Team History

The predecessor of FC Tokyo, Tokyo Gas Football Club, was founded in 1935. The team, which played in the Tokyo League, achieved a remarkable 4th place finish when they were promoted to the Kanto League in 1986. In 1991, they won the National Regional League Championship and were promoted to the JSL Division 2. They joined the JFL in 1992 and have consistently maintained a high position since 1995. In the 1997 Emperor's Cup, they defeated three J-League teams in a row and made it to the semifinals, showcasing their impressive performance. In their final season in the JFL in 1998, they achieved their long-awaited first championship victory.
In 1999, the team changed its name to "FC Tokyo" and entered J2, where they participated in the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup for the first time and defeated three J1 teams in a row, advancing to the best four. On the other hand, despite struggling towards the end of the league, they finished in second place and secured promotion to J1.
In 2000, the year they were promoted to J1, they started with 3 consecutive wins in the 1st stage and finished 6th, and also achieved 5 consecutive wins in the 2nd stage, finishing 8th (7th overall) and causing a "Tokyo whirlwind". In the following year, they maintained a mid-level position with 9th in the 1st stage and 8th in the 2nd stage (8th overall), solidifying their position in J1 in their second year. After the end of the season, manager Kiyoshi OKUMA, who had been in charge for 7 years, stepped down and Hiromi HARA took over as manager from the 2002 season. The team, based on the "never give up until the end" and "always give 100%" mentality instilled by former manager OKUMA, entered a new stage with the new manager HARA's "attacking football" philosophy.

In 2002, there were many injuries to key players and the team struggled, finishing 10th in the 1st stage. However, in the 2nd stage, with the growth and success of young players, they finished 5th (9th overall for the year), showing the gradual spread of the attacking soccer style that coach Hara aimed for. In 2003, with the abolition of extra time, the team adopted the slogan "90 minutes of attacking soccer." In the 1st stage, they had the fewest goals conceded and achieved their best ever 4th place finish. In the following 2nd stage, they were in the running for the championship until the end, finishing 5th with the most goals scored. They also achieved their best ever 4th place finish for the year. After the season, "King of Tokyo" Amaral, who had been a central figure in the team for 12 years, left the club. A chapter in history closed and the club began to move towards an even higher level.
In 2004, as the slogan "Attack, Drama, Attacking Soccer" suggests, we took a more aggressive stance, but due to factors such as the World Cup qualifiers and the Athens Olympics, as well as injuries to key players, we were unable to gather our full strength and ended up in 8th place overall (6th in the 1st stage, 10th in the 2nd stage), which was not a satisfactory result. However, the team came together and made it to the final in the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup. We defeated Urawa in a penalty shootout and finally won our first club title. In 2005, with the change to a single league system, our slogan was "Attack and Take. Attack and Win." as we aimed for the league championship. We had a successful start and even temporarily took the top spot, but injuries continued and we suffered 7 consecutive losses after the 5th round, ultimately finishing in 10th place. After the season, head coach Hara, who had been in charge for 4 years, stepped down and in 2006, the club's first foreign coach, Mr. Garo, took over. With the thought of "Ousadia ~ Trust, Courage, Challenge ~" in our hearts, we approached the new battle. However, amidst the schedule that included the World Cup, the team's performance did not improve and Mr. Garo was dismissed. From the 18th round onwards, Mr. Kuramata, who had been the U-18 coach, took over, but we ultimately finished in our worst ever 13th place.

In 2007, with the return of coach Hiromi HARA, the team faced a difficult season with the slogan "It's Our Time ~ Blue Gale, Red Storm ~" after losing the opening game of the league and continuing to struggle with losses. New addition, former Costa Rican national team player COSTA, scored 2 goals until the 11th round but was unable to achieve the desired results and left the team at the end of June. In the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, the team advanced to the final tournament with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Throughout the season, the team struggled and finished with 14 wins, 3 draws, and 17 losses, placing 12th in the league. They were also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Emperor's Cup, ending the 2007 season.

