Omiya Ardija facts for kids
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| Full name | Omiya Ardija | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Risu (The Squirrels) | ||
| Founded | 1969 | ||
| Stadium | NACK5 Stadium Ōmiya Omiya-ku, Saitama, Saitama |
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| Stadium capacity |
15,500 | ||
| Owner | Red Bull GmbH | ||
| Chairman | Masashi Mori | ||
| Manager | Tetsu Nagasawa | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2022 | J2 League, 19th of 22 | ||
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Omiya Ardija (大宮アルディージャ, Ōmiya Arudīja) is a professional soccer club from Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The team is known as Risu, which means "The Squirrels" in Japanese. They share their home city, Saitama, with another team called Urawa Red Diamonds. Starting in 2025, Omiya Ardija will play in the J2 League, which is the second-highest professional football league in Japan. They earned their spot by doing well in the 2024 season.
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Team Badge and Name Change
Omiya Ardija's team badge, also called a crest, has a squirrel on the right side. The squirrel is a special animal for the Omiya area. On the left side, there are five lines. These lines represent the old, important roads that go through Omiya, like the famous Nakasendō road. This road leads to the Hikawa Shrine, which is very close to their home stadium.
A big change is coming for the club! On November 6, 2024, Omiya Ardija announced that they will officially change their crest and name to RB Omiya Ardija starting in 2025. This change happened because Red Bull GmbH, a well-known energy drink company, bought the club. The new logo will feature orange and blue colors.
Club History
The team started way back in 1968 as NTT Saitama Soccer Selection. In 1969, they became the NTT Kantō Soccer Club. They slowly moved up through the leagues, reaching the Japan Soccer League (JSL) Division 2 in 1987/88. When the JSL ended, they joined the Japan Football League.
In 1998, the club became a separate company in Ōmiya to join the J. League, Japan's top professional league. The name "Ardija" comes from the Spanish word ardilla, which means "squirrel." This is a nod to the squirrel being the mascot of Ōmiya and the park where their stadium is located.
Omiya Ardija has a big local rivalry with Urawa Red Diamonds. Their matches against each other are known as the "Saitama derby" and are always exciting!
From 2005 to 2007, Omiya Ardija played most of their home games at other stadiums, like Saitama Stadium 2002, because their own stadium was being made bigger. The stadium was finished in October 2007, and they played their first game back there on November 11.
The team has moved between the J1 and J2 leagues over the years. They were promoted to J1 in 2004 and stayed there until 2014. After being sent down to J2, they quickly got promoted back to J1 in 2015. However, they were relegated again in 2017. In 2023, Omiya Ardija moved down to the J3 League for the first time since 1993.
In 2024, there was exciting news! The energy drink company Red Bull bought Omiya Ardija. This is a big deal because it's the first time a foreign company has fully owned a major Japanese professional sports team. Red Bull owns several other football clubs around the world, like FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and RB Leipzig in Germany. Even with the new owner, NTT East, the company that used to own the club, will continue to support them as a sponsor.
On October 13, 2024, Omiya Ardija won their game against Fukushima United FC 3-2, which meant they were promoted back to the J2 League after just one year. Six days later, they won their first-ever J3 League title by drawing 1-1 against FC Imabari.
Home Stadiums
Omiya Ardija plays their home games at Nack5 Stadium Ōmiya (Nack5スタジアム大宮, Nakku-faibu Sutajiamu Ōmiya). It's also known as Ōmiya Football Stadium. Sometimes, they also play games at the Kumagaya Athletic Stadium.
Team Mascots
Omiya Ardija has two squirrel mascots named Ardi and Miya. They both wear the team's uniform! Miya is a little bit smaller than Ardi.
Club Honours
Omiya Ardija has won some important titles:
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Shakaijin Cup | 1 | 1981 |
| Regional League promotion series | 1 | 1986 |
| J2 League | 1 | 2015 |
| J3 League | 1 | 2024 |
Current Players
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Players on Loan
Sometimes players play for another team for a while to get more experience. Here are some Omiya Ardija players who are currently on loan:
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- You can find more past and present Omiya Ardija players here.
Omiya Ardija U-18 Team
Omiya Ardija also has a youth team for players under 18 years old. This team plays in the Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, which is the top league for U-18 clubs in Japan.
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Coaching Staff
These are the people who help train and manage the team:
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Tetsu Nagasawa |
| Assistant coach | Tetsuhiro Kina |
| First-team coach | Naomichi Wakamiya Yusuke Shimada |
| Goalkeeping coach | Norio Takahashi |
| Physical coach | Takuma Okumura |
| Technical staff | Yuki Fukuro |
| Chief manager | Yosuke Hakamada |
| Side manager | Yuichi Goto |
| Interpreter | Leonardo Uehara Minori Sato |
| Chief athletic trainer | Takafumi Kazama |
| Athletic trainer | Kenichi Sekido Natsuya Yashiro |
| Physiotherapist | Ryohei Ikuta |
Images for kids
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Omiya Ardija 2000 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2001 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2002 - 2003 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2004 - 2005 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2006 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2007 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2008 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2009 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2010 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2011 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2012 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2013 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2014 HOME FP
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Ardija15h
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Omiya16h
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Omiya17h
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Omiya18h
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Omiya19h
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Omiya20h
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Omiya Ardija 2021 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2022 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2023 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 2024 HOME FP
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Omiya Ardija 1999 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2001 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2002 - 2003 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2004 - 2005 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2006 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2007 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2008 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2009 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2010 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2011 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2012 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2013 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2014 AWAY FP
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Ardija15a
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Omiya16a
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Omiya17a
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Omiya18a
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Omiya19a
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Omiya20a
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Omiya Ardija 2021 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2022 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2023 AWAY FP
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Omiya Ardija 2024 HOME FP
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Omiya18t
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Omiya Ardija 2018 SPECIAL FP
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Omiya Ardija 2023 SP FP
See also
In Spanish: Omiya Ardija para niños
