From lowly college student to man about town in Shibuya
“I’ve been in Shibuya constantly since my 3rd/4th year at Uni. It’s where I go drinking, where I have fun and also where I work.”
It started with share houses in Sangenjaya and Ebisu, then a major IT company and a venture company in Shibuya, and finally a football club management company that he founded. Sho Koizumi’s past 10 years have been spent in the most chaotic areas of Tokyo.
“In Shibuya, the old maxim “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down” is simply anathema. The area is constantly spawning new stuff and everyone does what they love. Perhaps it is the free atmosphere of the town that spurred me to say such grandiose things about aiming for the J-League.”
Aspiring to be a J-League Club smack in the middle of Tokyo
“Football is the only major sport that offers a pathway for amateurs to enter the professional ranks. Even if you start a baseball team, no matter how hard you try, the NPB is out of reach . However, in football, there are 11 categories in the pyramid with J1 at the top, and if you win one by one, you may be able to ascend the ladder one day. Right now, we are still equivalent to J7, but isn’t it thrilling just to know that there is a possibility?”
Koizumi was himself a leading player in the former “TOKYO CITY FC.” Formed in 2014, the club changed its name to “SHIBUYA CITY FC” upon deciding to aim for the J-League in 2019; in the same year, he transitioned from player to manager. While this name suggests a scale-down of sorts, in fact it was a move to bring more clarity to the club.
“Paris, Madrid, Munich…… world-famous clubs are all famous cities to begin with, right? And yet there is not a single J-League club in the 23 wards of Tokyo. There is culture, tourists, and a massive city. This combination is very important, and I think the hollow space we have now is a real waste.”
Spurred onto challenge by Shibuya Companies
In order to break out of this somewhat unique situation for a developed country, they invited former Japanese pro Kazuyuki Toda to be technical director from 2022. The club is expanding the scope of its activities while remaining close to Shibuya, training at the “Shibuya-ku Sports Center” and praying for victory at the Meiji Shrine.
“The team’s level has improved dramatically with the addition of Mr.Toda, who is familiar with the top level. Tokyu, Ito En, and Meiji Yasuda Seimei have become sponsors, and Casio Computer (behind G-SHOCK) has become a club partner since September. Another local sponsor is “Nagahide”, a top Yakiniku joint. I believe that the reason we have so many sponsors for a club that is still in a lower category is because they share our big goal of having a J-League club in Shibuya.”
An urban football club where the entire town becomes a stadium
Koizumi continues: “The fact that so many people can share a sense of values is what makes football so special”.
Another goal aside from the J-League, he says, is the landscape of the town:
“Rather than growing the number of supporters, we want to create a Shibuya where football pulses through the city’s veins 365 days of the year. Beach football on the sand court at Miyashita Park, futsal at “Torque Spice & Herb Table & Court” and lifting performances on the roadside. We’d like to see the whole town transformed into a stadium, where football is firmly rooted within the urban elements that overlap with fashion and music and so on.
Shibuya is also the perfect hometown in terms of passing on the soccer culture to the younger generation. When I work in the office until late and go up to the Shibuya Station east exit overpass, I can see the big corporate offices ever higher and more dazzling. …… I sense the potential of football and the expectations of the city, so we are just trying to do everything we can to reach our goal.”
1
Shibuya Ward Sports Center
Shibuya-ku Nishihara 1-40-18
TEL : 03-3468-9051
Has an artificial turf court, which is used for practice by SHIBUYA CITY FC. There are also futsal courts, tennis courts, and a 25-meter swimming pool.
2
Meiji Shrine
1-1 Yoyogi-Kamizonocho, Shibuya-ku
TEL : 03-3379-5511
The club prays for victory here, on its own Shibuya turf. Free parking is available, at this oasis away from the daily grind.
3
Nagahide. Shibuya Shinsen Head Branch
20-25 Shinsen-cho, Shibuya-ku
TEL : 03-6427-0329
A yakiniku/innards restaurant and current sponsor of SHIBUYA CITY FC. Koizumi can’t get enough of the exquisitely thick and seasoned beef tongue
@nagahide_yakiniku
4
Miyashita Park Sand Court
1-26-5 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
TEL : 03-6712-5291
Multi-purpose exercise facility of 36 x 19 m in size. Located in the rooftop park of MIYASHITA PARK, it can be used also for sand sports in general.
5
Shibuya Station East Exit Pedestrian Overpass
Shibuya Ward, Shibuya
A passageway that Koizumi says he walks a thousand times a year. This is a “typical Shibuya” spot, looking up at Shibuya Stream, Shibuya Scramble Square, and the Metropolitan Expressway.
6
TORQUE SPICE & HERB TABLE & COURT
3-21-3, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
TEL : 03-6451-1374
This café is located on the 4th floor of Shibuya Stream. It purveys cuisine full of spices and herbs, and Koizumi meets business clients here.
@torque_cafe
Sho Koizumi
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1989. President and CEO of PLAYNEW. Has been kicking a ball since he can remember and was a member of Omiya Ardija U18. While a student at Rikkyo University, took the chance to study abroad in the U.S. after which he traveled around the world, establishing TABIPPO upon his return. After graduation, he joined CyberAgent and became a director when TABIPPO was incorporated. After stepping down in 2019, has focused on managing SHIBUYA CITY FC, which he founded and renamed. Current office is located in Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
