January 15 – Former Japanese international Keisuke Honda wants to found an amateur football club in Tokyo after a previously failed attempt to run a club in Austria.
Under the name ‘One Tokyo’ the team will be registered in the fourth tier of the Tokyo Shakaijin Soccer League. Later this month, One Tokyo will stage trials according to the club’s website.
“We want to see players who are fixated on winning come here,” tweeted Honda on Tuesday.
Honda played for AC Milan and CSKA Moscow, and represented Japan at three World Cup finals. In December, he left Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem after a brief spell. Honda is also the coach of Cambodia.
Listed as the owner of Tokyo One, it is not the first time Honda has tried to enter club football in an ownership role. He acquired a 49% stake in Austrian club SV Horn in 2015 through his family management company, but withdrew last season citing financial difficulties.
“It was a painful decision to pull out but I have learnt a great deal from that mistake,” Honda said on One Tokyo’s website. “I want to build a football club from zero in Tokyo that can have a global impact. I want to build it together with everyone.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samndra Kunti, at moc.l1714175109labto1714175109ofdlr1714175109owedi1714175109sni@o1714175109fni1714175109
