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Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Full name	Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Nickname(s)	Beleza
Founded	1981; 43 years ago (1981)
Ground	Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka
Capacity	10,000
Owner	Tokyo Verdy Holdings
Chairman	Hideyuki Hanyu
Manager	Takeo Matsuda
League	WE League
Website	https://www.verdy.co.jp/beleza/
Home colours Away colours

Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza (日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ, Nittere Tōkyō Verudi Berēza) is a women's professional football team that plays in Japan's WE League. It is based in the Kita, Itabashi, Inagi, Hino, Tama, and Tachikawa wards of Tokyo.

They have won 52 major Asian and national titles, the most of any team in the WE League. They have produced many players for the women's national team, youth national team and other teams in Japan and abroad.

History

The club was founded as the women's team of Yomiuri SC (currently Tokyo Verdy) by Yomiuri Shimbun in 1981 and named Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza. Its team name, "Beleza", is Portuguese for "beauty". It was a founding member of the Nadeshiko League (the Japan Women's Football League) in 1989 and is the only Japanese women's club to have never been relegated. In 1999, the club was transferred to Nippon TV and the club name was changed to NTV Beleza. In 2000, the team name was changed to Nippon TV Beleza. In September 2009, Nippon TV withdrew from management. However, the club signed a new contract for naming rights with Nippon TV, and since 2020 its name has been Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza. The team joined the WE League for the 2021-2022 season as a founding member.

• 1981: Founded as the women's team of Yomiuri Soccer Club, the predecessor of Tokyo Verdy, Yomiuri Soccer Club Women's Beleza. Participated in the Tokyo League Division 2. Initially, the team was created for female fans of Yomiuri Club with the aim of "getting closer to the players", but by providing full-scale coaching, the team aimed to popularise and improve women's football. In 1984, the team was promoted to the Tokyo League Division 1. The team has participated in the Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Football Championship since the 5th tournament (1983).
• 1989: When the Japan Women's Football League was launched, the team participated as one of the founding members (6 clubs). They won the opening match against Shimizu FC Ladies (9 September). In this first season, they came second behind Shimizu FC Ladies.
• 1990: From the second season, Beleza won four consecutive championships, and with players such as Akemi Noda, Asako Takakura, Takako Tezuka, Shiho Onodera, and Nami Otake, they were always competitors for the championship in the season and the All-Japan Women's Football Championship.
• 1994: They signed a sponsorship contract with Seiyu and changed their name to Yomiuri Seiyu Beleza.
• 1998: The sponsorship contract with Seiyu was terminated and the name was changed to Yomiuri Beleza.
• 1999: The sponsor changed to NTV FC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corporation. The name was changed to NTV Beleza.
• 2000: When Nippon Television Network changed its logo and introduced a new corporate identity to unify the abbreviation to "NTV", the team became NTV Beleza ( NTV FC became a joint venture with Inagi City and others in 2001). During this time, Beleza had not won the league since 1994, but the Nikko Securities Dream Ladies, who had won three consecutive league titles in 10th season in 1998, were disbanded at the end of the same year, and Prima Ham FC Kunoichi, who won the 11th season in 1999, was reorganised and downsized as Iga FC Kunoichi in 2000, which marked the so-called "winter period of women's football". In the 12th season, they won their first championship in seven years. They won the league three times in a row until the 2002 season.
• 2004: Homare Sawa, Eriko Arakawa, Yoe Sakai (who changed her name to Yoe Kato after her marriage in 2007), and Yayoi Kobayashi were selected for the Athens Olympics women's football team (Nadeshiko Japan), and played key roles in supporting the team.
• 2005: Naoko Kawakami transferred from Tasaki Perule FC. The team won the L-League for the first time in three years with an undefeated record of 18 wins and 3 draws in 21 matches, and also won the Sunny Country Okayama National Athletic Meet and the Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Football Championship. This was the first time in the history of Japanese women's soccer that a single team had won a de facto triple crown without losing a single match. They also won the Nadeshiko Super Cup, held before the season, in a penalty shootout, making them the strongest club in the league with a "quadruple crown".
• 2006: The team suffered their first league defeat in two years in the final league match against Tasaki Perule, but won all three playoff matches to win consecutive championships. They became the first team to win the "100 Million Yen Tiara" that was created that year.
• 2007: They won their 10th league championship of the season, and also won the Nadeshiko Super Cup, Nadeshiko League Cup (established that year), and the 29th All-Japan Women's Football Championship, to achieve a "quadruple crown."
• 2008: With players called up to the Japan Women's National Team for the Beijing Olympics, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, it was a difficult season with many injuries, but the team came together to win their fourth consecutive league championship and the 30th All-Japan Women's Football Championship.
• 21 October 2009: Nippon Television sold its shares in Nippon Television Football Club (later changing its name to Tokyo Verdy 1969 Football Club), which operated Beleza, to an outside company, and withdrew from managing the club. However, Nippon Television retained the naming rights to the team, and the team name remained "Nippon Television Beleza".
• 2010: Verdy was temporarily placed under J.League management after falling into a serious management crisis. The crisis was averted by the formation of a new management team with Buddy Planning Research Institute as the largest shareholder. However, further cost-cutting measures were taken, and Beleza, which won the league championship for the first time in two years that year, did not renew the contracts of professional players Homare Sawa and Shinobu Ohno, the season's top scorer. As a result, four players, including Chika Yukari and Chiaki Minamiyama, who were Nadeshiko members despite being amateur players, left Beleza and all transferred to INAC Kobe Leonessa, which had won the 32nd All-Japan Women's Football Championship that year and was managed by Kei Hoshikawa, who had been fired as Beleza manager in July 2010. In 2010, Yuki Nagasato transferred to an overseas league in January before the start of the season, and Rumi Utsugi in July, while Eriko Arakawa transferred to Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies in March, and Mai Nakaji retired after the season ended in December, meaning that many of Beleza's home-grown main players had left the club.
• 2011: Akemi Noda, who had been the new coach since November of the previous year, continued to lead the team, and the team was able to integrate veterans such as Nadeshiko Japan member Azusa Iwashimizu , Yayoi Kobayashi, and Kanako Ito with young forwards such as Mana Iwabuchi, Asano Nagasato, and Nanase Kiryu. Although the team missed out on consecutive league titles, they finished second behind INAC Kobe Leonessa. Iwashimizu was a key player in the team's first FIFA Women's World Cup victory in 2011 and their qualification for the main tournament in the London Olympics qualifiers, and she began to attract a lot of attention from the media. In October, Beleza signed a professional contract with Iwashimizu until January 2015, and Iwashimizu was assigned to the club production department in preparation for future participation in club management. Iwabuchi also played in the World Cup and Nagasato in the Olympic qualifiers, gaining experience that would help improve the team's strength. At the end of the year, in the 33rd All-Japan Women's Football Championship, they lost to Albirex Niigata Ladies in the semi-finals.
• 2012: On 9 September, they defeated INAC Kobe in the final of the Nadeshiko League Cup 2012 to win the tournament for the third time in a row. In November, they participated in the first International Women's Club Championship as League Cup winners and placed third in the tournament.
• 2015: On 1 January, they defeated Urawa in the Empress's Cup final to win their 11th championship in five years. They also won the Nadeshiko League for the first time since 2010.
• 2016: On 3 September, they defeated JEF United Chiba Ladies in the Nadeshiko League Cup final to win their first championship in four years. They also won their second consecutive Nadeshiko League championship.
• 2017: They won their third consecutive Nadeshiko League championship. In the Empress's Cup, they defeated Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara in the final to win their 12th championship in three tournaments.
• 2018: They won the Nadeshiko League for the fourth consecutive year and the Nadeshiko League Cup for the fifth time in two years. They also won the Empress's Cup the following year, defeating INAC Kobe in the final, achieving a triple crown of domestic titles.
• 2019: They won the Nadeshiko League for the fifth consecutive year, and the Nadeshiko League Cup for the sixth time in two consecutive years. They also won the Empress's Cup, beating Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies in the final, achieving a triple crown of domestic titles. They also won the AFC Women's Club Championship, achieving a quadruple title in the year.
• 2020: They won the Empress's Cup for the third consecutive year. They announced that they would change their team name to Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and have a new team emblem. On 15 October, they were approved to join the new WE League, which would be launched in 2021.
• 2021-22 season: They lost to Urawa at home in the opening game of the WE League, and lost to Chiba L in the quarterfinals of the Empress's Cup, missing out on their fourth consecutive Empress's Cup victory, and finished without a title for the first time in eight years.
• 2022–23 season: In the WE League Cup final, they were trailing 3-0 to Urawa and lost 2-4 on penalties, finishing as runners-up, but defeated INAC Kobe 4-0 in the Empress's Cup final to win their 16th title in two tournaments.

Kits

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Stadium

Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza play their home matches at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka.

• Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka

Youth teams

Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina is Beleza's football academy. Players such as Aya Miyama and Karina Maruyama have been on its roster.