In 2008, which marked the 10th anniversary of their participation, the team entered the season with the slogan "Moving Football ~ Ball, Body, and the Hearts of the Viewers ~" under the new coach Hiroshi JOFUKU, aiming for continuous growth. In the first half of the league, they steadily accumulated points and were in 3rd place before the break in May. However, after the restart, they struggled to win games and despite a 5-game winning streak towards the end, they finished in 6th place. In the Emperor's Cup, they made it to the semifinal for the first time as FC Tokyo. In the following year, 2009, they approached the season with a strong determination to compete for the championship with the slogan "Moving Football ~ Move the Hearts of the Viewers ~". However, they were unable to gain points as they had hoped after losing the opening game, and struggled in the early stages. But when Naohiro ISHIKAWA started scoring goals, the team revived and made it to the top. They fought until the end for a spot in the ACL, but finished in 5th place. On the other hand, in the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, rookie Takuji YONEMOTO's remarkable performance led them to the final for the first time in 5 years. They withstood Kawasaki's fierce attacks and steadily scored 2 goals to bring the club their second title. This season also marked the end for Tokyo Gas FC's homegrown players Ryuji FUJIYAMA and Satoru ASARI, who retired and left the club, marking the beginning of a new era.

In 2010, the third year under the Jofuku regime, the team set the slogan "Moving Football ~Together as One~" and aimed for a "true championship battle" for the season. However, although they won the opening game, they struggled in the lower ranks from the beginning. After winning the "Suruga Bank Championship 2010 TOKYO" following the South Africa World Cup, the league resumed in an attempt to turn things around, but they were unable to accumulate enough points and found themselves in a relegation battle. From the 24th round, Jofuku was dismissed as head coach and former FC Tokyo coach Okuma returned as head coach. Despite a tough battle in every game, they reached the final round in 15th place, just one point behind the 16th place relegation zone, but lost the game and were relegated to J2 for the first time in the club's history, ending the season with this result.

In 2011, under the leadership of Ohkuma, the team set the slogan "TOKYO SPIRIT ~ Everything for Victory ~" and aimed to "become stronger and return to J1" in their second J2 league season. After the opening game, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred and the schedule was drastically changed. In the early stages, the team struggled due to injuries and fell to the bottom of the league. With a sense of crisis within the team, the players focused on the keyword "independence" and thought about what they needed to do to win, gradually turning the team around. In the 21st round, they took the top spot and continued to accumulate points with a stable style of play, ultimately securing promotion to J1 in the 36th round with a victory against Tottori. They also made it to the New Year's Day final for the first time in the Emperor's Cup, where they faced Kyoto. Although they conceded the first goal, they remained composed and scored four goals to secure the victory. This also earned them a spot in the 2012 AFC Champions League (ACL).

In 2012, the team achieved a return to J1 and welcomed new coach Ranko POPOVIC, aiming to play attractive attacking football under the slogan "C.O.A Football". They made their debut in the "FUJI XEROX SUPER CUP 2012" but lost to Kashiwa. However, in their first ACL match, they faced Brisbane Roar (Australia) away and scored 2 goals with their signature passing football, securing their first victory in Asia. They continued to accumulate points in the ACL and advanced to the group stage in 2nd place. In the round of 16, they faced Guangzhou Evergrande (China) under the command of former Italian national team coach Marcello LIPPI. Despite putting up a strong fight in front of a crowd of about 40,000 away fans, they were unable to score and suffered a defeat. This marked the end of the club's first ACL campaign. In the league, they had a good start with 3 consecutive wins, but were unable to maintain their stability and finished in 10th place with 48 points, a disappointing result.

In the second year of the Popovich regime in 2013, the battle to achieve the league title began with the slogan "C・O・A Football ~aiming for further evolution~". Although they started with two consecutive wins and showed a smooth start, they continued to have an unstable style of play with a series of losses and wins. Although their scoring power has improved significantly from the previous season, they also conceded many goals, and there were many games where they were leading but ended up with a draw or a comeback loss, resulting in not being able to accumulate points. Furthermore, they showed a weakness in important games where they could have joined the top ranks, losing all of them. As a result, they finished in 8th place with 54 points. It was also announced that Lucas would retire after this season and he was appointed as the new club ambassador "FC Tokyo Embassador 2014".

