Who to Root for in Kumamoto: The Three Biggest Sports Teams

Nov 29, 2024

Who to Root for in Kumamoto: The Three Biggest Sports Teams

Japan is big on sport. The most popular team sports are football (soccer), baseball, basketball, and rugby. Of course, there’s also sumo wrestling as well as golf and tennis.

It’s always fun when you have a local team to root for, especially when you move to a new area. This helps you feel like part of the community — and gives you the chance to feel the excitement of attending a live game. Since Kumamoto is only a small city, it doesn’t have a large number of professional teams. However, if you like football (soccer for our North American readers) and basketball, you’re in luck.

Roasso Kumamoto

Founded in 1969, Roasso Kumamoto (Japanese link) was originally Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT) Soccer Club. It received its current name in 1985 when NTT was privatized. The name combines the Italian word “rosso” (meaning red) with “asso” (meaning ace).

The club joined the Kyushu Soccer League in 1983 — a league that has teams from all eight prefectures in Kyushu. It is one of the Japanese Regional leagues, which are the fifth and sixth tiers of league football (Kyushu is one of the fifth tiers) — the system just below the nationwide Japan Football League. During its time in this league, the club won five league titles and one All Japan Senior Football Championship.

Roasso Kumamoto won the Kyushu Soccer League in 2005 and then came third in the Regional League play-off tournament. This led to its promotion to Japan Football League (JFL), where it currently plays in the J2 League (second division).

Kumamoto Renaissance FC

There’s also a women’s football team in the city: Kumamoto Renaissance FC (Japanese link). Women’s football began in the city in 1983, with the founding of a club for the mothers of children at Ada Minami Elementary School. After students from the junior high and high school began joining, it split into two teams: one for mothers and the other for students.

In 1998, the top players of the mothers’ team formed Renaissance Kumamoto Football Club. The name represents the goal to give women’s football a revival.

Currently, the team plays in the second division of the Kyushu Women’s Football League — although it was in the first division until recently. The league is structured much like the men’s equivalent, with teams from all eight prefectures. The difference is it is one of nine regional leagues that form the fourth and fifth tiers of league football. You’ll also hear it called the Q League.

Kumamoto Volters

If basketball is more your thing, you may like to root for the Kumamoto Volters (Japanese link). The name is another portmanteau — this one combining “volcano” and “water,” in reference to Mount Aso.

The Kumamoto Volters currently play in the second division in the B.League. Since becoming an official team in 2012, the club has made it to the playoffs for the first division five times. The team has also had one win in the B2 league — in the 2018-19 season.

To see a home game for these teams, head to Egao Kenko Stadium Kumamoto (for Roasso Kumamoto), Kumamoto Prefectural Sports Park (for Renaissance Kumamoto FC), or Kumamoto Prefectural General Gymnasium (for the Kumamoto Volters).

Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons