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Brew Saga

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Brew SAGA
Full nameBrew SAGA
Nickname(s)Membrews [1]
Founded1991; 34 years ago (1991)
GroundKashima City Athletics Stadium
Capacity2,000 (seated)
ManagerTatsuya Nagayoshi
LeagueKyushu Soccer League
20244th of 10
Websitebrewsaga.jp
Current season

Brew SAGA (ブリューさが, Buryū Saga) are a Japanese football club based on the city of Kashima, Saga.[2] They play in the Kyushu Soccer League, one of Japan's fifth tier leagues, which is part of Japanese Regional Leagues.[3]

History

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In 1991, the "F.C. INAX Soccer Club" was founded at the Saga Plant of Kyushu INAX (now Saga LIXIL Works), a subsidiary of INAX. Starting in the 5th division of the Saga Prefectural League, they climbed to the 1st division within five years. In 1997, the club changed its name to "Kyushu INAX Soccer Club."

In 1999, the club debuted in the 79th Emperor's Cup, where they faced Josai University and lost their opening match. By 2025, they had participated in the Emperor's Cup a total of 12 times.

In 2000, they claimed their first championship just five years after being promoted to the first division of the prefectural league. They also secured second place in the Kyushu Prefectural League Finals and earned promotion to the Kyushu League for the first time without needing a play-off match, thanks to NTT Kumamoto FC's promotion to the JFL.

They played in the Kyushu League for three seasons from 2001 to 2003, finishing 7th, 9th, and 11th, which led to their relegation to the Saga Prefectural League. In 2004, their first year after relegation, they won the title but were defeated by FC Ryukyu in the second round of the prefectural league finals. In 2005, they claimed back-to-back titles but lost in the first round of the finals to the Kumamoto Prefectural Teachers' Kicking Brigade, remaining in the Saga Prefectural League. In 2006, they missed out on a third straight title, losing to Kawazoe Club.

At this time, they achieved their first-ever victory in the Emperor's Cup by defeating Kashiwa Reysol U-18 in the opening round of the 85th Emperor's Cup in 2005.

In 2007, they clinched the prefectural league championship for the first time in two years and triumphed in the Kyushu prefectural league finals, making their return to the Kyushu League after five seasons.

In 2009, they secured victory in the Kyushu qualifiers and made their debut in the All-Japan Adult Football Championship. They triumphed in the first round against Sagawa Express Chugoku (ja) and in the second round against FC Korea, advancing to the quarterfinals, where they were defeated by AC Nagano Parceiro.

On July 1, 2011, the team's name was officially changed to "Saga LIXIL FC" following a rebranding in April of that year.

In 2015, they faced Oita Trinita in the first round of the 95th Emperor's Cup, their seventh appearance in the tournament. It was their first match against a J. League club, where they lost 0-2. They ended up finishing ninth in the Kyushu League and were relegated to the Saga Prefectural League for the first time in nine years after losing a play-off match to the Kumamoto Prefectural Teachers' Kicking Brigade. However, in 2016, they won the prefectural league and finished as runners-up in the final tournament of all Kyushu prefectural leagues. With Kagoshima United FC Second ceasing activities, the team returned to the Kyushu League within a year without requiring a play-off match.

In the 2019 Kyushu League, the team achieved a record third-place finish. However, in the summer of 2021, due to the impact of the new coronavirus and a decline in business performance, the company decided to stop supporting the team. In response, the team transitioned into a club team in 2022 with backing from around 50 local companies. A management corporation called "General Sports Union Brew Kashima" was established, and the team's name was changed to "Brew KASHIMA" (Brew Kashima). The name "Brew" reflects the region's sake brewing tradition and is derived from the nickname "Menbrews" used during the LIXIL era. It also symbolises traditional performing arts like Menbutsu and hook flotation. The emblem and mascot remain almost identical to those of Saga LIXIL FC.

On January 7, 2025, the team was renamed "Brew SAGA" (Brew Saga), and the operating corporation became "Football Club Saga Co., Ltd." to expand its activity area across the entire Saga Prefecture. The emblem was also updated while retaining the motif of the floating face. Former FC Gifu staff and management consultant Miyagi "Ryo" was appointed as the representative director, while former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Keinosuke Ichikawa and Hitoshi Isozaki joined as new directors. On January 16, an advisory contract was signed with Takahiro Masukawa. Following an open recruitment process, Hayato Chichiiwa, an active university student, was appointed as a new director.

