 | |||
| Full name | Football Club Machida Zelvia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Zelvia | ||
| Founded | 1989; 36 years ago (1989) as FC Machida | ||
| Ground | Machida GION Stadium Machida, Tokyo | ||
| Capacity | 15,489 | ||
| Owner | CyberAgent | ||
| Chairman | Takehisa Otomo[1] | ||
| Manager | Go Kuroda | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2024 | J1 League, 3rd of 20 | ||
| Website | zelvia | ||
 Current season | |||
Football Club Machida Zelvia (フットボールクラブ町田ゼルビア,Futtobōru Kurabu Machida Zerubia) commonly known asMachida Zelvia (町田ゼルビア,Efu Shi Machida Zerubia) is a Japanese professionalfootball club based inMachida,Tokyo. They currently play in theJ1 League, following promotion asJ2 League champions in2023.
FC Machida is known as the "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; in fact, it has produced the second-largest number ofJ. League players through its football school. Originally formed in 1977, this school is well known for its development of young talents into professional players. In 1989, in order to retain talent, Machida founded its own top team, which at that time played in the Tokyo Prefectural League.
In 2003, they became a multi-sport club under the nameAthletic Club Machida, and in 2005 were promoted to theKanto League, having won the Tokyo Prefectural League (First Division). They came first in the Kanto league (Second Division) the following year and were promoted to First Division, where they stayed until promotion to theJapan Football League as champions of theRegional Promotion Playoff Series in 2008.
In 2009, they adopted the current nickname "Zelvia", aportmanteau of thePortuguese wordszelkova (Machida city's official tree) andsalvia (Machida city's official flower) thus renaming themselves asMachida Zelvia.
The same year, the club declared its intent to be promoted toJ. League's 2nd division, and its status of semi-affiliate was officially approved by the J. League. However, its home stadium capacity and light specifications did not meet the J. League's requirements, average attendance did not reach 3,000, and the team's final position of 6th place did not allow for Zelvia's promotion to the J. League.
In 2010, Zelvia appointedNaoki Soma, a former star player who played in the1998 FIFA World Cup, as its new head coach. The stadium's lighting was renewed, and the club added several J. League players to its roster. Zelvia also announced its partnership withMajor League Soccer'sD.C. United, which became the first historic partnership between a Japanese and American club.[2] The reborn team beatTokyo Verdy, its arch-rival from the J. League, in the2010 Emperor's Cup, but was knocked out byAlbirex Niigata in the third round. Soma left at the end of the season and was replaced byRanko Popović, former coach ofOita Trinita.
The stadium's capacity and conditions were still short of fulfilling J. League criteria, so the club completed another renovation between the end of the 2010 and the start of the 2011 seasons. Zelvia finished the 2011 season in third place after beatingKamatamare Sanuki in the final match of that season, thereby granting them promotion to J. League (Second Division),[3] but were relegated after a bottom-placed finish. They became one of the original J3 clubs after finishing in 4th place in the 2014 JFL season and returned to J2 as 2015 runners-up by beatingOita Trinita in the promotion/relegation play-off. In the first return to J2 in the 2016 season, Machida were able to finish in 7th position, only four points short of the play-offs spot.
In 2017, Zelvia fell off more than a half place down to 15th with fifty points, twelve points up of relegation zone. In the 2018 season, while Zelvia culminated a great campaign by finishing inside the promotion play-offs zone of 4th place, Zelvia were unable to participate in the phase because they did not have a J1 League-level license. The 2019 season also saw the club fell down far on the table as they finished in 18th position, three points up from relegation places occupied byKagoshima United andFC Gifu. At the end of this season the club acquired a J1 license.[citation needed]
In 2020, Zelvia finished in 19th. While they were able to conclude their2021 campaign by finishing in 5th position, no promotion play-offs were held in this season, mainly because no relegation in the previous season due toCOVID-19 pandemic, so Zelvia remain in J2. In2022 season, Zelvia once again fell far below their position of the previous campaign by finishing in the 15th position.
