Reinforcement in the relegation battle
Bundesliga club St. Pauli signs Japanese national player
01/01/2026 – 12:15 p.mReading time: 1 min.
In the Bundesliga, FC St. Pauli is in the middle of a relegation battle. Now the club has strengthened itself.
FC St. Pauli has signed its first winter signing. The Hamburg team is strengthening itself with the Japanese defender Tomoya Ando. The 26-year-old central defender is moving from first division club Avispa Fukuoka to the Hanseatic League, the club announced on Thursday. St. Pauli did not comment on the transfer details or the contract term.
Ando’s club Fukuoka was promoted the previous year. In his first season in the first division, the defensive player made 36 appearances and scored four goals. Ando played in three games for the Japanese national team. At FC St. Pauli he meets his compatriot Joel Chima Fujita.
“By signing Tomoya, we are giving our defense additional flexibility as he can be used in all positions in the three-man chain,” sports director Andreas Bornemann was quoted as saying.
Right at the start of the year, the players met on Thursday for a non-public session. The first training session with fans is planned for Friday from 11:30 a.m.