Kyoto Sanga FC

Kyoto Sanga (京都サンガ) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word sangha, a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist temples.

The club was formerly known as Kyoto Purple Sanga with "purple", the colour of the team uniforms, an imperial colour reflecting Kyoto's status as Japan's ancient imperial capital city. It was decided that, from 2007, the team will simply be known as "Kyoto Sanga". They are the oldest club competing in the J.League.

Kyoto Sanga have won 2 J2 League title and 1 Emperor's Cup.

History
The club was started as Kyoto Shiko Club, one of the few proper Japanese football clubs in the sense of being strictly dedicated to football and not being part of a company. Like Ventforet Kofu, it could not rise to a Japan Soccer League First Division dominated by company teams; in 1993, after the J.League was created, Kyoto Shiko Club, aided by funds from local new sponsors Kyocera and Nintendo, professionalized (though some players broke away and formed their own clubs, see below) and joined the former Japan Football League under the new name Kyoto Purple Sanga.

First joining the J.League in 1996, Kyoto Purple Sanga hold the dubious distinction of being the League's most relegated side, having been demoted on three separate occasions. Relegation to J2 League occurred at the end of the 2000, 2003 and 2006 seasons; more than any other team. The 2003 relegation happened despite having many national team players such as Park Ji-sung and Daisuke Matsui on its roster, and they eventually left for European clubs.

In December 2007, the club gained J1 League status for the fourth time in their history via the promotion/relegation playoff and therefore shorten its club name to Kyoto Sanga. A 0–2 home defeat to Urawa Reds on 14 November 2010 confirmed Sanga's relegation back to J2, bringing an end to their three-season spell in the top flight.

In 2021 season, Kyoto Sanga secure return to J1 League after an 11-year absence and finish in runner-up. In 2022 season, Kyoto Sanga stay in J1 League after draw 1–1 against Roasso Kumamoto in Promotion Relegation play-offs.

Affiliated clubs

 * Amitie SC (Kansai Soccer League Division 1) – broke away from the original Kyoto Shiko Club upon professionalization; amateur club
 * Kyoto Shiko Club (Kansai Soccer League Division 2) – broke away from Kyoto BAMB 1993 (now Kyoto Amitie) in 1998; amateur club
 * Shiko Club women's (Kansai Women's Soccer League) – linked with today's Kyoto Shiko Club

Colours
Kyoto Sanga is considered the main continuation of the Kyoto Shiko Club that competed in the Japan Soccer League Second Division. "Shiko" (紫光) means "brilliant purple" and is the colour that Shiko/Sanga have always worn.

Takebishi Stadium Kyoto
Kyoto Sanga played most of their home match at the Takebishi Stadium Kyoto since their interception. The stadium holds up to 20,588 capacity and was built in 1942. In 2019, Kyoto Sanga announced plans to move to Sanga Stadium by Kyocera, a new, football-specific stadium being built in Kameoka, in time for the 2020 season.

Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
On 11 January 2020, Kyoto Sanga moved to their new stadium, the Sanga Stadium by Kyocera which is the first professional football-specific stadium in Kyoto. The naming rights were purchased by ceramic company Kyocera having signed a 20-years deal worth ¥2 billion.

Club officials
For the 2024 season.

Club captains

 * Naohiko Minobe 1994
 * Makoto Sugiyama 1995
 * Satoru Mochizuki 1996
 * Ruy Ramos 1997
 * Yuji Okuma 1997
 * Hajime Moriyasu 1998
 * Hisashi Kurosaki 1999
 * Kazuyoshi Miura 2000
 * Naoto Otake 2001
 * Hiroshi Noguchi 2002
 * Kiyotaka Ishimaru 2003–2004
 * Daisuke Nakaharai 2005–2006
 * Daisuke Saito 2007
 * Yuto Sato 2008–2009
 * Atsushi Yanagisawa 2010
 * Diego 2011
 * Hiroki Nakayama 2012
 * Jun Ando 2013
 * Koji Yamase 2014
 * Satoshi Yamaguchi 2015
 * Takanori Sugeno 2016–2017
 * Yuta Someya 2018
 * Takumi Miyayoshi 2019
 * Jun Ando 2020
 * Temma Matsuda 2021–2022
 * Sota Kawasaki 2023–

Record as J.League member

 * Key
 * Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
 * OTW / PKW = Overtime wins / Penalty kicks wins 1997 & 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002 Overtime wins only
 * OTL / PKL = Overtime losses / Penalty kicks losses 1997 and 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000 & 2001 Overtime losses only
 * 3 points for a win; 2 points for an overtime win (OTW), 1 point for a penalty kick win (PKW); 1 point for a drawn game.
 * Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
 * † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
 * Source: J.League Data Site

League History

 * Kansai Soccer League: 1966–1971 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
 * Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1972–1978 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
 * Kansai Soccer League: 1979–1988 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
 * Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1989–1991 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
 * Division 3 (Old JFL Division 2): 1992 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
 * Division 2 (Old JFL Division 1): 1993–1995 (as Kyoto Shiko Club 1993; Kyoto Purple Sanga afterwards)
 * Division 1 (J1 League): 1996–2000 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
 * Division 2 (J2 League): 2001 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
 * Division 1 (J1 League): 2002–2003 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
 * Division 2 (J2 League): 2004–2005 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
 * Division 1 (J1 League): 2006 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
 * Division 2 (J2 League): 2007
 * Division 1 (J1 League): 2008–2010
 * Division 2 (J2 League): 2011–2021
 * Division 1 (J1 League): 2022–present

(As of 2023): 13 seasons in the top tier, 28 seasons in the second tier, 1 season in the third tier and 16 seasons in the Regional Leagues.