Ironically, Kashima had defeated a forerunner of Shimizu's, Nippon Light Metal/Hagoromo Club, to earn its JSL Second Division place back in 1974).

Since the J.League's creation and introduction of professional Japanese football in 1993, Kashima have consistently been amongst the strongest clubs in the country, holding several distinctions and records.

With victories in back to back J.League Cups in 2011, 2012 and most recently followed by their 2015 victory, Kashima extended their unmatched record of major domestic titles in the professional era to seventeen.To this day, Kashima has maintained strong ties with the football community in Brazil, a fact borne out of Zico's past affiliation with the club.

Antlers home games are played at Kashima Soccer Stadium, one of the 2002 FIFA World Cup venues with capacity of 40,000.

The Brazilian midfielders Luciano Leo (himself loosely based on Leonardo) and Pepe were colleagues of Flamengo's Carlos Santana and São Paulo's Tsubasa Ozora.

In 2017, Kashima established a base in New York where the club main objective is to investigate and apply advanced cases from the digital domain of the Major League Soccer while there are also opportunities to gather information in terms of player management and competition factors.

Another reason comes in the form of establishing relationships to learn international strategy directly from the likes of FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

The Kashima Soccer Museum, opened in 2004 is set for wide-scale renewal, while the Wellness Plaza, established in 2006, is also in line for similar improvements, including the installation of a public bath.

The stadium has been selected as a host venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, meaning it will international competition for the first time since the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

In 2017, the latest large electronic screens were added to both the north and south stands as part of the commitment to improving the viewing environment for visitors.