On 22 October 2023, after a seven-year run in J2 League, Machida eventually achieved promotion to theJ1 League for the first time in the club history with managerGo Kuroda guiding Zelvia to the2023 J2 League title with 87 points following their 3–0 away win againstRoasso Kumamoto in matchweek 39.[4] The club also confirmed their status as champions of second division on 28 October 2023 after Kumamoto defeatedShimizu S-Pulse 3–1.[5]
Zelvia started off their debut2024 J1 League season on 24 February 2024 againstGamba Osaka in a 1–1 draw withJunya Suzuki scoring their historic first top-tier league goal for the club. Zelvia went on to have a magnificent run in the first few matches leading at the top of the J1 League table with three wins, one draw and zero lost with 10 points.[6] Zelvia then went on to finished in third place in their debut season where they also qualified for the2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite. On 16 September 2025, Zelvia played their first continental match in a 1–1 draw to Korean clubFC Seoul and they secured their first away win by a score of 2-0 win against the Chinese club,Shanghai Port.
On 22 November 2025, Machida Zelvia secure champions ofEmperor's Cup for the first time in their history after defeatVissel Kobe 3–1 inJapan National Stadium with goal braceShōta Fujio andYūki Sōma.
Zelvia currently competes atMachida GION Stadium, also known as Nozuta Stadium. Until 2011, the stadium's capacity was 6,200, including grassy areas, and it has featured lighting for night games since 2009. The stadium underwent renovations between the 2010 and 2011 seasons and now offers all-seated accommodations. Although the J2 League requires a minimum seating capacity of 10,000, Nozuta initially did not meet this criterion. Nonetheless, an agreement with J-League officials allows for home games expecting large crowds to be held at alternative stadiums rented for such occasions. Meanwhile, Nozuta Stadium was upgraded to fulfill the 10,000-seat minimum. Its current capacity stands at 15,489. In the 2024 season, the club's inaugural season in the top division of Japanese football, they hosted four matches at the newJapan National Stadium.
| Season(s) | Kit Manufacturer | Main Shirt Sponsor | Collarbone Sponsor | Additional Sponsor(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | svolme | AbemaTV | – | EAGLE KENSO (Right) | odakyu | TERADA 株式会社寺田電機製作所 | Tamagawa University |
| 2020 | AQUA RESORT (Left) | 25th Anniversary[a] (Right) | |||||
| 2021 | ABEMA TV Video & Entertainment | EAGLE KENSO (Right) | |||||
| 2022 | AQUA RESORT (1st) BEST LAND (2nd) | — | TERADA 株式会社寺田電機製作所 | Tamagawa University | — | ||
| 2023 | Adidas | CyberAgent | — | TERADA 株式会社寺田電機製作所 | Tamagawa University | ||
| 2024 | Rudel | ||||||
| Home kit - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          2010 |      2011 |      2012 |      2013 |     2014 |
     2015 |      2016 |      2017 |      2018 |      2019 |
     2020 |      2021 |      2022 |      2023 |      2024 |
     2025 | ||||
| Away kit - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     2010 |      2011 |      2012 |      2013 |      2014 |
     2015 |      2016 |      2017 |    2018 |      2019 |
     2020 |      2021 |      2022 |      2023 |      2024 |
     2025 | ||||
| Special kit - 3rd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
   2014 25th anniv. |   2019 30th anniv. |      2022 - 3rd |      2024 35th anniv. | |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
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Club officials for 2025 season.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Go Kuroda |
| Assistant manager | Kenji Arima |
| First-team coach | Shin Yamanaka Hikaru Mita Daiki Ueda |
| Goalkeeping coach | Yukiya Hamano |
| Fitness coach | Shunsuke Otsuka |
| Interpreter and first-team coach |  Leonardo Moreira |
| Analytics coach and Head of analysts | Yasuhiko Nishimura |
| Analytical coach | Yoshiro Akano |
| Technical staff | Sota Kinoshita Ryang Yoon-ho |
| Interpreter | Go Murakami Ken Takahashi Lee Seong-ang |
