Also known as: Over The Pitch Management Inc.
Founded: 2023
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan & Seongnam, South Korea
Players: 60 (23 in 1st tier) – Total market value: €20mm
FIFA/FA registration: FIFA-licensed agency – Miguel Donghyun Kim (FIFA ID 202304-1237), Akira Kaminishizono (FIFA ID 202301-101), plus licensed agents Kyle Donghun Kang and Taehong Kim
Languages: Korean, Japanese, English (working French via staff background)
Regions covered: Japan, South Korea, wider East Asia, with outbound moves to Europe (including the Bundesliga)
Email: info@unio.im
UNIO is a multidisciplinary football agency founded in 2023 and built around a team of four FIFA-licensed agents operating between Japan and South Korea. The agency focuses on established J League and K League professionals as well as emerging East Asian talent, combining career planning, contract negotiation, and off-pitch support. Their model is explicitly cross-border – helping Korean and Japanese players access opportunities in Europe while remaining deeply embedded in local club ecosystems. UNIO emphasises holistic support, with services spanning mental wellbeing, post-career planning and branding, not just transfers.
CEO/Founder:
Miguel Donghyun Kim – Founder and overall CEO of UNIO, FIFA-licensed agent (FIFA ID 202304-1237) leading the Korea–Japan strategy and European partnerships.
Email: a_kaminishizono@unio.im
Co-Founder:
Akira Kaminishizono – CEO of UNIO Japan,
Email: a_kaminishizono@unio.im
Managing Director / Head of Football:
Kyle Donghun Kang – Director of Football and licensed agent overseeing scouting, recruitment and football operations across K League and J League.
Email: kyle.kdh@unio.im
Executive Director:
Taehong Kim
Email: taehong.kim@unio.im
Licensed agents:
Miguel Donghyun Kim – FIFA ID 202304-1237
Akira Kaminishizono – FIFA ID 202301-101
Kyle Donghun Kang – Director of Football, FIFA-licensed agent (ID not publicly listed)
Taehong Kim – Executive Director and FIFA-licensed agent (ID not publicly listed)
Shuto Machino (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 30/09/1999
Takuya Kida (Yokohama F. Marinos) – 23/08/1994
Kazuki Tanaka (JEF United Chiba) – 13/01/2000
Byung-kwan Jeon (Gimcheon Sangmu) – 10/11/2002
Kaili Shimbo (Yokohama FC) – 16/08/2002
Gyu-sung Lee (Suwon Samsung Bluewings) – 10/05/1994
Soon-min Lee (Daejeon Hana Citizen) – 22/05/1994
Bit-garam Yoon (Suwon FC) – 07/05/1990
Jun Amano (Yokohama F. Marinos) – 19/07/1991
Tae-hwan Kim (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) – 24/07/1989
Kohei Tezuka (Kashiwa Reysol) – 06/04/1996
Ryuta Koike (Kashima Antlers) – 29/08/1995
Dong-hee Lee (Pohang Steelers) – 07/02/2000
Jae-yong Bak (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) – 13/03/2000
Tomoki Tagawa (Kataller Toyama) – 18/09/2002
Myung-soon Kim (Incheon United) – 17/07/2000
Rikiya Motegi (RB Omiya Ardija) – 27/09/1996
Beka Mikeltadze (Montedio Yamagata) – 26/11/1997
Min-ki Jeong (Gangwon FC) – 02/11/1995
Won-jin Hong (Suwon Samsung Bluewings) – 09/07/1999
Ryonosuke Kabayama (Giravanz Kitakyushu) – 17/09/2001
Yuki Horigome (Ventforet Kofu) – 13/12/1992
Ji-ha Yoo (Busan IPark) – 07/02/1999
Hyun-jun Ku (Gyeongnam FC) – 02/11/1993
Jae-sung Kim (Jeonnam Dragons) – 07/05/1999
Fumiya Takayanagi (Kataller Toyama) – 09/03/2001
Dae-han Park (Daejeon Hana Citizen) – 15/12/1998
Jung-taek Lee (Gimpo FC) – 28/03/2000
Seung-won Yeo (Cheonan City FC) – 09/02/2000
Jun-gyu Lee (Ansan Greeners) – 04/08/2003
Byung-kwan Jeon (Gimcheon Sangmu) – 10/11/2002 – dynamic left winger and Korea U23 international
Kaili Shimbo (Yokohama FC) – 16/08/2002 – attacking full-back breaking through in J2
Tomoki Tagawa (Kataller Toyama) – 18/09/2002 – starting goalkeeper on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos
Ryonosuke Kabayama (Giravanz Kitakyushu) – 17/09/2001 – creative wide player in J3/J2
Fumiya Takayanagi (Kataller Toyama) – 09/03/2001 – central midfielder on loan, considered a key prospect
Jun-gyu Lee (Ansan Greeners) – 04/08/2003 – young forward in K League 2 with regular first-team minutes
No widely documented high-profile former clients – the current roster has largely been built since 2022, with long-term relationships in Japan and South Korea.
