Zweigen Kanazawa
Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢 "Tsuēgen Kanazawa") is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They play in the 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 having gained a licence to compete in J. League Division 2 will participate in Japanese club football's second tier for the 2015 season. 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. The home stadium is Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium. The capacity is 20,261. The stadium was built 1974. Current squad. "As of February 4, 2022."