Verspah Oita
Verspah Oita (ヴェルスパ大分, Verusupa Ōita) is a Japanese football club based in the city of Ōita, capital of Ōita Prefecture. They currently play in the Japan Football League, the fourth tier of Japanese league football.[2] The 2023 season is their 12th consecutive season in the JFL.
| Full name | Verspah Oita | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 | ||
| Ground | Oita Sports Park | ||
| Capacity | 16,000 | ||
| Chairman | Sanu Toru | ||
| Manager | Takashi Yamahashi[1] | ||
| League | Japan Football League | ||
| 2023 | 6th of 15 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
The club was formed in 2003 as Hoyo FC. In 2005 they changed their name to Hoyo Atletico Elan, the name in which they competed for many years in the Kyushu Football League. The club is backed by the Hoyo Group, a digital camera and auto parts manufacturer based in nearby Kunisaki. In 2010 they changed their name to Hoyo Atletico Elan Oita. In 2011, they changed their name to Hoyo AC Elan Oita, won the Kyushu Soccer League and earned third place in the Regional League promotion series, which gave them qualification to compete in the JFL from 2012. Ahead of a league jump, they changed their name to Hoyo Oita on 2012.
In December 2013, the club tried to get closer ties to the community and therefore made another name change, this time to Verspah Oita (ヴェルスパ大分, Verusupa Ōita), for the 2014 season onwards, which the club have kept untouched ever since.[3]
In 2020, Verspah won their first Japan Football League title. The title campaign was fairly unusual, as issues regarding COVID-19 prevented the league to be held normally. The clubs were only able to play the first half of the planned matches, 15 out of 30. The league decided to abandon the season and give the title to the 1st-placed team at that time, which was Verspah Oita. As the club did not have a J3 license at the time, the club was unable to receive promotion to professional league football, despite being a J.League 100 Year Plan club status holders.
In 2021, with the league operating normally with all matches being played, Verspah ended the league season in the 3rd place, but, the same issue was brought up. The club still was not a J3 license holder, and then, could not get promoted to the J3. Their J3 license was issued and granted only in the following 2022 season, which the club finished in 8th place, eight points off the promotion zone.
Team name
The current team's name, "Verspah", was coined by combining the Portuguese word "vermelho", which means "red", and the English word "spa", which represents hot springs (after famously-known Beppu Onsen), and the initial letter "H" of the former team name Hoyo Oita.
Historical Logos
| used until 2012 | used 2012–2013 |
|---|---|
 Hoyo AC Elan Oita crest, used until 2012 |
 Hoyo Oita crest, used in 2012 and 2013 |
League & cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Tier | Pos. | P | W (PK) | D | L (PK) | F | A | GD | Pts | Att/G | |
| Hoyo Atletico Elan | |||||||||||||
| 2007 | Oita Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 5 | 2nd | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 5 | 48 | 25 | – | |
| 2008 | 3rd | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 11 | 33 | 22 | – | |||
| 2009 | 1st | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 5 | 34 | 25 | – | |||
| Hoyo Atletico Elan Oita | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Kyushu Soccer League | 4 | 1st | 16 | 13 (2) | – | 1 (0) | 48 | 8 | 40 | 44 | 1st round | |
| Hoyo AC Elan Oita | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Kyushu Soccer League | 4 | 1st | 18 | 15 (2) | – | 0 (1) | 55 | 11 | 44 | 49 | 1st round | |
| Hoyo Oita | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | JFL | 3 | 15th | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 57 | -17 | 35 | 479 | 2nd round |
| 2013 | 15th | 34 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 32 | 333 | 2nd round | ||
| Verspah Oita | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | JFL | 4 | 7th | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 30 | 28 | 2 | 33 | 333 | 2nd round |
| 2015 | 10th | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 40 | 47 | -7 | 37 | 488 | 2nd round | ||
| 2016 | 13th | 30 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 31 | 488 | – | ||
| 2017 | 14th | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 27 | 46 | -19 | 27 | 407 | 2nd round | ||
| 2018 | 9th | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 29 | 38 | -9 | 39 | 582 | 1st round | ||
| 2019 | 7th | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 36 | 6 | 40 | 503 | 1st round | ||
| 2020 † | 1st | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 32 | 306 | 4th round | ||
| 2021 † | 3rd | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 24 | 22 | 62 | 386 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2022 | 8th | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 40 | 44 | -4 | 43 | 1,590 | 2nd round | ||
| 2023 | 6th | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 40 | 834 | 3rd round | ||
| 2024 | TBD | 30 | TBC | ||||||||||
- Key
- Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
- Att/G = Average home league attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Oita Prefecture League 3rd Division | 1 | 2005 |
| Oita Prefecture League 2nd Division | 1 | 2006 |
| Oita Prefecture League 1st Division | 1 | 2009 |
| Kyushu League | 2 | 2010, 2011 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2020 |
Current squad
As of 7 April 2024.[5] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Takashi Yamahashi |
| Assistant manager | Gen Nakamura |
| First-team coach | Toyoki Hasegawa Kazuya Sakamoto |
| Goalkeeper coach | Masao Noda |
| Physical coach | Shota Maki |
| Trainer | Ryo Hanada |
| Kit man | Ryota Sakamoto |
| Side affairs | Chiharu Suzukawa |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Haruo Yuki | Japan | 1 January 1, 2012 | 31 December 2015 |
| Tōru Sano | Japan | 1 February 2016 | 31 January 2018 |
| Shigemitsu Sudō | Japan | 1 February 2018 | 31 January 2021 |
| Takashi Yamahashi | Japan | 1 February 2021 | Current |
References
- "New Manager for 2021". verspah.jp. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- "Japan - Verspah Oita - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- "ニュース一覧 | HOYO大分". hoyo-oita.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12.
- "Addition of Oita City as Hometown". verspah.jp. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- "選手紹介". verspah.jp. Retrieved August 2, 2022.