JEF United Chiba facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the men's football club based in Japan. For the women's team, see JEF United Chiba Ladies.

Quick facts for kids
JEF United Chiba
ジェフユナイテッド千葉

Full name

JEF United Ichihara Chiba

Nickname(s)

JEF, Inu (The Dogs)

Founded

1946; 79 years ago
as Furukawa Electric SC

Stadium

Fukuda Denshi Arena
Chiba

Stadium
capacity

19,781

Owner

East Japan Railway Company (50%)
Furukawa Electric (50%)

Chairman

Akira Shimada

Manager

Yoshiyuki Kobayashi

League

J2 League

2022

J2 League, 10th of 22

Home colours

Away colours

JEF United Chiba (ジェフユナイテッド千葉, Jefu Yunaiteddo Chiba), also known as JEF Chiba, is a professional football club from Chiba, Japan. They play in the J2 League, which is the second-highest professional football league in Japan.

History of JEF United Chiba

Early Years: Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1991)

The club started in 1946 as a team for the Furukawa Electric company. This team was very successful! They won the Japan Soccer League twice and the Emperor's Cup four times. They also won the JSL League Cup three times.

A big achievement was winning the 1986–87 Asian Club Championship. This is the top club award in Asia. Furukawa Electric was the first Japanese club to win it!

The club was one of the first eight teams in the Japan Soccer League (JSL) when it began in 1965. They were the only Japanese club that was never moved down to a lower league from the JSL Division 1. This amazing record continued even when the J.League started.

Becoming JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004)

In 1991, the club joined with another company team from JR East. They changed their name to JEF United Ichihara when the J.League started in 1993. They were one of the first ten teams in the new J.League.

A famous German player, Pierre Littbarski, helped build the team in its early J.League days. From 1998 to 2000, the team had some tough times. But after Ivica Osim became coach in 2003, JEF United started playing much better. They even competed for the league title!

JEF United Chiba Today (2005–Present)

On February 1, 2005, the club changed its name to JEF United Chiba. This happened because Chiba city became a hometown for the club, joining Ichihara.

The name JEF comes from the two original companies: JR East and Furukawa Electric. United means that the club and its hometown work together. JEF United is special because it's the only team in the J.League that kept part of its old company name. Most teams had to change their names to be only about their hometown.

In 2006, coach Osim left to lead the Japan national team. His son, Amar Osim, took over as coach. However, Amar Osim was later replaced in 2007.

On November 8, 2009, JEF United Chiba moved down to the J2 League after playing 44 seasons in Japan's top division. Since 2010, they have been playing in the J.League Division 2.

The team almost got promoted back to J1 in 2012. They won against Yokohama FC 4-0 in the playoffs but lost the final match to Oita Trinita 1-0. They also played in the promotion playoffs in 2013 and 2014 but couldn't make it back to J1. The club has now been in the J2 League for 14 seasons in a row as of 2023.

Club Symbols

Home Stadiums

JEF United Chiba used to play their home games at Ichihara Seaside Stadium. But since 2005, they play at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba. This stadium is bigger and is made just for football. It's also easier for fans to get to. The team now trains at UNITED PARK, which is close to the Fukuda Denshi Arena.

Team Mascots

Akitas and Mina

JEF United's mascots are two Akita Inu brothers named Jeffy and Unity. Jeffy wears the number 2 jersey, and Unity wears number 9. They also have a third mascot, Mina, or Mina-chan. She came to the stadium's nearby train station one day and wanted to help Jeffy and Unity. Her jersey number is 12.

Club Slogan

Since 2001, JEF United's main idea is captured in their slogan: "Win By All." This means everyone works together to win.

Related Clubs

Furukawa Electric Chiba

This used to be JEF's reserve team (a team for younger or developing players). They still exist today as Vonds Ichihara. They are no longer officially linked to JEF United, but they aim to be a strong team in Ichihara, where JEF used to be based.

JEF Reserves

JEF also had another reserve team called JEF Reserves. This team played in the Japan Football League, which is the third level of Japanese football. However, the club stopped this team in 2011 because of money problems.

JEF United Chiba Ladies

JEF United also has a women's football team called JEF United Chiba Ladies.

Team Rivalries

Marunouchi Gosanke

JEF United has had strong rivalries with Kashiwa Reysol and Urawa Reds. These three teams are close neighbors. They were all among the first teams in the Japan Soccer League in 1965. Because their old company headquarters were all in a part of Tokyo called Marunouchi, these three clubs were known as the Marunouchi Gosanke. Games between them were called Marunouchi derbies.

