Company Profile

What we do

・Athlete Management
・Contract Negotiations and Transfers for Athletes and Clubs (Sports Agent Services)
・Image Rights Management, Advertising and Media Appearances
・Sports Business Consulting
・Matchmaking, Event and Seminar Planning and Production
・Broadcast Rights Acquisition, Distribution, and Program Production
・Sports Gym Operation and Talent Development

History

JEB Entertainment is one of the first sports agencies in Japan specialize in football player representation, established in October 1994, the year after the launch of the J.League in 1993. Since then, we have worked alongside many football players over the past 30 years as a full-service management agency.

Our agency was founded following the meeting between Tsuyoshi Kitazawa, a former player of Verdy Kawasaki (current Tokyo Verdy 1969) and currently a director of the Japan Football Association and a sports culture figure active in various media, and our representative, Nobuaki Tanabe. With the launch of Japan’s first professional football league, players from strong teams, especially those from Verdy Kawasaki, attracted significant attention from various media outlets and sponsors. This intense focus placed a heavy burden on the players. We established the agency with the aim of providing an environment where players could focus on their main profession, football, by outsourcing the management and arrangement of media and advertisements appearances.

At the time of our establishment, the role of the “player agent” (acting as the player’s representative in contracts and transfers) has not been established in Japan. Later, when FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) introduced the official player agent licensing system, Japan adopted the system in 1997. In 1999, our representative, Nobuaki Tanabe, passed the second certification exam, which was conducted for a select group of individuals recognized by the Japan Football Association as being involved in football-related business. He obtained the FIFA Players’ Agent license, officially becoming a licensed agent.

In 2000, we signed a player representation contract with Junichi Inamoto, officially launching our full-scale agent operations. Today, we represent over 100 players and are committed to supporting them in every aspect of their careers.

In 2003, the agent system was reformed and became a licensing system granted to those who passed FIFA agent exam. Under this new system, in addition to Nobuaki Tanabe, Keiko Nishina and Nobuyuki Ikki also became licensed agents at our agency.

In 2015, examinations related to various domestic and international regulations concerning player contracts and transfers were abolished, and shifted to a registration-based intermediary system.

Then, in 2022, FIFA reintroduced the mandatory licensing system which obliges agents to pass an exam. The following year, in 2023, Ryo Osawa, Masafumi Gomi (Goto), and Hiroyuki Takahashi also became licensed agents.

As the environment surrounding players and clubs continues to undergo significant changes, we will remain a trusted partner, supporting players in building the best possible path forward, based on the strong relationships and experience we have developed with clubs over many years.

Domestic Track Record (Japan)
J. League division 1, 2, 3 and JFL

International Track Record
Europe: England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Russia
Asia: Australia, Thailand, Korea and China