Team Data: Mito Hollyhock
Team Name:
Team Logo & Mascot:  
Team Flag:
Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumKasamatsu Stadium 
Seats 22,002
Team Data:
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Management Corporation: | Football Club Mito HollyHock, Co., Ltd. | |
Established: | 7 February 1997
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President: | Toru Ishiyama
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Investors: | Various companies and individuals | |
Address: | Yamada Bldg. 3F, 3-2-16
Daiku-machi, Mito City,
Ibaraki 310-0031 | |
Hometown Area: | Mito City, Ibaraki | |
Home Stadium: | Kasamatsu Stadium (capacity : 22,002) | |
Joined J. League: | 2000 |
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Mito Hollyhock got its start in 1991, under the club name "Prima Ham Football Club". After several successful seasons in local leagues, the team finished second in its regional competition in 1996 and gained admission to the JFL. Following its admission to the JFL, Prima Ham FC changed its name to Mito Hollyhock, and adopted a JFL charter in the town of Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture (about 75 km northeast of Tokyo). The team took its name from the prefectural flower of Ibaraki, which is where the club is located.
In 1999, after winning the second and third stages of the JFL competition, Mito Hollyhock was admitted to the J.League second division. Unfortunately, however, the team had neither the financial backing of a large sponsor, nor a great deal of local grassroots support. The actual performance of the team was not tht bad, in part because of its unofficial links to other clubs -- particularly Yokohama Marinos and FC Tokyo -- which farm out young players to Mito as a way of helping them get accustomed to J.League play. In its first year in the league, Mito finished ninth in the J2, with a record of 15 wins, 24 losses and one draw. In 2002, it finished tenth with a very similar record, if one considers that extra time was abolished that year.
Unfortunately, though Mito has managed to avoid the level of ineptitude shown by some other J2 clubs, the team definitely is not in good condition. At the end of 2002, it was very uncertain whether the team would have the finances to continue. Some financial help from the prefecture kept the team alive, and by 2005 Hollyhock was back on its feet and earning a profit. However, the team's small fan base has prevented any acquisition of the talent needed to improve their fortunes on the playing field. At least Mito has now banished the threat of a financial collapse.
The question, clearly, is where the team will go from here. Mito is a big enough city to support a competitive club. Unfortunately, it appears that the team has lost most of the area's fans to its next-door neighbour, Kashima. More importantly, until recently the club never displayed either the ambition or the vision to try to distinguish itself, and become something other than a J2 also-ran. An 11th-place finish in 2008 was somewhat encouraging in terms of the number of teams below the Mini-Dragons. However, this is more a reflection of the growing size of the J2, rather than any real improvement in Mito's competitiveness. Though they may no longer occupy the J2 basement, Hollyhock still has a long way to go before they can start calling themselves a truly "competitive" team.
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 | Holly-kun
Mito Hollyhock's mascot is a dragon named Holly-kun. Although Japanese (and many other Asian) readers will consider his appearance "normal", westerners may be surprised by the appearance of Asian dragons -- the sweeping mustache and beard are a bit odd, but it is the antlers on his head that may strike westerners as most incongruous. Club officials are quick to point out that this is, in fact, the traditional image of dragons in Asia, and not an obsequious gesture to the team's Ibaraki prefecture neighbours.
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National Team
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