Yokohama FC - a fan-owned oasis in the J.League's corporate top flight

Fans of Glasgow Celtic might be surprised to hear that one of their top players from the late 2000s, Shunsuke Nakamura, is still plying his trade at the age of 41 in Japan for Yokohama FC.

Nakamura made a cameo role towards the end of last season as Yokohama won promotion from the J. League second division for just the second time in their history, scoring and collecting the man-of-the-match award in a crucial home victory against Tokyo Verdy.

Yet the story of this unassuming Japanese club goes far beyond Shunsuke Nakamura or even their successful promotion push.

Yokohama FC was founded in 1999.

Since the 70s, Yokohama had been home to two major clubs, Nissan Motors FC (later Yokohama Marinos) and All Nippon Airways SC (later Yokohama Flügels).

Both clubs were among the most competitive in Japan, wining several league and cup titles apiece.

During this period all Japanese clubs were owned by corporations, with teams composed of employees and players being amateur.

In the 90s, when Japanese football was professionalised, companies decided to rebrand their clubs while still maintaining ownership.

The Marinos and Flügels continued to be competitive, with the Marinos winning the Asian Cup Winners Cup for two consecutive seasons in 1992 & 1993, followed by a Flügels victory in the same tournament in 1995.

In 1998, one of the Flügels' major economic backers, Sato Labs decided to end their involvement in the club. Rather than searching for another partner or pumping more money into the club themselves, All Nippon Airways decided to turn to Nissan.

A proposed amalgamation with the Nissan-owned Marinos was criticised by Flügels supporters as appearing to be a one-sided takeover rather than a merger of the two clubs. Disgusted Flügels fans resolved to establish a Phoenix club and in 1999 Yokohama FC emerged.

Yokohama FC can claim the unique status in the J. League of being a fan owned club, modeling themselves on the socio model of numerous La Liga sides.

The club had humble beginnings with players volunteering to wash jerseys and carry goal posts to training.

Their early years were met with uncertainty as, although they won the Japanese third tier in their first year of existence, the Japanese FA ruled them to be ineligible for promotion to the second division.

Promotion to J. League 2 only came after winning the third tier again in 2000. It’s in the second division that the club has remained for much of their history with the exception of one stint in the top tier in 2007, finishing bottom after winning just four games out of 34.

In 2020, the club will have the unenviable task of competing against teams with financial backings from multinational corporations that have the power to attract big names such as Iniesta and Fernando Torres.

Although they have a a much better-established fan base and deeper pockets today than 13 years ago, the club may be optimistic to expect their spell in Japan’s highest level of football will be a more permanent one.