Fagiano Okayama is a relatively new team, created in 2004 with the specific aim of eventually achieving promotion to the J.League and bringing football to Okayama prefecture. However, the team does have antecedents, in the "River Free Kickers" (RFK) Okayama team which was a member of the Okayama prefecture division 1 at the time. RFK was initially formed in 1975, and played in the Okayama prefectural league throughout its existence, never achieving anything of real importance. Fagiano Okayama's organizers convinced RFK to serve as the "foundation" of the new team, so that it would not have to start its climb from the very bottom of the amateur league ladder. However, RFK only contributed a handful of players to the new team, and an entirely separate management corporation was organized, so essentially 2004 should be viewed as the team's "birth date".

Fagiano takes its name from the Italian word for "Pheasant", reflecting the team's choice of the Japanese Pheasant as its mascot. After its formation and entry to the Okayama League Division 1, Fagiano made quick progress up the amateur league ladder in the next few seasons, climbing to the Chugoku League division 2 in 2005 and then to division 1 in 2006. While not a remarkable achievement on its own (the Chugoku league is not one of the most competitive of Japan's regional groupings), in organizational terms the club was growing rapidly. It obtained strong support from local businesses and attendances climbed to levels that even J2 teams would consider respectable (a season high of 6,831 fans on September 24, 2006). However, the team's first bid at promotion to the JFL fell short, as Fagiano finished third in the Nationwide Regional League Championship Tournament.

In 2007, however, Fagiano again cruised to a league championship, posting a perfect record of 17-0-0, and continued to draw healthy crowds after settling in to the recently refurbished Momotaro Stadium. This time, the club finished the year with a rush, and the momentum carried it through the Nationwide Regional League Championship Tournament in first place, and claiming its spot in the JFL. Although the going will get a lot tougher now, as Fagiano will be forced to compete with other clubs that have their sights set on the J.League, the team clearly has the local support -- both financially and from fans in Okayama -- to compete at a high level. Coach Satoshi Tezuka -- most recently the boss of Thespa Kusatsu and a long-time assistant coach at Bellmare -- leads a squad with few former J.Leaguers but a lot of young talent from the Okayama area. Probably the team will need to add some experience before they can be a J2 candidate, but we think they should be able to take another positive step on the road to the J.League in 2008.