Tokyo Verdy Menina currently plays in the Kantō League Div. 1 (Division 3).

Other sports

Verdy is a multi-sport club and also fields teams in volleyball and triathlon. The Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza's men's football team is the Tokyo Verdy. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country.

Founded as Yomiuri FC in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with honours including 2 J.League titles, 5 Emperor's Cups, 6 JSL Cup / J.League Cups and an Asian Club Championship title, and the most successful team in Japanese football history with 25 titles.

The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993.

Coaching staff

As of 23 October 2024

Position	Name
Manager	Takeo Matsuda
Head coach	Koji Seki
Analysis and assistant coach	Yusuke Miyachi
Goalkeeping coach	Kazuya Nakamura

Managerial history

Dates	Name
1989–1996	Kazuhiko Takemoto
1997	Eiji Mori
1998–1999	Takeo Matsuda
2000–2001	Maki Osuga
2002–2004	Masashi Miyamura
2005–2008	Takeo Matsuda
2009–2010	Kei Hoshikawa
2010	Eiji Mori
2010–2012	Akemi Noda
2013–2014	Mayumi Teratani
2015–2017	Eiji Mori
2018–2020	Masato Nagata
2021–2023	Kazuhiko Takemoto
2023–present	Takeo Matsuda

Players

Current squad

As of 24 October 2024.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  JPN Momoko Tanaka 2 DF  JPN Miharu Kobayashi 3 DF  JPN Tomoko Muramatsu 4 DF  JPN Satsuki Miura 5 DF  JPN Shino Matsuda 7 DF  JPN Nanami Kitamura 8 MF  JPN Oto Kanno 10 MF  JPN Momoka Kinoshita 11 FW  JPN Maya Hijikata 13 MF  JPN Sana Kimura 17 DF  JPN Nana Kashimura 18 MF  JPN Kokona Iwasaki

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  JPN Yuzuki Yamamoto 20 FW  JPN Rikako Kobayashi 21 GK  JPN Jessica Yuri Wulf 22 DF  JPN Yukina Sakabe 23 FW  JPN Rihona Ujihara 25 DF  JPN Seina Ikegami 27 FW  JPN Moka Hiwatari 29 MF  JPN Miyu Matsunaga 30 DF  JPN Rumi Utsugi 31 GK  JPN Noda Nina 32 FW  JPN Haruhi Suziki 33 DF  JPN Azusa Iwashimizu

Notable players

DF

• Yukari Kinga (2003–2010)
• Risa Shimizu (2013–2022)

MF

• Akemi Noda (1989–2004)
• Homare Sawa (1991–1998, 2004–2010)
• Aya Miyama (1999–2000)
• Mami Yamaguchi (2003–2004, 2010)
• Mizuho Sakaguchi (2012–2020)
• Yui Hasegawa (2013–2021)
• Jun Endo (2018-2021)
• Narumi Miura (2016-2023)
• Aoba Fujino (2021-2024)

FW

• Shinobu Ohno (1999–2010)
• Yūki Nagasato (2001–2009)
• Mana Iwabuchi (2007–2012)
• Rico Ueki (2016–2023)

Honours

Continental

• AFC Women's Club Championship
  • Champions (1): 2019

Regional

• Japan and South Korea Women's League Championship
  • Champions (1): 2011

Domestic

NTV Beleza has attained the domestic treble (winning the Nadeshiko League, League Cup, and Empress's Cup) thrice: 2007, 2018 and 2019.

• Nadeshiko League Division 1
  • Champions (17): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 (record)
  • Runners-up (12): 1989, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
• Empress's Cup
  • Champions (16): 1987, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 (record)
  • Runners-up (6): 1986, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2003,
• WE League Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2022–23
• Nadeshiko League Cup
  • Champions (8): 1996, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019 (record)
  • Runners-up (1): 1997
• Nadeshiko Super Cup
  • Champions (2): 2005, 2007 (record)
  • Runners-up (1): 2006

Season-by-season records

Record in AFC Women's Club Championship/AFC Women's Champions League

All results list Tokyo Verdy Beleza's goal tally first.

