorporated as NTT Sport Community K.K. based in Ōmiya to participate in the J. League. The name "Ardija" is a transcription of the Spanish language ardilla (squirrel) which is the mascot of Ōmiya and the park in which their home stadium is located.[2][3]
Their matches against Urawa Red Diamonds have been called the "Saitama derby".[4]
From 2005 to 2007, most of Ōmiya's home matches were held at Saitama Stadium 2002 and Urawa Komaba Stadium due to expansion works at their home ground. In October 2007 the expansion was complete. On November 11, the re-opening match was held as a J. League season match between the Ōmiya and Ōita Trinita (1–2).[5]
Ōmiya competed in the J1 League following an immediate promotion in 2015 after being relegated in 2014. Ōmiya was relegated again following the 2017 season. They competed in J1 2005 and continued to remain until 2014, following promotion from J2 in 2004 as the second placed team.
In 2023, Ōmiya were relegated to J3 League after six seasons stint in second division due to worst performance and played third division football for the first time since 1993.
New ownership
editOn 15 February 2024, before the start of the season, Sports Nippon reported that Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull may buy a J.League club, and that Ōmiya Ardija was the leading candidate.[6] On July 26 of the same year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Red Bull had reached an agreement in principle to buy Ōmiya Ardija.[7]
In August 2024, Omiya Ardija announced Red Bull as their new owner, after acquiring 100% of the club shares, formerly owned by NTT, becoming part of their multi-club ownership.[8] This will be the first time that a foreign company has become the sole owner of a major Japanese professional sports team, including the J.League.[9] Red Bull began by acquiring management rights to Austrian first division club Salzburg in 2005 and now owns six clubs: Leipzig in Bundesliga, New York Red Bulls in the United States MLS, Liefering in Admiral 2. Liga, Bragantino in Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and Red Bull Brasil (now Red Bull Bragantino II) in the Sao Paulo State Championship. In the past, they also owned Red Bull Ghana in Africa and Omiya will be the eighth club they own.
NTT East will continue to support the company as a sponsor even after the transfer of shares.[10]
On 13 October 2024, Ōmiya secured promotion to the J2 League after defeating Fukushima United 3–2, thus returning to the second tier after a one year absence. Six days later, Omiya secured the J3 League title with a 1–1 draw against Imabari in matchweek 33.
Team image
edit
Crest
editŌmiya Ardija's original crest features a squirrel on the right, which is the animal of Omiya. On the left, there are 5 lines, which reference the historic roads that run through Omiya, including the famous Nakasendō, which runs to the Hikawa Shrine, right near Nack5 Stadium.[11][12]
On 6 November 2024, Ōmiya Ardija officially change crest and name to RB Ōmiya Ardija after being acquired by Red Bull GmbH from 2025.[1] The club retained their colours but adopted a new logo which is identical to other Red Bull owned clubs.
The former nickname of Omiya is Risu, squirrel in Japanese.
Mascots
editKit suppliers and shirt sponsors
editKit evolution
edit| Home Kit – 1st | ||||
          1999–2000 |
     2001 |
     2002 - 2003 |
     2004 - 2005 |
     2006 |
     2007 |
   2008 |
     2009 |
     2010 |
     2011 |
    2012 |
     2013 |
     2014 |
   2015 |
    2016 |
   2017 |
     2018 |
    2019 |
    2020 |
     2021 |
     2012 |
     2013 |
     2014 |
     2015 |
    2016 |
    2017 |
    2018 |
     2019 |
    2020 |
    2021 |
     2022 |
    2023 |
   2024 |
     2025 - |
| Special Kits – 3rd | ||||
    2018 3rd |
     2018 20th anniversary |
     2023 25th anniversary | ||
Players
edit- As of 22 February 2026.[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Management and staff
edit| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Caretaker manager |  Mitsuhiro Toda |
| Assistant manager | Tetsuhiro Kina |
| First-team coach | Yusuke Shimada Ryotaro Nakano Jun Yokoyama |
| Goalkeeping coordinator | Motoki Kawahara |
| Performance coordinator | Akira Umeki |
