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The story
On October 19, Tokyo Verdy signed a “Basic Agreement on Cooperation for Sports Promotion Toward Realizing an Inclusive Society” with Shibuya Ward, making Shibuya a new hometown of the club. The two parties have a history of cooperating on sports programs for people with disabilities, including para-sports experience classes. The 5ch thread sparked debate over where the club’s actual home base even is — Chofu, Kawasaki, or Tama — and spread into worries about the team sitting at the bottom of the league table, the club’s past decision to turn down a buyout offer from CyberAgent, and its relationship with CyberAgent CEO Susumu Fujita, who owns Machida Zelvia.
Tokyo Verdy announced on October 19 that it had signed a “Basic Agreement on Cooperation for Sports Promotion Toward Realizing an Inclusive Society” with Shibuya Ward.
With this agreement, Shibuya Ward becomes a new hometown of Tokyo Verdy.
Tokyo Verdy and Shibuya Ward have worked together for many years on sports programs for people with disabilities, including para-sports experience classes (Para-Sports Experience Classes | Other Initiatives | Shibuya Ward Portal).
Source: soccer-king.jp / Original article here
What people said
Shibuya Ward: "But please don't cause a ruckus at the scramble crossing."
It wasn't Todoroki (Kawasaki Frontale's stadium), right?
The team struggled to land sponsors, but it worked out well in the end
Exactly
He bought Machida because he wanted to build a soccer version of "Shibuya's ABEMA" lol (ABEMA being CyberAgent's Shibuya-based streaming service)
When he bought Machida, he said it was because the club matched his ideal of a community-rooted team
If he tries to move it into central Tokyo, fans will turn their backs on it just like they did to Verdy back in the day
But the office and training ground are in Kawasaki City??
Verdy's part of the Yomiuri Group, so isn't it under the same umbrella as the Giants?
Their office is near Yomiuriland
It'd be convenient too
Spend some money and strengthen the squad
The gap with FC Tokyo is way too big
Can't spend money you don't have
Turning down CyberAgent's buyout offer was a foolish move
There's almost no league out there where the capital's team is weak
The real candidate for strongest is FC Tokyo (3rd in the league)
FC Tokyo: 7 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss — 23 points (3rd)
Tokyo Verdy: 0 wins, 4 draws, 6 losses — 4 points (20th)
What happens to Shibuya FC?
Not even sure if that exists though
There's Criacao Shinjuku in the JFL
They could move up to the J.League eventually
Verdy was originally a Tokyo club, but since National Stadium is government property, they weren't allowed to use it as their home stadium
When the J.League launched, Ajinomoto Stadium didn't exist yet and Nishigaoka was too small
The J.League normally bans clubs from relocating their home base, but Verdy was granted an exception to return to Tokyo due to its special circumstances
There's already a team called Shibuya City FC
Though this season they finished 5th in the Kanto Division 1, so they haven't even reached the Regional Champions League, let alone promotion to the JFL
It's already under construction, so the timing's perfect
It's sadly just background noise these days
These days they're more known for esports
People with disabilities
Promoting health
Healthy development of youth
Contributing to the community
Buzzwords dancing all over the place, it's cringe-inducing
Is this a government body talking?
Are they just hunting for a municipality willing to fund them?
Way too creepy, kinda scary
Even if it happened somewhat by circumstance, FC Tokyo ("Gasu") succeeded at being community-rooted out in Tama, so moving into the 23 wards at this point won't make Verdy popular.
Back in the old days, Verdy was a flashy club with nothing to do with "community roots," and that's exactly why it had nationwide popularity.
About five years ago there was a symposium about building a dedicated stadium around the track field in Yoyogi Park, and Saburo Kawabuchi, invited as a guest, commented that Verdy would actually suit that spot better than FC Tokyo ("Gasu").
Did they completely pull out of the Joto area (eastern Tokyo)?
Compared to the J2 days when only 3,000 people showed up, it's improved dramatically
Verdy = Shibuya
FC Tokyo = Tama
Forget the image, it's Kawasaki
J.League probably just doesn't fit in within the 23 wards
More than that, hardly anyone there is actually a local — they're almost all transplants, whether from elsewhere in Japan or abroad
Areas like Katsushika or Adachi probably still have genuine locals though
Soccer matches basically finish on schedule, and if you build the stadium in a good location it'll fit right in
Wasn't it just that Tokyo didn't have a stadium and club that met the requirements?
Background and key points of this topic
Under the J.League’s hometown system, a club can sign agreements with multiple municipalities, and it’s not unusual for the ward or city a club designates as its home base to differ from where its office and training facilities actually are. In Tokyo Verdy’s case, the operating company and training ground are located near Yomiuriland in Kawasaki City due to the club’s ties to the Yomiuri Group, while most official matches are played at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu City. The thread’s disagreement stems from the gap between this “reality” and the announcement that “Shibuya Ward has become a hometown” — which is why so many posters pointed out that Chofu, Kawasaki, or Tama could each be considered the real home base. The article itself doesn’t mention Verdy’s past rejection of a buyout offer from CyberAgent or the fact that the company later acquired FC Machida Zelvia, but the discussion is easier to follow if read in the context of Verdy searching for new partners to shore up its weak financial footing. It’s also easy to misread the agreement as announcing a new stadium or a relocation of the club’s home base, when in fact it’s simply a cooperative arrangement around things like promoting sports for people with disabilities.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisoku+) thread “[Soccer] Tokyo Verdy: Shibuya Ward becomes new hometown… signs “Basic Agreement on Cooperation for Sports Promotion Toward Realizing an Inclusive Society”.”
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