Relocation of Professional Sports Teams - Relocations in Other Parts of The World

Relocations in Other Parts of The World

Relocations in other countries are done according to the type of sport played and/or the predominant style of league organization, as well as individual economic circumstances. For instance, Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan (run like MLB) has relocated several franchises out of crowded markets, the most recent being Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (originally based in Tokyo) and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (originally based in Osaka). The J. League (also in Japan but run like European football leagues) has by contrast allowed only a few teams to move out of crowded or unprofitable markets, the only prominent example being Tokyo Verdy moving from Kawasaki, Kanagawa to Tokyo. (Thespa Kusatsu actually plays in the nearby larger city of Maebashi, Gunma because Kusatsu does not have a large stadium; Verdy, F.C. Tokyo, Gamba Osaka and V-Varen Nagasaki play outside their city limits but in Tokyo's case it's more a question of practicality than location.)

In Mexico, the Atlante F.C. football club recently moved out of Mexico City to Cancún in the south (Liga MX has a relegation system but its teams have some territorial rights recognized, perhaps due to U.S. influence as many league matches are aired in the U.S., where only traditional top-flight teams are perceived to most effectively reach the immigrant fanbase). Club Necaxa also moved from Mexico City to Aguascalientes. Relocations are also common when an amateur or semi-professional club tries to acquire its own facilities in order to become a professional club, and no money and/or space is available to build their own in a long-established location. In Peru several teams have had to use already built large stadiums, including ones in the interior of the country, to be able to participate in Peruvian Primera División; this includes several teams from the capital, Lima, who have not been able to establish fanbases in their districts due to the required moves.

In South Korea, Many football clubs relocation were frequent in the 1980s and 1990s. Espescially, There were 3 professional football clubs Ilhwa Chunma (currently Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), LG Cheetahs (currently FC Seoul), Yukong Kokkiri (currently Jeju United) in Seoul by 1995. However, due to K-League's decentralization policy, these three clubs were forced to move to other cities in 1996, changing their name in the process. As a result, Ilhwa Chunma became Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma based in Cheonan, 95 km away, LG Cheetahs became Anyang LG Cheetahs based in Anyang, a satellite city of Seoul, 21 km away and Yukong Kokkiri became Bucheon SK based in Bucheon, a satellite city of Seoul, 25 km away. These relocations are done under the accord that if any of these teams build a football specific stadium in Seoul, they can return there.

In 2000, Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma moved to Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, 28 km away then becaom Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, In 2004, Anyang LG Cheetahs returned Seoul, assuming a small part of the construction costs of the vacant Seoul World Cup Stadium and renamed as FC Seoul. Two years later to the day, on February 2, 2006, Bucheon's club was moved by its owner, SK Group, to Jeju Island and the vacant Jeju World Cup Stadium, without notice, and rechristened Jeju United. South Korea has three national tiers, but as in the North American system, there is no promotion or relegation between them. This is because of disagreement between the Korea Football Association and the chaebols that back the top clubs. Many, if not most, of Korea National League and Challengers League clubs are fan-owned teams.

In another South Korean major professional spoprts such as Korea Professional Baseball, Korean Basketball League, V-League, relocation were common.

In France, Red Star Olympique merged with Toulouse FC (1937), but Toulouse FC disappeared and a new Toulouse FC was re-formed later.

In Colombia historic teams from First Division are rarely relocated, but newer teams created in second division are often moved from city to city looking for a responding fan base. 2008 Colombian Champions Chicó F.C. started as a B team in Bogotá Only to relocate to Tunja after promoting to First Division.

In Brazil, the first relocation of a first division football team was in 2010. Grêmio Barueri relocated to Presidente Prudente, becaming Grêmio Prudente, only to return as Grêmio Barueri in the middle of 2011. In other sports, such as volleyball, basketball or futsal, relocation is a bit more common, although it doesn't occur frequently.

In South Africa most football clubs are privately owned, and club relocation is relatively common. Several clubs, including top division Premier Soccer League clubs have moved and taken on new identities. The most recent PSL team to do this was Benoni Premier United, who moved to Kwa-Zulu Natal and became Thanda Royal Zulu. There are many other cases of South African relocations.