| Physical coach | Takuma Okumura |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Yutaka Kato |
| Match analyst | Yuki Fukuro Ryogawa Matsuno |
| Chief manager | Yosuke Hakamada |
| Technical staff | Masashi Takami |
| Equipment manager | Yuichi Goto |
| Equipment assistant | Ryo Ito |
| Interpreter | Michinori Katsuta Daiki Kimura Leonardo Uehara |
| Chief athletic trainer | Takafumi Kazama Atsushi SHIGA |
| Athletic trainer | Kenichi Sekido |
| Physiotherapist | Ryohei Ikuta |
| Performance consultant | Motonori Watanabe |
Honours
edit| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Shakaijin Cup | 1 | 1981 |
| Regional League promotion series | 1 | 1986 |
| Saitama City Cup | 2 | 2010, 2011 |
| J2 League | 1 | 2015 |
| J3 League | 1 | 2024 |
| Saitama Prefectural Football Championship Emperor's Cup Saitama Prefectural Qualifiers |
1 | 2024 |
Managerial history
edit| Manager | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | |
 Pim Verbeek | 1 January 1999 | 31 December 1999 |
| Toshiya Miura | 1 February 2000 | 31 January 2002 |
| Henk Duut | 22 December 2001 | 22 December 2002 |
| Masaaki Kanno | 1 February 2003 | 13 October 2003 |
| Eijun Kiyokumo | 10 October 2003 | 31 December 2003 |
| Toshiya Miura | 1 February 2004 | 31 January 2007 |
| Robert Verbeek | 1 January 2007 | 30 June 2007 |
| Satoru Sakuma | 1 July 2007 | 31. December 2007 |
| Yasuhiro Higuchi | 1 February 2008 | 31 January 2009 |
 Chang Woe-ryong | 1. February 2009 | 26 April 2010 |
| Jun Suzuki | 24 April 2010 | 19 May 2012 |
| Takeyuki Okamoto (interim) | 31 Mai 2012 | 10 June 2012 |
 Zdenko Verdenik | 10 June 2012 | 11 August 2013 |
| Takeyuki Okamoto (interim) (2) | 11 August 2013 | 20 August 2013 |
| Tsutomu Ogura | 20 August 2013 | 31 December 2013 |
| Kiyoshi Okuma | 1 February 2014 | 31 August 2014 |
| Hiroki Shibuya | 31 August 2014 | 28 May 2017 |
| Akira Ito | 29 Mai 2017 | 5 November 2017 |
| Masatada Ishii | 6 November 2017 | 31 January 2019 |
| Takuya Takagi | 1 February 2019 | 31 January 2021 |
| Ken Iwase | 1 February 2021 | 25 May 2021 |
| Norio Sasaki | 26 May 2021 | 9 June 2021 |
| Masahiro Shimoda | 10 June 2021 | 26 May 2022 |
| Naoki Soma[12] | 28 May 2022 | 19 May 2023 |
| Masato Harasaki[15] | 19 May 2023 | 31 January 2024 |
| As RB Ōmiya Ardija | ||
| Tetsu Nagasawa | 1 February 2024 | 24 September 2025[16] |
| Yuki Miyazawa | 24 September 2025[17] | 31 May 2026 |
| Mitsuhiro Toda (caretaker) | 1 June 2026[18] | Current |
Season by season record
edit| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J. League Cup | Emperor's Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W (OTW) | D | L (OTL) | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | |||
| as Ōmiya Ardija | |||||||||||||||
| 1999 | J2 | 10 | 6th | 36 | 14 (4) | 1 | 15 (2) | 47 | 44 | 3 | 51 | 2,674 | 1st round | 3rd round | |
| 2000 | 11 | 4th | 40 | 21 (2) | 1 | 14 (2) | 55 | 49 | 6 | 68 | 3,477 | 1st round | 3rd round | ||
| 2001 | 12 | 5th | 44 | 20 (6) | 6 | 11(1) | 73 | 43 | 30 | 78 | 3,864 | 1st round | 1st round | ||
| 2002 | 12 | 6th | 44 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 52 | 42 | 10 | 59 | 5,266 | Not eligible | 4th round | ||
| 2003 | 12 | 6th | 44 | 18 | 7 | 19 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 61 | 5,058 | 3rd round | |||
| 2004 | 12 | 2nd | 44 | 26 | 9 | 9 | 63 | 38 | 25 | 87 | 6,108 | 5th round | |||
| 2005 | J1 | 18 | 13th | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 41 | 9,980 | Quarter final | Semi final | |
| 2006 | 18 | 12th | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 44 | 10,234 | Group stage | 5th round | ||
| 2007 | 18 | 15th | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 40 | −16 | 35 | 11,465 | Group stage | 4th round | ||
| 2008 | 18 | 12th | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 36 | 45 | −9 | 43 | 9,350 | Group stage | 5th round | ||
| 2009 | 18 | 13th | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 40 | 47 | −7 | 39 | 13,707 | Group stage | 3rd round | ||
| 2010 | 18 | 12th | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 42 | 11,064 | Group stage | 4th round | ||
| 2011 | 18 | 13th | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 42 | 12,221 | 2nd round | 2nd round | ||