| Chief trainer | Yasuyuki Sasaki |
| Trainer | Yuta Hamada Shin Osawa Takashi Imai |
| Physiotherapist | Takuro Yoshitake |
| Medical coordinator | Akihisa Yamamoto |
| Chief manager | Naoya Watanabe |
| Sub manager | Ryota Kiyofuji |
| Kit manager | Hiroyuki Kawakita Yuto Suzuki |
| Nutrition management advisor | Jun Hamano |
| Chief doctor | Takahiro Fujisawa Keisuke Irako |
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Sadao Shigeta | Japan | 1991 | 1995 |
| Shoji Komoda | 1996 | 2002 | |
| Minoru Moriya[8] | 2003 | 2007 | |
| Tetsuya Totsuka | 1 February 2008 | 31 January 2010 | |
| Naoki Soma | 1 February 2010 | 31 January 2011 | |
| Ranko Popović |  Serbia | 1 February 2011 | 31 January 2012 |
| Osvaldo Ardiles |  Argentina | 1 February 2012 | 17 November 2012 |
| Yutaka Akita | Japan | 26 November 2012 | 25 June 2013 |
| Naoki Kusunose | 25 June 2013 | 31 January 2014 | |
| Naoki Soma | 1 February 2014 | 31 January 2020 | |
| Ranko Popović | Serbia | 1 February 2020 | 31 January 2023 |
| Go Kuroda[9] | Japan | 1 February 2023 | present |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Div. | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | J. League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ACL Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | JFL | 3 | 18 | 6th | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 54 | 1,886 | Not eligible | – | — |
| 2010 | 18 | 3rd | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 71 | 44 | 27 | 61 | 3,503 | 3rd round | ||||
| 2011 | 18 | 3rd | 33 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 28 | 33 | 61 | 3,515 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2012 | J2 | 2 | 22 | 22nd | 42 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 34 | 67 | -33 | 32 | 3,627 | 4th round | ||
| 2013 | JFL | 3 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 51 | 44 | 7 | 61 | 3,174 | – | ||
| 2014 | J3 | 12 | 3rd | 33 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 23 | 37 | 68 | 3,134 | – | |||
| 2015 | 13 | 2nd | 36 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 52 | 18 | 34 | 78 | 3,766 | 4th round | ||||
| 2016 | J2 | 2 | 22 | 7th | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 53 | 44 | 9 | 65 | 5,123 | 1st round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 16th | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 50 | 4,056 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2018 | 22 | 4th | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 62 | 44 | 18 | 76 | 4,915 | 3rd round | ||||
| 2019 | 22 | 18th | 42 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 43 | 4,718 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2020† | 22 | 19th | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 41 | 52 | -11 | 49 | 1,302 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2021† | 22 | 5th | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 64 | 38 | 26 | 72 | 2,577 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2022 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 51 | 50 | 1 | 51 | 3,243 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2023 | 22 | 1st | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 79 | 35 | 44 | 87 | 7,426 | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2024 | J1 | 1 | 20 | 3rd | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 54 | 34 | 20 | 68 | 17,610 | Quarter final | 2nd round | |
| 2025 | 20 | TBD | 38 | 3rd round | Winners | TBD | ||||||||||
| 2026–27 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBD round | TBD | TBD |
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kanto Soccer League Division 2 | 1 | 2006 |
| Kanto Soccer League Division 1 | 1 | 2007, 2008 |
| Japanese Regional Football Champions League | 1 | 2008 |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Football Tournament | 2 | 2011, 2015 |
| J2 League | 1 | 2023 |
| Emperor's Cup | 1 | 2025 |
(in Japanese)| Products and services |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidiaries | ||
| Defunct, sold, or separated | ||
