Asahi Soft Drink Challengers

The Sekisui Challengers are an American football team located in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. They are a member of the X-League.

Team history

1978 Team founded as a practice team for the Momoyama Gakuin University's football team. Team was nicknamed the "Silver Tigers" due to a majority of the team being fans of the Hanshin Tigers professional baseball team.
1979 Joined the X-League X2 division.
1985 Promoted from X2 to X1.
1989 Team name changed from Silver Tigers to Red Bears.
1993 Sponsorship agreement with Asahi Soft Drinks. Team name changed from Red Bears to Wild Jo. Finished the season 5th in the division. Lost X2-X1 replacement game. Demoted to X2 for the following season.
1996 Team promoted from X2 to X1.
1998 Team name changed to Challengers. Advanced to the Final6 Semifinals.
2000 Won first Tokyo Super Bowl and Rice Bowl Championships.
2001 Won second Tokyo Super Bowl championship. Lost to Kwansei Gakuin 30-27 in the Rice Bowl.
2007 Won West division title. Lost to Kashima in the Final6 Semi-finals 7-24.
2024 Sponsorship with Asahi Soft Drinks ended. Team reaches sponsorship agreement with Sekuisui Chemical Co., LTD. Team renamed "Sekisui Challengers".

Former Import players