New Brand Finance data shows Kashima Antlers, Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds strengthening their brands as fan engagement, community programmes and media exposure fuel Japan’s football momentum
TOKYO, 9 September 2026 – Japan’s leading football clubs are strengthening their brands as record attendance, growing media exposure and increasingly targeted fan engagement deepen connections between clubs and supporters, according to the Football 50 2026 report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.
J.League attendance reached a record 13.5 million in 2025, an 8% increase from 12.5 million in 2024, driven by increased broadcaster airtime, local story-based programmes, national TV exposure and digital fan-acquisition campaigns. Match viewership on local TV has also surged 460% since 2022, with growing coverage of J2 and J3 clubs and player-focused storytelling helping broaden the league’s appeal.
Japan’s strongest football club brand this year is Kashima Antlers, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 63.7/100 and an A+ brand strength rating. The club remains first for the second consecutive year, supported by initiatives including Hometown Days and Friendly Town Days, which invite residents and commuters from five hometowns and 13 friendly towns to matches for free. Kashima’s five-segment digital strategy also enables targeted content designed to build greater fan loyalty. The club posted a record 520,615 in match attendance in 2025, averaging 27,401 per match.
In second place is Gamba Osaka, with a BSI score of 62.9/100 and an A+ brand strength rating. Its average attendance reached a record 30,007 per game. Fan engagement initiatives including Gamba Fan Festa and Gamba EXPO have strengthened community connections through merchandise, and a Bon Odori summer festival. According to Brand Finance’s market research data, Gamba Osaka ranks first among Japanese football brands for the perception that the club appreciates its fans.
Rounding off the top three is Urawa Reds, with a BSI score of 58.3/100 and an A brand strength rating. The club rises from fourth to third and ranks first among Japanese football clubs for having passionate fans and being exciting and entertaining to watch. Club activations including Redsland Undokai and the Ennichi summer festival have helped reinforce its strong supporter culture.
Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance, commented:
“Japanese football is increasingly becoming a story about how clubs understand and engage their supporters. Kashima Antlers’ sustained brand strength and Gamba Osaka’s stronger fan engagement show how local communities, digital outreach and distinctive matchday experiences can turn record attendance into lasting fan relationships.”
Other notable Japanese football brands in the ranking are:
With record attendance and growing media exposure, Japan’s football clubs have an opportunity to turn stronger matchday engagement into lasting brand value. The J.League’s focus on local communities, targeted fan engagement and digital innovation, including AI-powered match highlights and personalised content for supporters, points to a more data-led approach to building fan relationships.
Global Insights
Real Madrid retains its position as the world’s most valuable football club brand, with brand value rising 25% to EUR2.4 billion, while FC Barcelona remains in second place with brand value up 15% to EUR2 billion.
The combined brand value of the world’s 50 most valuable football club brands has reached EUR23.9 billion, marking the strongest annual growth in the 15-year history of the Football 50 ranking.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
