Gamba Osaka players Takuru Kishimoto and Rin Mito visit Takatsuki City Hall after winning AFC Champions League 2

On Monday, June 8, 2026 (Reiwa 8), Gamba Osaka players Takuru Kishimoto (right in photo) and Rin Mito (left in photo), who won the international soccer tournament "AFC Champions League 2," visited the Takatsuki City Hall, a registered hometown city, to report their victory to Mayor Takeshi Hamada.

Gamba Osaka is a professional soccer club with seven cities in northern Osaka Prefecture, including Takatsuki, as its hometown. The club is known as one of Japan's leading clubs, having won numerous tournaments including the J.League, Emperor's Cup, and ACL Champions League.

The tournament is a club competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), featuring 32 clubs from 15 Asian countries that have achieved good results in their respective league and cup competitions. Gamba Osaka advanced through the group stage with six wins. Continuing that momentum, they advanced through the knockout stage and faced the strong Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in the final held on Sunday, May 17 in Saudi Arabia. Despite being completely away, they took the lead with a shot by Dennis Hummet in the 30th minute of the first half, then held on with concentrated defense to win 1-0. With this victory, they won their 10th title, the first in 11 years since the Emperor's Cup in 2015 (Heisei 27). They conquered an international tournament gathering top Asian clubs, demonstrating their strength across Asia.

On this day, Kishimoto and Mito, who visited the city hall, expressed their joy, saying, "It was a tough battle with a tight schedule, but we are very happy to have won" and "We are grateful to all the fans who supported us." Mayor Hamada said, "I sincerely congratulate you on your great achievement of winning the AFC Champions League 2."