Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, Tsuēgen Kanazawa) is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J3 League, Japan's third tier of professional league football after being relegated at the end of 2023 of J2 League.

History

The club was formed in 1956 under the simple name Kanazawa Soccer Club and adopted its current identity in 2006. The Hokushinetsu region, long sleepy in football terms and whose potential only arose with Albirex Niigata leading the way, provided few opportunities for Kanazawa to rise in Japan's football ranks until the late 2000s. On 19 December 2009 they were promoted to the JFL after beating FC Kariya at the promotion/relegation playoff with 2–1 aggregate score, following a third-place finish in the 2009 All Japan Regional Football Promotion League Series. On December 15, 2010, a new management company called Zweigen, Inc. was established in order to apply to the J-League associate membership. On January 7, 2011, the team applied for J-League associate membership. On 16 November 2014, Zweigen became the inaugural J3 League champions, and gained a licence to compete in J2 League from 2015. On 22 October 2023, Zweigen officially relegated to J3 League for the 2024 season after a narrow by Montedio Yamagata 0–1, thus ending their 9 years stay in J2.

Name and symbolism

The name "Zweigen" is a portmanteau of the German zwei, for the number 2, and gen, to advance. In Kanazawa dialect, the phrase tsuyoi noda! (We're strong!) became tsuee gen! by double entendre. In German, the word Zweigen means branches (dative—nominative: Zweige), and owing to this, a fleur-de-lis is a key part of the club's crest.

Stadium

From 1974 to 2024, their home stadium was the 20,261 capacity general-purpose Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium. Since 18 February 2024, Zweigen Kanazawa have played at the 10,444 capacity Kanazawa Stadium.

League & cup record

Honours

Current squad

As of 9 July 2024.

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Managerial history

Kit evolution