Football in Japan – Red Bull buys Omiya Ardija: Reckless expansion

When Shinnosuke first heard that this big investor was joining his club, he thought: “Great! Finally we’re going to be okay again!” In the third division, where Omiya Ardija currently plays, nobody feels like they’re in good hands. In 2016, the club from the northern edge of the capital Tokyo was sixth in the J-League, Japan’s top division. Then the free fall. “Now we’re going to be a top club,” says Shinnosuke, stroking the crest on his chest. “Most certainly!”

On a Sunday at the end of October, the 21-year-old and his friend Naonari, the same age, march to the Nack5 Stadium in Omiya full of triumphant certainty. Everyone can find their way there: power boxes, lanterns, shop window shutters – everything is painted orange, the color of the club. “If we get a point today, we’ll be champions,” boasts Naonari, dressed entirely in orange. “In a few years, Orange will be playing in the first league again!” If everything goes well.

The confidence of the two young men is more than the typical arrogance that football club fans often have. In fact, it is almost guaranteed that Omiya Ardija will not only establish themselves in the top flight again in the next few years, but will also attack the top of the J-League. In the summer, Red Bull bought 100 percent of the club’s shares. The group’s commitments elsewhere have shown: Red Bull breeds top clubs, money scores goals.

Nevertheless, Shinnosuke and Naonari are worried when they think about the future of their club. Because it may well be that even if they make it through to league one, no orange will be seen in the J-League. “I hope they don’t change our name to RB,” says Shinnosuke. “Or our coat of arms into a bull!” Naonari thinks. The student friends agree what would be the worst: “If Red Bull changes our colors!”

Your club has not yet commented on these issues. But if an Austrian billion-dollar company buys a Japanese third division team, outsiders could expect leaps of joy. Omiya Ardija has barely half a century of history, was once called NTT Saitama Soccer Selection and was the operating team of the telecommunications group NTT. With the founding of the professional league J-League in the early 1990s, it became Omiya Ardija. Many fans were NTT employees and their families. Typical of Japan.

But anyone who thinks that identities are interchangeable here doesn’t understand football, which is also one of the most popular sports in Japan. “My father worked for NTT,” says Shinnosuke as he squeezes into the standing room behind the goal. “I was here when I was a little boy.” Orange flags wave around him. The curve is constantly bawling out songs rewritten from pop songs, the 15,500-seater arena is almost full – in the third league.

The more you look around the stadium, the clearer it becomes that the anticipation has dimmed. “It is already assumed that Omiya could become champion in a few years,” explains the editor of the fanzine “Ardija Guide.” “But the fans also want to know what will happen to their club.” Unfortunately, the new investors are keeping quiet. »The fans continue to come to the stadium. But there have already been a lot of complaints on social media. Because when Red Bull bought it, employees and fans were faced with a fait accompli. Yuya Takahashi, press spokesman for Omiya Ardija, explains: “At the beginning of the year it became clear that Red Bull was interested.” But he doesn’t know the details either: “I don’t know how expensive the purchase was.”

In the middle of this week, the new owner explained himself: At a press conference, Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff sat in front of an emblem that was confusingly similar to the logo of the clubs in Leipzig or Salzburg, with the blue lettering “RB Omiya Ardija” two red bulls framed. Regarding the color, Mintzlaff explained that a solution had been found “so that we can continue to use Omiya’s orange color.” How exactly remains unclear.

Anyone who looks at Red Bull’s acquisitions can expect that Omiya Ardija will at some point appear in red, like Salzburg, Leipzig or Bragantino. When the Ardija purchase was announced in August, Mintzlaff also sounded unconcerned about fan culture: “We are very pleased to have a club in Asia and to expand our football portfolio in a strategically important region.”

From Red Bull’s perspective, buying a Japanese club might actually make a lot of sense. Japan is the fourth largest economy in the world and therefore a large market for energy drinks. In addition, many talents have been coming from here to the world football market for more than a decade. As a third division team with the infrastructure of a first division team, Omiya Ardija, whose stadium can be reached by subway from Tokyo, was probably the ideal prey: probably not too expensive, but with a lot of potential.

“Of course we know our position in the hierarchy,” replies press spokesman Takahashi when asked whether Omiya will now become the new player supplier for RB Leipzig. “It will probably happen that sooner or later we will hand over top talent to Leipzig.” In return, it is hoped that there will be a transfer of knowledge from the Red Bull School. “We are looking forward to the know-how of Jürgen Klopp, Mario Gomez and the many very good coaches.” This in turn could fire up all of Japanese football.

The Nack5 Stadium shakes. After falling behind, the home team in Orange equalized against second-placed FC Imabari. This would mean that Ardija would have become an early champion. And if everything goes well, Omiya, a district of the megacity Saitama, would finally be first class again from spring 2026. But for Makoto Aida, a regular at the stadium for more than ten years, this is gradually becoming too much. After the equalizer he ducked out of the corner to get some beer and fried noodles. “I feel uneasy thinking about the first Saitama derby,” he says hoarsely. This is the name of the heated encounters with the wealthy top club and arch enemy Urawa Red Diamonds. “Should we play in red against the Reds or what?”

Everyone here in the stadium wants sporting success and a chance to beat their unpopular rival, emphasizes Aida. »But at what cost? That we end up red like the Reds?” Press spokesman Takahashi knows the complaints. When making its investment, Red Bull only considered hard criteria such as market potential and infrastructure, but overlooked others such as the identity of a club.

The game is over, the Omiya Ardija footballers saved the 1:1 over time. “We are the Champions,” it blares through the arena. A mascot is also cheering at the Nack5 Stadium, whose name Ardija is a fantasy word that was borrowed from the Spanish “ardilla” and translates to squirrel. But Ardija should now also be replaced – and make room for a red bull.