In 2014, Massimo FICCADENTI, the first Italian coach in the J-League, was invited. The season started with the slogan "Bello e Aggressivo! ~Beyond the Limit to the Top~", and although there were some defensive instabilities, as the new system became more established, the number of goals conceded decreased and the team started to accumulate wins. On May 10th, starting with the 13th round against Tokushima, the team achieved a new club record of 14 consecutive unbeaten games in the league, and temporarily rose to 5th place in the standings. However, towards the end of the season, the team was unable to accumulate enough points, and in the last 5 games, they finished the league with 48 points and in 9th place without a win.

In the 2015 season, the second year under manager Massimo Ficcadenti, the team aimed to turn their efforts from the previous season into results. They started off with a draw against Gamba Osaka in the opening game, and then went on a five-game unbeaten streak to finish tied for first place in Sec. 5. Although they suffered a loss in Sec. 6, they bounced back with four consecutive wins and entered the game against Kashima in second place. They narrowly lost and went on to suffer consecutive losses, but continued to accumulate wins. However, they were unable to catch up to the first place team and finished the 1st stage in second place. In the 2nd stage, they maintained their position in third place after Sec. 5, but were unable to increase their points towards the end and finished the season in fourth place. Their 2nd stage ranking was 6th, and their total of 63 points was the highest in club history. In the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, they advanced to the final tournament after finishing first in the qualifying group with 3 wins and 3 draws, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. They also reached the quarterfinals in the Emperor's Cup, concluding the 2015 season.

The 2016 season aimed for victory in the J1 League with the slogan "Challenge The Top". It was a season where Hiroshi Jofuku returned as the coach for FC Tokyo after 6 years, and the team competed in both the AFC Champions League (ACL) and the J1 League. Additionally, FC Tokyo participated in the J3 League as FC Tokyo U-23. It was a year of new challenges for the club, but due to a congested schedule and injuries, the team struggled. They were eliminated in the round of 16 in the ACL and suffered multiple losses due to late goals, resulting in a change of coach in July. Yoshiyuki Shinoda took over as the new coach and led the team to 8 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the remaining league matches, finishing the season in 9th place.

In the 2017 season, under the leadership of manager Yoshiyuki SHINODA, the team aimed for the J1 League title with the slogan "TOKYO GRIT ~All Strength~" and made major reinforcements. They started the season with consecutive wins, but were unable to continue accumulating points as they had hoped. They were eliminated in the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup and the quarter-finals of the Levain Cup. In September, manager SHINODA resigned and coach Takayoshi AMMA took over the top team, but the team was unable to regain momentum and finished the season with 40 points in 13th place in the J1 League. Additionally, long-time team leader Naohiro ISHIKAWA retired after this season, while Yuhei TOKUNAGA announced his transfer. On the other hand, Rei HIRAKAWA and Takefusa KUBO were promoted to the top team from FC Tokyo U-18 mid-season. It was a season of taking a step forward towards a new challenge.

In the 2018 season, which marked the 20th anniversary of the club's founding, the team set the slogan "Aim to be a strong and beloved team" with the intention of returning to its roots and starting a new challenge. Under the new coach Kenta HASEGAWA, who took command from the 2018 season, the team started its activities. Although they started slowly, they accumulated points from the 4th section and finished the first half of the season in 2nd place. However, from the 21st section of the league, they were unable to accumulate points as they wanted, and although they fought until the end for the championship and the ACL qualification, they finished the season in 6th place with 50 points. Although they were unable to win the Levain Cup and the Emperor's Cup, the players never gave up and showed their fighting spirit on the pitch. Also, at the end of this season, Yohhei KAJIYAMA, who had been wearing the number 10 jersey and playing an active role for a long time, retired.

In his second year as manager, Kenta HASEGAWA led the team to a strong start towards winning the J1 title, going undefeated in the first 12 matches of the 2019 season. Despite facing a challenging schedule with 8 consecutive away matches due to events such as the Rugby World Cup, the team persevered and remained at the top of the league from Sec. 8 to Sec. 27. The title race came down to the final match against Yokohama F. Marinos, with a win by a margin of 4 points or more needed for a comeback victory. However, the team was unable to pull off a "miracle". Although their dream of a first title was not realized, they finished the season in a record-high 2nd place. This secured their spot in the 2020 AFC Champions League.