In August of 2024, Austrian energy drink giants Red Bull have announced that they have taken over then-J.League 3 side Omiya Ardija, adding the Squirrels to a portfolio of clubs that included Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig, and RB Bragantino – with Omiya set to become Red Bull’s first club within the Asian market.
Unsurprisingly the move was met with backlash, as Red Bull had a reputation of destroying the identities of the clubs that they’ve taken over in favor of a more uniformed, corporate branding synonymous with the energy drink company.
Red Bull Salzburg was built from the foundations of SV Austria Salzburg, one of Austria’s biggest clubs. The New York Red Bulls were formerly known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. RB Leipzig were once SSV Markranstadt. And last but not least, RB Bragantino was previously CA Bragantino.
Four clubs, all with distinct identities and their own tradition, all of them being “sterilized” and replaced by Red Bull’s traditional white-and-red color scheme and related corporate branding.
Understandably fans of these teams were not happy with how Red Bull had “forcefully robbed” the core identities of their teams and replaced them with the company’s own, especially in Leipzig as German football depends heavily in the “50+1” regulation that gave fans significant contribution within their clubs. This huge emphasis towards fan involvement is another reason why RB Leipzig’s existence was heavily frowned upon, as the company deliberately used their own employees to fulfil the “50+1” regulation, thus, in a way, bypassing the whole regulation altogether and allowing the company to retain full control of the club without any fan involvement.
But despite these rebranding measures, Red Bull’s ownership has provided the clubs within their portfolio with successes like no other. Red Bull Salzburg are the current dominant force in Austrian football, RB Leipzig has gone toe-to-toe with the established giants of the German Bundesliga, New York Red Bulls have snagged three MLS Supporters’ Shield and one US Open Cup since the takeover, while RB Bragantino finished runners-up of the 2021 Copa Sudamericana – the closest a Red Bull club has gotten to continental glory.
Now back to Omiya Ardija. The club was founded in 1969 as a football team representing telecommunications company NTT East, based initially at the Urawa ward of Saitama before moving to the Omiya ward within the same city. They traditionally play in orange-and-blue and has a squirrel as a mascot, a reference to the multitude of squirrels lurking around Omiya’s stadium. Omiya were affectionately known as the Squirrels, or Risu in Japanese.
And much to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Red Bull completely defaced 55 years of tradition by getting rid of the squirrel in favor of their two red bulls and changing the club badge in line with the rest of the teams in their portfolio. Although, at least Red Bull were generous enough to retain orange-and-blue as the badge’s secondary color, as a nod to Omiya’s heritage…somewhat.
The club’s name was also changed from Omiya Ardija to RB Omiya Ardija and since Japanese competition rules forbid companies from outright placing their branding in club names, the RB could stand for…Risuball, or Squirrel-ball, in a similar vein to RB Leipzig’s Rasenballsport (lawn-ball-sport), as a nod to Omiya’s heritage.
However, identity defacing and stale corporate branding aside, Omiya could benefit from being part of Red Bull’s portfolio of clubs.
Say as much as you want about Red Bull’s shady practices, the company’s scouting team has gained a reputation as being one of the best scouting teams in the world, and Red Bull’s emphasis on youth development meant that clubs underneath their wing are constantly producing excellent talent. The likes of Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino, Patson Daka, Timo Werner, Dominik Szoboslai, Hwang Hee-chan, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson, Lulinha, and last but not least Erling Haaland have came through the Red Bull system at their various clubs across the world, but mainly from the Red Bull Salzburg-RB Leipzig pipeline.
And with former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as “global head of soccer,” Red Bull’s scouting and youth development network has gotten better than ever, and Omiya could be set to become a producer of quality young talent for not only the Japan national team but also beyond.
Perhaps the next Minamino or Hee-chan could pass through the Omiya youth system and become the next Asian superstar?
In the long-run, Omiya’s new financial muscle could see them finally go toe-to-toe with Saitama rivals Urawa Red Diamonds, with the Squirrels having long spent their existence in the shadow of their more successful neighbors.
Yes, Red Bull may have disrespected the identity and tradition of the clubs that they’ve taken over. But seeing how successful clubs under the portfolio on and off the pitch as well as the amount of talent that they’ve contributed towards world football, it’s safe to say that the energy drink company is a necessary evil for the footballing world. And maybe, a necessary evil for Japanese football too.