Toshiba S.C. (1935–1995) Consadole's club tradition dates back to 1935 when
Toshiba Horikawa-cho Soccer Club was founded in
Kawasaki, Kanagawa. They were promoted to the now-defunct
Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1978. They adopted new name
Toshiba Soccer Club in 1980 and were promoted to the JSL Division 1 in 1989. The colours were an idea from then-player
Nobuhiro Ishizaki (who played when the team was still based in Kawasaki and later coached them in Sapporo) who was a fan of
A.C. Milan. It also became the symbol of Toshiba's sports teams such as
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.
Consadole Sapporo (1996–2015) , Consa's home ground
Consadole Sapporo inherited the JFL status from Toshiba S.C.. Their debut season in 1996 was not overly successful as they finished 5th and missed promotion. However, they won the JFL championship in 1997 and were promoted to J.League. In 1999,
Takeshi Okada, the former
Japan national team coach, was appointed as head coach in an effort to make an immediate comeback to J1, but this attempt failed as they finished 5th. Their heavy investment on players counted against them and, at this point, the debt owed by the club exceeded three billion yen (US$33 million). The bankruptcy looked a near-certainty. In 2000, they cut costs dramatically. As a result, the team often included as many as eight on-loan players in the starting line-up. However, this strategy paid off and the club won the J2 championship as well as promotion to J1. The club posted a single-year profit for the first time in their history this year. In 2001, they finished 11th in J1. However, at the end of the season, the club failed to persuade Okada to renew the contract and several leading players also left the club. In 2002, they finished bottom and were relegated to J2 for a second time. From the 2016 season, the club has adopted the new name as "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo".
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (2016–present) In 2016, the club changed its name to
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. After four years spent at the J2, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo returned to the J1 ahead of the 2017 season, having been promoted as
2016 J2 League champions. On 9 February 2018, the team won the inaugural Pacific Rim Cup tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, defeating the
Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0. 2018 was the season they reached their highest placing in the J.League era and in Sapporo – 4th, 27 years after achieving the same place in Kawasaki. In January 2022, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo's
Thai player
Chanathip Songkrasin who was part of the 2018
J.League Best XI joined
Kawasaki Frontale with a transfer fee of around $3.8 million, breaking the
J.League record for the highest domestic transfer. On 1 December 2024, after seven years in the top flight, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo got relegated to the
J2 League. ==In popular culture==