Tokyo Verdy trace their roots to 1969, when Yomiuri Football Club was established in Tokyo with backing from the Yomiuri Group and NTV. Starting in the fifth tier of Tokyo regional football, the club climbed steadily through the pyramid, reaching the top division of the Japan Soccer League in 1978 and claiming their first major silverware — the JSL Cup — in 1979.
The club's golden era spanned the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rebranded as Verdy Kawasaki upon the founding of the professional J.League in 1993, they became inaugural J1 League champions that year and retained the title in 1994, adding three consecutive J.League Cups (1992–1994) and multiple Emperor's Cup triumphs to a trophy cabinet that also includes the 1987 Asian Club Championship. Their squads of that era featured celebrated names such as Kazuyoshi Miura and Ruy Ramos, and the club's ambition to become a national superclub was clear.
Financial pressures and an ageing squad led to a decline through the mid-to-late 1990s. In 2001 the club returned to Tokyo, adopting the name Tokyo Verdy 1969, but struggled to compete with the already-established FC Tokyo. A brief high came with the 2004 Emperor's Cup, though relegation to J2 followed in 2005. After a single-season return to J1 in 2008 ended in another relegation, Verdy spent fifteen years in the second tier before earning promotion back to J1 ahead of the 2024 season.
The club's identity is built on its signature green — a colour chosen in homage to Brazilian club Palmeiras — and a fierce Tokyo Derby rivalry with FC Tokyo. A historic youth academy has produced generations of Japanese internationals, reinforcing Verdy's standing as one of the most culturally significant clubs in Japanese football.