Season	Round	Opponent	Score	Placement
2019	Group stage	Jiangsu Suning	1–1	Winners
		Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels	2–0
		Melbourne Victory	5–0

Transition of team name

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• Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza: 1981–1991
• Yomiuri Nippon SC Ladies Beleza: 1992–1993
• Yomiuri-Seiyu Beleza: 1994–1997
• Yomiuri Beleza: 1998
• NTV Beleza: 1999
• Nippon TV Beleza: 2000–2019
• Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza: 20 January 2020 – present

See also

• Japan Football Association (JFA)
• 2022–23 in Japanese football
• List of women's football clubs in Japan

Notes

1. "W League Regulations, Chapter 3, Article 22" (revised on 22 November 2023)
2. They tied with Shimizu FC with 17 points (8 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss), but were behind them on goal difference.
3. This was due to Yomiuri Shimbun increasing its investment in Verdy.
4. What was particularly serious was that the Japanese national team missed out on qualifying for the 2000 Sydney Olympics after being eliminated in the group stage at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, in which eight Beleza players, including Otake, Sakai, and Sawa, participated.
5. The National Sports Festival is usually held on a prefecture-by-prefecture basis, but it does not necessarily have to be a "selected team" made up of players from multiple clubs and schools within the prefecture; individual teams can also participate. In 2005, Tokyo (Beleza) and several other prefectures participated as individual teams.
6. Tasaki also achieved the "triple crown" of the league, the National Athletic Meet, and the All-Japan Women's Championship in 2003, but at that time it was a mixed team that also included players from the Takarazuka Bunnys Ladies Soccer Club at the National Athletic Meet.
7. Sawa played for Washington Freedom in the US Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league in 2009 and 2010, returning to Beleza at the end of each season, so she played in few matches.
8. Of the eight Beleza players who played for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the five who played for the 2010 Asian Games, Iwashimizu is the only one who remained with Beleza in 2011.
9. The winners were INAC Kobe Leonessa.
10. The Original Ten of the J.League in 1992 were Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds, JEF United Ichihara, Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Marinos, Yokohama Flügels, Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

References

1. "日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ クラブプロフィール" [NTV Tokyo Verdy Beleza Club Profile]. WE League | Women Empowerment League (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 April 2021.
2. "WE League Regulations" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Women's Professional Football League. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
3. "日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ ホームタウン情報" [NTV Tokyo Verdy Beleza Hometown Information]. WE League | Women Empowerment League (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 June 2022.
4. ^ "Tokyo Verdy Beleza" (in Japanese).
5. "News" (in Japanese). Nippon TV.
6. "No changes for prestigious Nadeshiko team Beleza" (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. 17 September 2009.
7. Yomiuri Soccer Club ~ Tokyo Verdy 40th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine Publishing Committee, ed. (2010). クラブサッカーの始祖鳥 読売クラブ～ヴェルディの40年 [Archaeopteryx of Club Soccer Yomiuri Club - Verdy's 40 Years] (in Japanese). 東京ヴェルディ1969フットボールクラブ (Tokyo Verdy 1969 Football Club).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
8. "子会社の株式譲渡に関するお知らせ" [Notice regarding transfer of shares of subsidiary company] (Press release) (in Japanese). Nippon Television Network Corporation. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
9. "東京ヴェルディ会長就任について" [Concerning the appointment of the president of Tokyo Verdy] (Press release) (in Japanese). Buddy Soccer Club.
10. "岩清水梓選手プロ契約締結のお知らせ" [Announcement of the signing of a professional contract with Iwashimizu Azusay] (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy 1969 Football Club. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
11. "日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザへの名称変更 及びエンブレム変更のお知らせ" [Notice of name change to Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and emblem change] (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
12. "WEリーグ、11クラブの入会申請を承認" [WE League approves applications for membership of 11 clubs]. Japan Football Association (in Japanese). 17 October 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
13. "浦和Lが初代WEリーグカップ女王へ！ 3点ビハインドから猛追、PK戦を制して勝利" [Urawa L becomes the first WE League Cup queen! After a three-goal deficit, they make a comeback and win the penalty shootout]. www.football-zone.net (in Japanese). 1 October 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
14. "サッカー女子 皇后杯 日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザが優勝" [Female Soccer Empress's Cup Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza wins]. NHK News (in Japanese). 28 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
15. ^ "選手・スタッフ 日テレ・東京ヴェルディーベレーザ" [Players and Staffs | Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza] (in Japanese). www.verdy.co.jp. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
16. "日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザへの名称変更 及びエンブレム変更のお知らせ" [Notification of name and emblem change to Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza] (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Tokyo Verdy Beleza: a football talent factory that flies under the radar (The Guardian, 2 October 2024)

• Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
• Nippon Television
• Women's football clubs in Japan
• 1981 establishments in Japan
• Nadeshiko League teams
• Football clubs in Tokyo
• Inagi, Tokyo
• Association football clubs established in 1981
• WE League clubs