At a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Boban Babunski was joined by two Japanese businessmen to announce the acquisition of Rabotnichki.

Boban Babunski, who has ties to both Rabotnichki and Japan, used those connections to change the management structure of the club. With the backing of two Japanese companies, Rabotnichki has been acquired by M-Consulting Group Co., Ltd and WASE Co., Ltd. Frankly, little is known about each of those companies when we conducted an online search. They do have Facebook pages, where they posted photos of Tuesday’s press conference announcing the Rabotnichki acquisition.

Therefore, it is very difficult to say what this transfer of ownership means to Rabotnichki’s future. The key figures for the club moving forward will be Boban Babunski, Tachikawa Mitsuaki (M-Consulting Group Co., Ltd) and Shunsuke Ikeda (WASE Co., Ltd). Mitsuaki is expected to become the Rabotnichki chairman since his company acquired the most shares, while Ikeda and Babunski will be in charge of football operations. Babunski could possibly coach or be the sporting director of Rabotnichki. The current Rabotnichki manager, Igor Angelovski, will leave his post once the winter break gets underway later this month.

The tweet below is Ikeda writing a message about the purchase of Rabotnichki:

In Macedonia, teams can play up to five foreigners, but there can be exceptions (in registering more) if clubs pay an additional fee to the federation. After this deal, Rabotnichki may see an infusion of Japanese players who could benefit from exposure to the European football market. The Macedonian league is not scouted much, but Rabotnichki annually plays in the Champions League or Europa League qualifications where they have experienced good success in the past several years.

We should know more once the three gentlemen above visit Macedonia to disclose what their plans are for Rabotnichki.