Urawa Red Diamonds — known affectionately in Japanese as Urawa Reds — were founded in 1950 as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Football Club, the works team of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries corporation. The club rebranded as Urawa Red Diamonds in 1992 to align with the launch of the J.League — Japan's professional football era — beginning the following year. The club is based in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, and has played at the iconic Saitama Stadium 2002 since 2001.
The Mitsubishi era was successful, with multiple Emperor's Cup triumphs and a 1969 Japan Soccer League title. After the J.League launched in 1993, Urawa endured difficult early years — including relegation to J2 in 1999 — before establishing themselves as one of Japan's most powerful clubs. The first major J.League era achievement was the Emperor's Cup in 2005, followed in 2006 by the club's first and so far only J1 League title under coach Holger Osieck, captained by Brazilian-Japanese central defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka and inspired by striker Washington and the playmaking of Robson Ponte.
Urawa's true claim to fame is in Asian football: the AFC Champions League titles of 2007, 2017 and 2022 mark them as Asian football's most decorated club of the modern era, joint-record holders alongside Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal. The 2017 triumph, sealed against Al-Hilal themselves, was particularly memorable. The Reds' supporters at Saitama Stadium are renowned worldwide for their tifo displays, intense ultras culture, and "We Are Diamonds" chants. Eight Emperor's Cups (most recently 2021), two J.League Cups and four Japanese Super Cups round out the trophy cabinet. Urawa remains the most-supported football club in Japan.