Shigeo Hidaritomo: My Experience in the Professional Sports Business

2022/02/11

I have been involved in the management of J.League soccer clubs for 20 years now. Since I spent 22 years at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., which I joined after graduating from university, nearly half of my career has been in the sports business field.

The first club where I held a management position after leaving Nissan was Yokohama Marinos, a Nissan subsidiary. I spent six years there growing the company while winning several annual championships. Once that was settled, I served in management for six years at Shonan Bellmare in Kanagawa Prefecture, then five years at Shimizu S-Pulse in Shizuoka Prefecture. I am now in my second year as president of Kataller Toyama.

Since moving to the J.League, I have worked on fixed-term contracts, mostly one-year terms, just like the managers and players. Compared to my time at Nissan, I chose a rather tense and nerve-wracking form of employment, but looking back, I believe that always working on the edge has allowed me to gain irreplaceable experiences and comrades.

When working for a J.League club, I feel there is a strong tendency for public interest to be drawn to the top team's wins and losses, championships, promotions, and relegation battles. It is true that most content covered by sports news, newspapers, and other media relates to these competitive results. Furthermore, in terms of business management, winning increases attendance and merchandise revenue, leading to steady growth. Conversely, a string of losses can slow the pace of growth. It is very difficult to resist this phenomenon in the world of sports business.

However, recently, various initiatives such as soccer schools for children and programs for the elderly and people with disabilities have been recognized by local companies, leading to many sponsorships. I am happy to see that Japanese companies' awareness of social contribution has matured to this degree.

To me as a manager, winning matches and spending enjoyable time with the local community through club activities outside of matches carry the same weight. I believe the most important thing in this profession is for local residents to acknowledge that "it's good to have Kataller Toyama in this town." Therefore, winning is not the goal, but a strategy. I believe the true goal is to bring enrichment to the daily lives of the city, and I feel strongly that without such a conviction, one cannot hold this job for long.