Names throughout history

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  • 1991–1996: FC Inax SC
  • 1997–2011: Kyushu Inax SC
  • 2011–2021: Saga Lixil FC
  • 2022–2024: Brew Kashima ("Brew" in the club's name relates to Sake brewing, a form of commerce prominent in the club's local community. "Kashima" literally means where are they club from.)[4]
  • 2025–: Brew SAGA (The name and hometown was changed to reflect their area of operation expansion from Kashima City to the entire Saga Prefecture)[5]

League and cup record

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League Emperor's
Cup
Season Division Pos. P W PKW D PKL L F A GD Pts
Saga Lixil FC
2017 Kyushu Soccer League 9th 20 4 2 1 13 27 39 -12 17 Did not qualify
2018 7th 18 5 2 3 8 27 29 -2 22 First round
2019 3rd 18 9 1 0 8 37 31 6 29 First round
2020 League season cancelled because of COVID-19 Did not qualify
2021 4th 18 8 1 1 8 50 37 13 27
Brew Kashima
2022 Kyushu Soccer League 6th 18 8 2 10 28 55 -27 26 First round
2023 7th 18 5 5 8 17 22 -5 20 First round
2024 4th 18 10 - 1 - 7 36 35 1 31 Did not qualify
Brew Saga
2025 Kyushu Soccer League TBD 18 - - - - - - - - - 2nd round
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won after 90 minutes; PKW = Games won by penalty shoot-out; D = Games drawn; PKL = Games lost by penalty shoot-out; L = Games lost after 90 minutes; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points won

Honours

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Brew Kashima honours
Honour No. Years
Saga Prefectural Football Championship
Emperor's Cup Prefectural Qualifiers
11 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011,
2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
Saga Prefecture League 1st Division 5 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2016

Emperor's Cup performance

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The club qualified to it 11 times, after winning the aforementioned Saga Prefecture Football Championship, which serves as a prefectural qualification for the Emperor's Cup. At the competition, they failed to progress from the 1st round in all attempts but one.

30 November 2003 EC 1R Kyushu Inax 0–4 Sagawa Express Tokyo SC Kita
Stadium: Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka


14 September 2008 EC 1R Kyushu Inax 1–3 Okinawa Kariyushi FC Saga
Stadium: Saga Stadium
3 September 2011 EC 1R Saga Lixil FC 0–5 FC Kagoshima Kagoshima
Stadium: Shiranami Stadium
22 May 2022 EC 1R Brew Kashima 0–2 Kochi United Tosu
Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium
20 May 2023 EC 2R Brew Kashima 1–2 Kamatamare Sanuki Marugame
Stadium: Pikara Stadium

Players

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Current squad

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As of 23 August 2023. [6]

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 Japan JPN Kenshiro Maeda
2 DF Japan JPN Kazuki Higa
3 DF Japan JPN Kaede Migita
4 DF Japan JPN Reo Murata
5 DF Japan JPN Koshin Honda
6 MF Japan JPN Kosuke Yoshimura
7 MF Japan JPN Kei Aramaki
8 MF Japan JPN Daiki Suenaga
9 FW Japan JPN Soru Iwanaga
10 FW Japan JPN Shinichi Kawachi
11 FW Japan JPN Rui Morimoto
12 DF Japan JPN Yu Takada
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF Japan JPN Kazuki Higa
14 MF Japan JPN Takumi Sunada
15 MF Japan JPN Yuya Yamaura
16 MF Japan JPN Kaito Arima
18 MF Japan JPN Kento Muranaka
19 DF Japan JPN Yu Hirai
20 MF Japan JPN Naoki Inomata
21 GK Japan JPN Kenta Isaka
23 MF Japan JPN Takemaru Hirakata
24 FW Japan JPN Soma Takebe
25 MF Japan JPN Seiya Nagatomi

References

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  1. ^ "チーム名称について". brewkashima.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  2. ^ "チーム紹介Brew KASHIMA(3年ぶり10回目)". jfa.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  3. ^ "BrewKASHIMA『J』目指し発進!". yokato.sgcnt.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  4. ^ "地元の支援で再出発 サッカーBrew KASHIMA 19日開幕の九州Lに闘志". saga-s.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  5. ^ "【Brew KASHIMA運営体制変更】社名・チーム名・エンブレム変更および代表取締役交代のお知らせ". prtimes.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  6. ^ "TEAM". brewkashima.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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