Chiba Derby

JEF United and Kashiwa Reysol first played each other way back in 1941. Now, both clubs are based in Chiba Prefecture. Their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. Every year before the season starts, they play a friendly match called the Chibagin Cup.

J.League Performance

Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Promoted	Relegated

Season	Division	Teams	Position	Games Played	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Difference	Points	Average Attendance	League Cup	Emperor's Cup
JEF United Ichihara
1992	–	–	–									–	Group stage	Quarter final
1993	J1	10	8th	36	14	-	22	51	67	-16	-	20,273	Group stage	Quarter final
1994		12	9th	44	19	-	25	69	85	-16	-	22,262	2nd round	2nd round
1995		14	5th	52	28 (0 / -)	-	20 (4 / -)	97	91	6	88	15,418	–	1st round
1996		16	9th	30	13 (0 / -)	-	16 (1 / -)	40	12,008	Group stage	3rd round
1997		17	13th	32	6 (0 / 5)	-	17 (1 / 3)	43	66	-23	28	5,693	Quarter-final	4th round
1998		18	16th	34	8 (1 / 0)	-	20 (1 / 4)	49	75	-26	25	5,365	Final	3rd round
1999		16	13th	30	6 (0 / 4)	2	14 (0 / 4)	41	56	-15	28	5,774	2nd round	3rd round
2000		16	14th	30	8 (0 / 1)	2	14 (0 / 5)	37	49	-12	28	6,338	2nd round	Quarter final
2001		16	3rd	30	14 (0 / 3)	2	9 (0 / 2)	60	54	6	50	7,818	Quarter-final	Quarter final
2002		16	7th	30	12 (- / 1)	3	14	38	42	-4	41	7,897	Quarter-final	Semi-final
2003		16	3rd	30	15	8	7	57	38	19	53	9,709	Group stage	Quarter final
2004		16	4th	30	13	11	6	55	45	10	50	10,012	Group stage	4th round
JEF United Chiba
2005	J1	18	4th	34	16	11	7	56	42	14	59	9,535	Winner	5th round
2006		18	11th	34	13	5	16	57	58	-1	44	13,393	Winner	4th round
2007		18	13th	34	12	6	16	51	56	-5	42	14,149	Group stage	4th round
2008		18	15th	34	10	8	16	36	53	17	38	14,084	Quarter final	4th round
2009		18	18th	34	5	12	17	32	56	-24	27	14,730	Group stage	4th round
2010	J2	19	4th	36	18	7	11	58	37	21	61	11,689	Not eligible	4th round
2011		20	6th	38	16	10	12	46	39	7	58	9,680		Quarter final
2012		22	5th	42	21	9	12	61	33	28	72	9,281		Quarter final
2013		22	5th	42	18	12	12	68	49	19	66	10,004		3rd round
2014		22	3rd	42	18	14	10	55	44	11	68	9,333		Semi-final
2015		22	9th	42	15	12	15	50	45	5	57	10,725		3rd round
2016		22	11th	42	13	14	15	52	53	-1	53	10,292		3rd round
2017		22	6th	42	20	8	14	70	58	12	68	9,983		3rd round
2018		22	14th	42	16	7	19	72	72	0	55	9,858		3rd round
2019		22	17th	42	10	13	19	46	64	-18	43	9,701		2nd round
2020 †		22	14th	42	15	8	19	47	51	-4	53	2,778		Did not qualify
2021 †		22	8th	42	17	15	10	48	36	12	66	4,068		3rd round
2022		22	10th	42	17	10	15	44	42	2	61	5,775		2nd round
2023		22	6th	42	19	10	13	61	53	8	67	8,523		2nd round
2024		20	7th	38	19	4	15	67	48	19	61	10,431	First round	Quarter final
2025		20	TBD	38									TBD	TBD

Key

* Position = Where the team finished in the league.

Games Played = Number of matches played.
Wins = Number of matches won.
Draws = Number of matches that ended in a tie.
Losses = Number of matches lost.
Goals For = Total goals scored by the team.
Goals Against = Total goals scored against the team.
Goal Difference = Goals For minus Goals Against.
Points = Total points earned.
Average Attendance = Average number of fans at home games.
† In 2020 & 2021, fewer fans could attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: J.League Data Site

Club Achievements

JEF United Chiba has won several important titles throughout its history:

JEF United Chiba Honours
Award	Number of Wins	Years Won
All Japan Works Football Championship	3	1959, 1961, 1962 (shared)
All Japan Inter-City Football Championship	4	1959, 1960, 1961, 1964
Emperor's Cup	4	1960, 1961, 1964 (shared), 1976
JSL Division 1	2	1976, 1985
JSL Cup / J.League Cup	5	1977, 1982, 1986, 2005, 2006
Japanese Super Cup	1	1977
Asian Club Championship	1	1986

