Read anything on the subject of JFL teams that are seeking promotion to the J.League, and no doubt the article will identify Arte Takasaki, from Gunma prefecture, as one of the front-runners. The team has made fairly rapid progress in its short history - it was formed under its current structure in 2000, though a forerunner team existed for four years prior to the reorganization as an independent management corporation. Since that time, the club has consistently advanced its name as a candidate for J.League promotion, but there are two significant problems that stand in the way of such a development. First, the team does not have a home stadium that meets the requirements for J.League membership. And second, they simply arent very effective on the pitch.

Arte Takasaki began life in the Gunma Prefectural League, as Macky FC Kanto. The first of many name changes took place in 2000, when the club was reorganized as Gunma FC Fortuna. When the team advanced to the Kanto League, it adopted the name Gunma FC Horikoshi, and at the end of 2003, Horikoshi trounced FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 5-0 in a promotion / relegation play-off , earning a spot in the JFL. The team shortened its name to simply "FC Horikoshi" for the 2005 season, but at the end of the year management invited fans to submit suggestions for yet another team name. The winning entry was Arte Takasaki -- "Arte" being the Italian word for "artistic". The fan who submitted the winning entry indicated that this name would let people know that Arte Takasaki plays "artistic football". . . . but we think it may be a while before the team can start living up to its new name.

With the competition for J2 membership becoming fiercer every year, Takasaki fans can only watch with mounting discomfort as clubs such as Rosso Kumamoto and FC Ryukyu join the fray. These teams are not only better organised; they also seem to be putting together more competitive rosters, with better players than the Takasaki club has managed to attract to its underperforming squad. Despite Arte's lofty ambitions, the truth is that they are just a mid-table JFL side, having finished eighth in both 2004 and 2005.

In an attempt to become genuine contenders, and improve their chances of promotion, Arte made the somewhat surprising announcement that Kim Guang-Ho would take over as head coach for the 2006 season. Kim is a 55-year-old former North Korean international who began his footballing career in 1977 with the Japan-based Korean Residents Football Group. Kim was first named to the North Korean national team in the early 1980s, and took part in several international matches over a the next several years, but thereafter he disappeared from the public eye until 2001, when he turned up as head coach of the football programme at Tokyo-based Korea University. The new Korean influence at Arte Takasaki didnt last very long, however. Kim was fired after just a few weeks, and the team had to start rebuilding once again, from scratch.

If Arte is to have any chance of making it into the J.League ranks, two issues must be addressed soon: the front office needs to get its house in order, and the issue of the home stadium needs to be resolved. Arte Takasaki needs to finish in the top five if they hope to retain any sort of momentum in their push for promotion. Anything less will surely cause fans to start questioning the team's commitment, and wondering if the race for J.League admission is passing them by.