Fagiano Okayama

When Kawasaki Steel Mizushima FC left Okayama to become Vissel Kobe, some of the players who had turned out for it stayed put and started again from nothing. That was 1975, and the team they made was called River Free Kickers. RFK carried the thing for nearly three decades before the name changed to Fagiano Okayama and the club turned professional in 2004.

What followed was quick. Two Chūgoku Soccer League titles, in 2006 and 2007, then the Japanese Regional Football League Championship and promotion to the JFL. In July 2007, still playing a division below the JFL, Fagiano became the first club granted J.League Associate Membership from a regional league.

The J1 League took much longer. Okayama reached the J2 promotion playoff final in 2016 and lost it to Cerezo Osaka; Shingo Akamine had scored the winner in the semi-final that year, one of the few seasons where the club got that close. The semi-finals in 2022 ended against Montedio Yamagata. Then on 7 December 2024, Fagiano beat Vegalta Sendai 2–0 in the playoff final and went up for the first time.

Kohei Kiyama played more of that wait than almost anyone — from 2007 to 2011, then back again from 2017 to 2023.

The colour is Fagi Red, and the home ground is JFE Harenokuni Stadium, 15,479 seats. Hiroshima come over for the Chūgoku Derby.

The chairman since 2020 is Shinya Kitagawa, a World Cup winner.