, formerly , with "Biwako" being a reference to Lake Biwa, is a professional Japanese football club based in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture. They are set to play in J3 League from the 2026–27 season, the third tier of Japanese football after promotion from the Japan Football League in 2025.
History
The club was formed in 2005 from the former Sagawa Express SC Kyoto. They were first called Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu. In 2007, upon promotion to the JFL, they renamed themselves simply MIO Biwako Kusatsu until 2011.
Regional League and promotion to JFL (–2007) In 2007, MIO Biwako Kusatsu secured third place in the regional playoffs of the regional playoffs, earning promotion to the JFL for the 2008 season. This marked their first promotion to the Japan Football League at the end of 2007.
JFL (2008–2025) MIO Biwako Kusatsu played their first season in 2008 where they finished 14th.
In 2012, they renamed themselves as MIO Biwako Shiga, in order to extend their fanbase to the entire extent of Shiga Prefecture, particularly the area around southern Lake Biwa, in where they mostly have played matches.
In 2022, MIO Biwako Shiga finished in the last place out of the 16 participating teams in the season. The club, however, was not relegated back to the Kansai League, as JFL's top 2 teams were promoted to the J3. Under the league system, MIO Biwako would only be relegated as the last-placed team if no team or only one team had earned promotion to the J3 during the season, which was not the case.
On 27 January 2023, MIO Biwako Shiga announced a name change, becoming Reilac Shiga. On 1 February, the new identity was fully introduced with the crest release.
J.League (2026–present) In 2025, they ended in 2nd place, four points behind the champions Honda FC and qualified for the Promotion-Relegation play-offs against the bottom-placed 2025 J3 League, Azul Claro Numazu. On 14 December, Reilac Shiga secure promotion to the J3 League for the first time in their history, after winning 4–3 on aggregate.
Team image
Changes in club name Sagawa Express Kyoto Soccer Club: 2005 Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu: 2006–2007 MIO Biwako Kusatsu: 2008–2011 MIO Biwako Shiga: 2012–2022 Reilac Shiga: 2023–present
Players
Current squad .
Out on loan
Management and staff Club coaching staff Role NameGeneral Director Koji KurusuManager Makoto KakudaHead coach Hiroki HigashiAssistant coach Daichi OkamotoGoalkeeper coach Teru TeramineAssistance Goalkeeper coach Naoto HiraiCompetent Yuto TeramotoDeputy Officer Shiorihiro Inoda
Managerial history Manager TenureStart Finish Tetsuya Totsuka 13 September 2007 31 January 2008 Naoki Hiraoka 1 February 2008 23 July 2008 Hiroki Azuma 1 October 2008 31 January 2009 Haruo Wada 1 February 2009 1 October 2011 Hiroki Azuma (2) 1 October 2011 1 July 2014 Koji Kawashima1 July 2014 31 January 2015 Kōtarō Nakao1 January 2015 31 December 2015 Masafumi Nakaguchi 1 February 2016 31 January 2020 Hiroshi Ōtsuki 1 February 2020 27 September 2022 Hiroki Azuma 5 October 2022 31 January 2023 Akira Teramine 1 February 2023 3 September 2023 Toshimi Kikuchi 4 September 2023 15 July 2024 Hiroki Higashi 21 July 2024 31 July 2024 Makoto Kakuda 31 July 2024 31 January 2026 Haruo Wada 1 February 2026 9 June 2026 Makoto Kakuda 9 June 2026 present
Season by season record ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotedRelegated LeagueEmperor's CupJ.League CupSeasonDivisionTierTeamsPos.PWDLFAGDPtsAttendance/GFC Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu2006Kansai Soccer League (Div. 1)482nd1482428171126Did not qualifyIneligible20072nd141022481137342nd roundMIO Biwako Kusatsu2008Japan Football League31814th34108164062 -2238854Did not qualifyIneligible20098th34139125143848996201011th34137145156 -5467932nd round201113th33115174365 -2238671Did not qualifyMIO Biwako Shiga2012Japan Football League3178th321110115352143637Did not qualifyIneligible20131816th3486204056 -16305431st round201441412th2664162450 -2622644Did not qualify20151611th3097143641 -5348942nd round20169th30117123845 -7406801st round201713th3069153351 -1827651Did not qualify20187th301371038353465122nd round20199th30117122740 -13405531st round2020 †9th156272327 -4203092nd round2021 †1712th32107153548 -1337483Did not qualify20221616th3056192157 -36215171st roundReilac Shiga FC2023Japan Football League4153rd2811116473710449552nd roundIneligible2024164th301461049454502,072Did not qualify20252nd301686473512562,356Did not qualify2026J3 League3108th1861101528 -13212,298N/A2026–2720TBD38TBDTBD
Key
References
External links