League History

Top League (JSL Div. 1): 1965–1992
Top League (J1): 1993–2009
Second League (J2): 2010–present

Team Players

Current Squad

As of July 24, 2024.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Kazuki Fujita (on loan from Albirex Niigata)
2	MF	Issei Takahashi
3	DF	Kohei Yamakoshi (on loan from Tokyo Verdy)
4	MF	Taishi Taguchi (vice-captain)
5	MF	Yusuke Kobayashi
7	FW	Kazuki Tanaka
8	MF	Koya Kazama
9	FW	Hiroto Goya
10	FW	Hiiro Komori
11	DF	Koki Yonekura
13	DF	Daisuke Suzuki (captain)
14	MF	Naoki Tsubaki
16	MF	Akiyuki Yokoyama
17	MF	Masamichi Hayashi
18	MF	Naohiro Sugiyama (on loan from Gamba Osaka)
19	DF	Shuto Okaniwa (on loan from FC Tokyo)
20	FW	Toshiyuki Takagi
21	GK	Toru Takagiwa

No.	Position	Player
22	DF	Shogo Sasaki
23	GK	Ryota Suzuki
24	DF	Shuntaro Yaguchi
27	MF	Takuro Iwai ^DSP
29	FW	Taichi Sakuma
31	GK	Yuya Aoshima (on loan from Tochigi SC)
33	MF	Dudu Pacheco
36	DF	Riku Matsuda
37	MF	Yuma Igari ^DSP
39	FW	Ryuta Shimmyo
40	DF	Mendes
44	MF	Manato Shinada (on loan from FC Tokyo)
48	DF	Soshiro Tanida
52	DF	Ryota Kuboniwa
55	DF	Daiki Ogawa (on loan from Júbilo Iwata)
67	MF	Masaru Hidaka
77	FW	Dudu

Players on Loan

No.		Position	Player
		FW	Raito Saito (at ReinMeer Aomori)

Famous Players

Many talented players from different countries have played for JEF United. Here are some of them:

From Japan

From Asia, Africa, and Oceania

From Europe

From South America

Kléber
Eduardo Aranda

Coaching Staff

These are the people who help train and manage the team:

Position	Name
Manager	Yoshiyuki Kobayashi
First-team coach	Masataka Sakamoto Masashi Owada Shunta Nagai
Goalkeeper coach	Motoki Kawahara
Physical coach	Ryota Mizuguchi
Analyst	Shunsuke Nakano
Interpreter	Fabricio
Chief trainer	Yusuke Nakao
Athletic trainer	Yuya Okamoto Toshifumi Goto
Physiotherapist	Naoki Akiyoshi
Competent	Yuma Fukushima
Side affairs	Yusuke Hata
Kit man	Kosuke Tomitani

Team Managers Over Time

Here's a list of the managers who have led the JEF United team:

Manager	Nationality	Years
Yoshikazu Nagai	Japan	1992–1993
Eijun Kiyokumo	Japan	1994–1995
Yasuhiko Okudera	Japan	1996
Jan Versleijen	Netherlands	1997–1998
Gert Engels	Germany	1999
Nicolae Zamfir	Romania	1999–2000
Sugao Kambe (interim)	Japan	2000
Zdenko Verdenik	Slovenia	2000–2001
Sugao Kambe (interim)	Japan	2001
Jozef Vengloš	Slovakia	2002
Ivica Osim	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2003–2006
Amar Osim	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006–2007
Josip Kuže	Croatia	2008
Shigeo Sawairi (interim)	Japan	2008
Alex Miller	Scotland	2008–2009
Atsuhiko Ejiri	Japan	2009–2010
Dwight Lodeweges	Netherlands	2011
Sugao Kambe	Japan	2011
Takashi Kiyama	Japan	2012
Jun Suzuki	Japan	2013–2014
Kazuo Saito (interim)	Japan	2014
Takashi Sekizuka	Japan	2014–2016
Shigetoshi Hasebe (interim)	Japan	2016
Juan Esnáider	Argentina	2017–2019
Atsuhiko Ejiri	Japan	2019
Yoon Jong-hwan	South Korea	2020–2022
Yoshiyuki Kobayashi	Japan	2023–

Team Colours

The main colours for JEF United Chiba's uniforms are yellow, green, and red.

Images for kids

Akitas and Mina