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Hokushinetsu Regional League
The Hoku-Shinetsu region encompasses the prefectures of the Japan sea coast (Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui), as well as mountainous Nagano prefecture. This region is rugged and relatively low in population compared with most other parts of Japan, but it does have several cities large enough to support a J.League team (though only one -- Niigata -- has actually developed a team of J.League calibre). Football fans in the region make up for the sparseness of the population with a proud local fervour that matches anything seen in even the football-mad areas of Kyushu and Tohoku. Albirex Niigata has already supplanted Urawa Reds as the best-supported team in the J.League, and local JFL clubs like Alo's Hokuriku and YKK AP are among the top-drawing teams in the JFL.
Several other cities and towns in the region are hoping to match the J1 success of Albirex (or at least the lesser success of YKK and Alo's) by taking their own local candidate team to the JFL. This is the clearly satated goal of at least five of the participants in this year's Hoku-Shinetsu League campaign. Though there has been a very clear heirarchy in competitiveness, in recent years, the competition could be even closer this season, with Nagano Elsa, Zweigen Kanazawa, Matto Ferverosa and Matsumoto Yamaga as the top candidates to lift the league trophy.
2006 TEAMS
Ferverosa Ishikawa
From the city of Hakusan in Ishikawa prefecture, Ferverosa are on their third name in just five seasons of playing Hokushinetsu League football, having spent a couple of years being known rather memorably as Matto Orange Monkey and then as plain old Matto FC. They have made gradual rather than spectacular improvement in the mean time, and have the long-term aim of winning a place in the JFL. In 2006, however, their main challenge will be to break into top three places, over which Japan Soccer College, Nagano Elsa and Zweigen Kanazawa have had a stranglehold in recent seasons.
Team Name:
Ferverosa Ishikawa Hakusan FCTeam Insignia:
Home Town:
Matto City, Ishikawa Prefecture Founded:
1973
Current Status:
Hokushinetsu Regional League (since 2000)
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Home StadiumMatto Sports Stadium
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Matsumoto Yamaga Club
Formed in 1965, Yamaga Club have been members of the Hokushinetsu League since it started a decade later, although they have won the title only once -- in 1985 -- and have spent the last couple of seasons in Division 2. But since around 2002, the Ptarmigans have been gearing themselves to make a play for J-League membership, developing an infrastructure to support the magnificent Alwin Stadium to which they have access in their home base in the south of Nagano prefecture. Promoted back to Division 1 for 2006, the ambitious club are coached by Keiju Karashima -- who has played extensively in the J-League playing experience and was most recently on the staff of Kashiwa Reysol's youth team. Nevertheless, he may lack the experience to take his team on another quest for promotion, just yet.
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| 2007 Team Photo
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AC Nagano Parceiro
Along with Matsumoto Yamaga Club, Nagano Parceiro are jockeying for position as the number one candidate for a J-League franchise in Nagano prefecture. Formed more recently than their local rivals, in 1990, they initially took the name "Nagano Elsaeventually gained promotion from the Prefectural League in 1996 and since 2002 have become one of the top teams in the Hokushinetsu League. 2005 saw Elsa win the championship for the second time -- and in extraordinarily dramatic circumstances, when a 6-1 crushing of then-leaders Kanazawa SC saw them move into pole position with a single game to go. They were somewhat outclassed when it came to the Playoffs for a JFL spot, but will be in the race again this year.
Team Name:
Nagano Elsa SC
Team Insignia:
Home Town:
Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture Founded:
1990
Current Status:
Hokushinetsu Regional League (since 1996)
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Home StadiumNagano Sports Park Stadium | Team Mascot:
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Teihens FC
Teihens FC's participation in the Hokushinetsu League has been nothing if not consistent. Despite having competed every season since 1977, the Kanazawa-based club have taken the title only in 1991. and they have been stuck in their normal lower-mid-table finishes virtually every season since that time. They were heading for relegation in 2005, but a remarkable spurt in the last three matches bagged the team ten goals while conceding only one to overhaul both Niigata University of Management and Ueda Gentian. Though the team motto is a suitably optimistic resolution -- "Focus All on Win" -- Teihens will probably be one of the teams fighting to avoid the drop come the end of 2006.