Kenta Kawai (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo – manager)
Young-hoon Jang (Gangwon FC – coach/analyst)
Ryohei Hayashi (University of Tokyo – coaching staff)
2025 – Shuto Machino – Holstein Kiel to Borussia Mönchengladbach – permanent transfer to the Bundesliga, fee reported around €8.1m, four-year deal to June 2029
2023 – Shuto Machino – Shonan Bellmare to Holstein Kiel – first move to Europe for the Japan international striker, permanent transfer with an undisclosed fee
2025 – Gyu-sung Lee – Ulsan HD FC to Suwon Samsung Bluewings – season-long loan to Suwon from Ulsan HD, strengthening Suwon’s midfield
2025 – Byung-kwan Jeon – Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to Gimcheon Sangmu – military-service-linked loan in K League 1 lasting to October 2026
2024/25 – Kazuki Tanaka – Kyoto Sanga to JEF United Chiba – loan made permanent in early 2024, securing a key right-sided midfielder on a contract to 2026
2023–2025 – Tomoki Tagawa – Yokohama F. Marinos to Kataller Toyama – goalkeeper loan into J2 where he became starting keeper and increased his market value
2022 – Rikiya Motegi – Ehime FC to RB Omiya Ardija – permanent move in J2, with a long-term deal to 2026
Contract negotiation – first professional contracts, renewals and performance-linked deals for J League and K League players
Domestic and international transfers/loans – moves within Japan and South Korea, military-service loans, and cross-border transfers such as Machino’s Bundesliga move
Career planning & mentoring – long-term pathway planning from high-school or university football into professional careers and through late-career decisions
Image rights, sponsorship & PR – support for commercial deals and basic brand building for top-profile and national-team players
Legal & regulatory support – in-house and partner legal expertise around FIFA agent rules, league regulations and contract drafting
Relocation & cultural support – practical help for moves between Korea and Japan and for players moving to Europe
Performance support & analytics – using match data, video and scouting reports to inform player development and negotiations
Post-career planning – preparing senior players for coaching roles, media or other careers, reflected in clients who move into staff positions
Clubs:
Japan – Yokohama F. Marinos, JEF United Chiba, Yokohama FC, Kashiwa Reysol, Kashima Antlers, Kataller Toyama, Giravanz Kitakyushu, Montedio Yamagata, RB Omiya Ardija, Ventforet Kofu and others
South Korea – Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Daejeon Hana Citizen, Pohang Steelers, Incheon United, Gangwon FC, Gyeongnam FC, Jeonnam Dragons, Cheonan City FC, Gimpo FC, Ansan Greeners, Gimcheon Sangmu and others
Europe – Borussia Mönchengladbach and Holstein Kiel via high-profile transfers from Japan
Academies & universities: connections with Japanese universities and Korean youth systems through client pathways (e.g. Hosei University, Gwangju University)
Legal & tax partners: external law firms and advisors in Tokyo and Seoul, complementing in-house legal expertise
Performance & medical: cooperation with club medical teams and independent specialists in Korea and Japan for injury management and conditioning
Total transfers completed:
At least 20 player moves and loans since 2022 involving current clients, across J1, J2, J3 and K League, plus two European transfers for Machino
Deals ≥ €10m:
0 confirmed deals above €10m – the flagship move (Machino to Borussia Mönchengladbach) is reported below that level
Clients in top-5 leagues:
1 current player in a top-5 European league (Machino in the Bundesliga), with most of the portfolio in Japan and South Korea
National team clients:
At least 4 current or former full internationals – including Shuto Machino (Japan), Bit-garam Yoon (South Korea), Tae-hwan Kim (South Korea) and Jun Amano (Japan) – plus several youth internationals
Renewal/extension deals:
Multiple multi-year renewals and contract extensions in Japan and Korea since 2022, though exact counts are not published
UNIO’s model is built around long-term relationships rather than one-off transfers, starting with youth or university players and managing each stage of their professional career. The agency emphasises a dual understanding of Japan and South Korea – culturally and competitively – so that players can move between the two systems without losing stability.
They lean on data and video to benchmark clients against peers, and then use that evidence in negotiations on salary, role and contract length. Negotiation style is collaborative but firm, aiming to align a player’s development plan with the club’s sporting project and to avoid short-term moves that would stall game time.
UNIO does not publish a public fee card, but as a group of FIFA-licensed agents they follow the current FIFA Football Agent Regulations. In practice this typically involves:
Commissions in the low single-digit percentage range of a player’s guaranteed remuneration for standard representation, with higher but regulated percentages when they represent the buying club
Written representation agreements that specify services, duration, commission basis and any bonuses
Explicit disclosure and consent when representing both a player and a club in the same deal (dual representation)
Routine expenses such as travel, legal drafting and marketing are usually absorbed by the agency or pre-agreed and offset against future commission, in line with normal practice in the J League and K League markets.
Disciplinary actions / sanctions:
No public record of disciplinary sanctions or FIFA/FA bans involving UNIO or its named agents as of December 2025
Litigation / disputes:
No reported litigation with players or clubs in open sources; any disputes appear to be handled privately
Media sentiment:
Generally positive to neutral – local coverage presents UNIO as a young, ambitious agency creating pathways between K League, J League and Europe, with emphasis on all core staff holding FIFA licenses
Coverage in Korean and Japanese football media as a new-generation cross-border agency focused on holistic support and fully FIFA-licensed staff
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