© Imago
The opening shot for the 2026/27 season in the Land of the Rising Sun: FC Bayern Women’s first friendly ahead of the new campaign takes the defending double winners to an emerging club from Japan’s highest professional women’s league. As part of this year’s Allianz Women’s Tour (follow the live blog here!), the Munich girls face RB Omiya Ardija (watch live with FC Bayern TV PLUS) on Saturday 25 July, at 10:00 CEST. fcbayern.com takes a closer look at the first friendly opponents of the season.
Exciting project on the outskirts of Tokyo
The history of the Japanese top-flight club goes back to 1998, when it grew out of Denden Kanto Football Club, which was founded in 1969. In 2021, the club merged with the well-established Omiya Ardija men’s team to join the newly launched Japanese professional league, the WE League. The central idea of this merger was “to contribute towards a better society in which people can share their dreams and passions through sport.”
The team entered the newly formed professional league under the name "Omiya Ardija Ventus" in 2021. | © Imago
To begin with, the club was called “Omiya Ardija Ventus”. Three years later came the next milestone: on 6 November 2024, Red Bull took over the club and announced that, from 2025, the team would be known as “Red Bull Omiya Ardija Women”, or “RB Omiya Ardija Women” for short.
Record in the league
In their debut 2021/22 campaign, the women from Saitama Prefecture finished ninth out of 11 teams. In the following season, they improved on that by three places before finishing seventh in 2023/24.
Following the takeover by Red Bull and the expansion of the league from 11 to 12 clubs, RB Omiya Ardija Women found themselves back in second-from-bottom spot. However, the Reddoburu finished seventh again last term, registering 27 points with six wins and nine draws – more than any other team in the league. They scored 24 goals and conceded 28.
The ones to watch
Mai Kadowaki moved on loan from RB Leipzig to RB Omiya Ardija at the start of the year and has now signed permanently. | © Imago
In the city of over a million people, FCB Women will encounter one familiar face from the Bundesliga: Mai Kadowaki is a former RB Leipzig player who now plies her trade in Japan. The 25-year-old initially joined on loan at the start of this year and will now be staying with RB Omiya Ardija beyond her agreed loan deal. The striker featured 18 times for Leipzig in the German top flight – her last appearance coming against none other than Bayern on Matchday 15 of last season.
Yuma Saito (right) is RB Omiya Ardija's top goal-getter. | © Imago
Head coach José Barcala and his defence will have to keep a particularly close eye on Yuma Saito. The 33-year-old was Omiya’s top scorer last season with seven goals.
Compact ground
NACK5 Stadium Omiya: This is where FCB Women will play their first friendly of 2026/27. | © Imago
NACK5 Stadium Omiya in Saitama is the home of RB Omiya Ardija. The stadium, which has a capacity of around 15,500, is designed to bring the fans close to the pitch under the motto “Football First”. Just the right setting for a clash which will test the team while offering the crowd a window to a top European club.
You can buy tickets for FCB Women’s friendly against Unterhaching on 9 August here:
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