Team Name:
Teihens FC
Team Insignia:
Home Town:
Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture Founded:
1968
Current Status:
Hokushinetsu Regional League (since 1977)
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Home StadiumIshikawa Negami Stadium |
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Ueda Gentian
Also from Nagano prefecture, Ueda Gentian was established in 1981 and took part in the local Prefectural League until 1995 . Named after a very popular ornamental flower found in the Tohoku region, which blooms in May, the team seems to have followed their namesake and bloomed a bit too early. However, only time will tell whether the team can bear fruit. Upon winning promotion to the Hokushinetsu League, Ueda acquitted themselves well and by the turn of the century -- following the promotion of Albirex Niigata, Alo's Hokuriku and YKK -- the club seemed to be becoming one of the strongest teams in the region. But the last few years have seen them fade from contention and in 2005 they finished sixth, a single place above a relegation play-off spot. Ueda Gentian's chance would seem to have passed, and they could be playing Division 2 football in a year's time.
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Team Name: FC Ueda Gentian
Home Town: Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture
Founded: 1981
Current Status: Hokushinetsu League (since 1996)
Home Stadium Ueda Sania "Sundai" Stadium 
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| 2007 Team Photo
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Zweigen Kanazawa
One of the new major players on the Japanese Regional football scene, Zweigen Kanazawa were formed at the beginning of 2006 from the ashes of Kanazawa SC, with the aim of being the Hokushinetsu region's second J-League team (after Albirex Niigata). Following Kanazawa SC's collapse during the 2005 run-in -- in which they fell from first to third place over the last two matches -- Zweigen are essentially a re-launch of the original squad with added quality from several fringe J-League players, backed by major new sponsors. NHK football commentator Michel Miyazawa has taken over as "supervisor", with former Kanazawa FC boss Eiji Nagai working under him as coach. Given the resources at their disposal, anything less than a Hokushinetsu League title will be viewed as failure.
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Team Name: Zeigen Kanazawa
Home Town: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Founded: 2006
Current Status: Hokushinetsu League
Home Stadium Kanazawa Citizens Soccer Stadium 
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| 2007 Team Photo
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Valiente Toyama
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Team Logo:
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Team Name: Valiente Toyama
Home Town: Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture
Founded: 2006
Current Status: Hokushinetsu League (Since 2007)
Home Stadium Toyama Stadium
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Japan Soccer College
A unique institution in Japan, JSC is an educational foundation and at the same time forms a part of the youth set-up at J1 side Albirex Niigata. Since joining the Hokushinetsu League in 2003 the College of Upward Players in Soccer -- as the school is also known -- have proved to be highly competitive opponents, winning the League at the first attempt and coming second in 2004 and 2005. It is conceivable that they could have won last year as well, but a narrow home defeat late on in the year to Nagano Elsa cost them dear. Possible champions this time around, although Zweigen Kanazawa's improved squad may prove too great an obstacle.
Team Name:
Japan Soccer College
Team Logo:
Home Town:
Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture Founded:
1990
Current Status:
Hokushinetsu Regional League (since 1996)
| Home StadiumJapan Soccer College Stadium |
| 2007 Team Photo
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Niigata University of Management
There are few examples now of Higher Education institutions fielding teams outside of the Japanese college football structure, but Niigata University of Management is doing a reasonable job of straddling that particular fence. The university itself was founded in the mid-1990s. In addition to playing in the Hokushinetsu University Regional League, in 2004 NUM entered the regular Hokushinetsu League Division 2. This they won at the first attempt and a 2-2 draw against Toyama Shinjo Club in a promotion / relegation playoff at the end of 2005 saw them retain their place in the top division. Nevertheless, they are likely to struggle this season.
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