HEROE CO., Ltd

What HEROE CO., Ltd does

HEROE CO., Ltd (エロエ株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered football (soccer) athlete management agency founded in March 2012 by Hiroyuki Honda, a former footballer and FIFA-licensed agent. The firm represents professional football players, providing end-to-end career management services under its unified HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT brand, which comprises five modules: Contract Negotiation, Management (branding, media relations, social media), Elite Development, Pro Athlete Performance (physical, sprint, mental conditioning, nutrition, rehabilitation), and Lifestyle Support (career planning, asset management, tax advisory, relocation, language). Its primary client segment is professional footballers, with a secondary segment of football coaches. Customers are sourced via direct outreach, club referrals, and industry networks; the firm's FIFA-licensed agents have placed athletes across J-League clubs and top European leagues including the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Austrian Bundesliga, Belgian Pro League, and the Spanish and Portuguese top flights. Marquee clients have included Keisuke Honda (transferred to AC Milan), Kota Takai (Tottenham Hotspur, then Borussia Mönchengladbach), Brandon Nozawa (Royal Antwerp), Sota Kitano (FC Red Bull Salzburg), and Taichi Hara (FC St. Pauli).

The business model is commission-driven: HEROE earns transaction fees on negotiated player contracts and transfer deals between clubs, plus ongoing professional services fees for the bundled management, performance, and lifestyle modules. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and services are delivered on contract basis through the management representation model. The company has expanded its international footprint through wholly-owned subsidiaries HEROE Netherlands BV (European operations) and HEROE USA, INC. (US operations), supporting cross-border deal execution. The core team of five employees comprises four FIFA-licensed agents: Hiroyuki Honda (CEO & Founder), Kosuke Nojiri, Yuta Ichizuka (based in Europe), and Taku Omoto.

In October 2025 HEROE introduced SkillCorner, an AI-powered sports data platform that uses computer vision to track players and balls from single-camera footage across more than 150 football competitions. This integration enables world-standard performance evaluation and supports the Elite Development and Pro Athlete Performance service modules. HEROE does not offer a software or SaaS product; its technology layer is a third-party integration intended to differentiate its athlete management services rather than to be sold independently. The company has earned industry recognition including the Japan Pro Sports Newcomer Award (2017), J-League Young Player Award (2017), and J-League Excellent Player Award (2016) for athletes under representation.

Name

HEROE CO., Ltd

Legal name

HEROE CO., LTD.

Website

https://heroe.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HEROE CO., Ltd is a Tokyo-based football athlete management agency founded in 2012. It provides contract negotiation, career planning, branding, performance development, and lifestyle services to professional soccer players across Japan, Europe, and the United States via FIFA-licensed agents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Management Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Athlete Talent Agencies (Contract Negotiation & Career Management) (MPAKAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Athlete Financial Management & Wealth Advisory (Tax, Accounting, Investment) (MPAKAMAG), Athlete Endorsements & Brand Ambassador Programs (MPAKALAD)

Keywords

• Athlete representation services
• Football contract negotiation
• Sports management agency
• Professional player transfers
• Athlete career management

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Athlete Contract Commission: HEROE earns commissions from negotiating and managing professional athlete contracts with football clubs, both domestically in Japan and internationally in Europe, Asia, and other regions.
2. Transfer Fee Commission: The company earns fees when negotiating player transfers between clubs, as evidenced by the high-profile transfers of athletes like Kota Takai to Tottenham, Brandon Nozawa to Royal Antwerp, and Taichi Hara to FC St. Pauli.
3. Management and Service Fees: Ongoing services including athlete branding, media relations, social media strategy, lifestyle support, and career planning from pre-retirement through post-retirement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HEROE CO., Ltd is a football/soccer athlete management agency that provides integrated representation services to professional players under the "HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT" brand. Services span contract negotiation, career planning, branding, media relations, performance development (with AI tracking via SkillCorner), physical conditioning, lifestyle and post-retirement planning. The firm earns commissions from player contracts and transfers plus ongoing management fees for both Japanese domestic clubs (J-League) and major European leagues including Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Belgian Pro League, and Austrian Bundesliga.

Product overview

HEROE CO., Ltd is a football/soccer athlete management agency that offers a unified suite of professional services under the HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT brand. The five integrated service modules—Contract Negotiation, Management, Elite Development, Pro Athlete Performance, and Lifestyle Support—work together to comprehensively serve athletes throughout their careers from recruitment through retirement. The company also integrates SkillCorner AI sports data technology to support world-standard athlete evaluation. HEROE does not offer a software platform or SaaS product; its offerings are professional management and agency services for professional football athletes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT - Contract Negotiation Strategic career planning and contract negotiation service that maximizes athlete value through negotiations with clubs and transfer market analysis, for professional football athletes.
• HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT - Athlete Management Comprehensive athlete management covering branding, domestic and international media relations, strategic social media management, and total lifestyle support for professional football players.
• HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT - Elite Development Performance analysis and development service identifying strengths, addressing weaknesses, and maximizing athletic potential through data analysis, goal-setting, individual training, and highlight video production.
• HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT - Pro Athlete Performance Performance optimization service providing training support across physical, sprint, and mental dimensions, plus conditioning, nutrition, recovery, rehabilitation, and independent training at partnered world-standard facilities.
• HEROE TOTAL SUPPORT - Lifestyle Support Comprehensive lifestyle support covering career planning from active career through post-retirement, asset management, insurance, investment and tax advisory, housing research, relocation support, and language learning guidance.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SkillCornercoreTechnology or Integration · 20 October 2025HEROE partnered with SkillCorner, the AI sports data leader, to evaluate Japanese players against world standards. SkillCorner automatically tracks players and balls from single camera footage, generating practical data for over 150 competitions in football. This technology enables fair and accurate player evaluation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stellar Group (now part of ICM): Premier football-focused talent agency representing top European and global footballers in transfers and contract negotiations. Highly comparable to HEROE's core service of international football contract representation, but at a much larger scale with deeper European club access.
• Wasserman: Major global sports management and marketing agency representing professional athletes in contract negotiation, marketing, and career management. Comparable as a diversified sports representation platform, though significantly larger in headcount and sport coverage than HEROE.
• CAA Base (Creative Artists Agency): Global sports and entertainment agency representing elite athletes across multiple sports, including Japanese footballers. Comparable as a large-scale full-service athlete representation firm with global club relationships, though it serves a much broader portfolio of sports and geographies.

Direct peers

• You First / Promoesport: Sports management agency with significant involvement in representing top-level footballers for international transfers and contract negotiation. Comparable as a football-focused talent agency with European market access and similar service modules.
• Mendes (Gestifute): Jorge Mendes-led football super-agency, the dominant player in international football transfers to top European clubs. Comparable in business model (commission-based football representation and transfer negotiation) but operates at a substantially larger scale with global marquee clients.
• Raiola (now Bompastor / SEG): Major international football agency historically known for high-profile transfers. Directly comparable as a football-specific representation firm focused on international transfers and contract negotiations, though its portfolio skews to European rather than Japanese players.

Regional players

• JAY Sports Management: Japan-based football/soccer agency representing Japanese professional players in domestic J-League and international transfer negotiations. Comparable as a Tokyo-based football athlete management firm targeting the same Japanese player export market.
• Haysped Sports Management: Japan-focused football management agency representing Japanese professional players in transfers and contract negotiations. Directly comparable in serving Japanese footballers seeking European moves, with a similar geographic and sport focus as HEROE.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HeroeFtblMgmt
• Instagraminstagram.com/heroefootballmanagement
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heroe-co-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HEROE CO., Ltd