| 2012 | 18 | 13th | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 44 | 10,637 | Group stage | 4th round | ||
| 2013 | 18 | 14th | 34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 45 | 11,138 | Group stage | 2nd round | ||
| 2014 | 18 | 16th | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 35 | 10,811 | Group stage | Quarter final | ||
| 2015 | J2 | 22 | 1st | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 72 | 37 | 35 | 86 | 9,490 | Not eligible | 3rd round | |
| 2016 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 41 | 36 | 5 | 56 | 11,814 | Quarter final | Semi final | |
| 2017 | 18 | 18th | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 60 | −32 | 25 | 11,464 | Group stage | Quarter final | ||
| 2018 | J2 | 22 | 5th | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 48 | 17 | 71 | 9,224 | Not eligible | 3rd round | |
| 2019 | 22 | 3rd | 42 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 62 | 40 | 22 | 75 | 9,478 | 3rd round | |||
| 2020 † | 22 | 15th | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 53 | 2,515 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2021 † | 22 | 16th | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 42 | 4,311 | 2nd round | |||
| 2022 | 22 | 19th | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 48 | 64 | −16 | 43 | 5,272 | 3rd round | |||
| 2023 | 22 | 21st | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 37 | 71 | −49 | 39 | 6,862 | 3rd round | |||
| 2024 | J3 | 20 | 1st | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 72 | 32 | 40 | 85 | 7,472 | 2nd round | 2nd round | |
| as RB Ōmiya Ardija | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | J2 | 20 | 6th | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 60 | 39 | 21 | 63 | 11,315 | 2nd round | 1st round | |
| 2026 | 10 | TBD | 18 | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||
| 2026-27 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBD | TBD | ||||||||||
- 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
- Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
- Source: J. League Data Site
Notes
editReferences
edit- 1 2 "RB大宮株式会社 クラブプロパティ変更のお知らせ". 大宮アルディージャ. 6 November 2024. Archived from the original on 6 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Omiya Ardija Club Profile". J. League. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ↑ "Club Profile". Omiya Ardija. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ↑ "The 13th Saitama derby in the football-mad region comes around this Saturday in Japan's J-League when Urawa Red Diamonds face Omiya Ardija". Goal.com. 11 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ↑ "オレンジの聖地一新 NACK5スタジアム大宮". Saitama Shimbun (in Japanese). 47news. 23 October 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "レッドブルJリーグ参入へ J初の外国資本企業オーナー誕生も J3大宮が最有力候補". スポーツニッポン. 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ↑ "レッドブル、Jリーグ参入 J3大宮アルディージャを買収". 日本経済新聞. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ↑ "Red Bull adds first Asian club to soccer portfolio with Omiya Ardija takeover". SportsPro (in Japanese). sportspromedia.com. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ↑ "レッドブルがJ3大宮アルディージャ買収発表 NTT東日本から、Jリーグに参入". 日本経済新聞. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ↑ "大宮アルディージャの株式、レッドブルに譲渡 佐野社長「成功につなげる」 契約締結、譲渡は今年9月を予定 NTT東日本はスポンサー企業に クラブ名の存続などについても言及". 埼玉新聞. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ↑ Every J.League club badge explained | The meaning behind every J.League team crest, 5 May 2022, archived from the original on 25 September 2024, retrieved 31 May 2022
- 1 2 "相馬直樹 監督 就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ↑ "大宮アルディージャ公式サイト". www.ardija.co.jp. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ↑ "RB大宮アルディージャ公式サイト". www.rbomiya.com. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ↑ "監督交代のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 19 May 2023. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "長澤徹 監督 解任のお知らせ". www.rbomiya.com. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ↑ "宮沢悠生 監督 就任のお知らせ". www.rbomiya.com. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ↑ "トップチームの体制について". www.rbomiya.com. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
External links
edit
- RB Omiya Ardija Homepage (in Japanese)