commonly known as Kōchi United SC (高知ユナイテッドSC, ''Kōchi Yunaiteddo Esushi'') is a football club based in Kōchi, the capital city of

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

in Japan. They play in the

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership a ...

, Japan's fourth tier of semi-professional football league.

History

On February 1, 2016, two established Shikoku League clubs; Igosso Kōchi FC (アイゴッソ高知FC) and Kōchi U Torastar FC (高知UトラスターFC) merged to form one club, whose aim was to be the first team from Kōchi Prefecture to play in the

J. League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successf ...

. After officially changing the management company's name to Kōchi United Sports Club Ltd., Kochi United SC took Igosso Kōchi FC's place in the Shikoku League. For the many players at Kōchi U Torastar FC unable to join Kochi United SC, and wanting to continue playing as amateurs in the Shikoku League, Kochi Sports Club Ltd. and

Kochi University Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Ke ...

established KUFC Nangoku on March 1, 2016, and this new club took Kōchi U Torastar FC's place in the Shikoku League. The club badge depicts the ceremonial

Keshō-mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a va ...

(化粧廻し) of a Tosa Fighting Dog on the outside, with the dark red colors of Igosso Kochi FC and the green of Kōchi U Torastar inside it and an image of a leaping bonito or skipjack tuna drawn in the center (a popular fish in Kochi prefecture). The club's home shirt also reflects the colors of the amalgamated teams from which Kochi United SC was formed. They played in the

Shikoku Soccer League is the Japanese fifth tier of league football, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. It covers the four prefectures that comprises the Shikoku Region, which are: Shikoku ( Kagawa, Tokushima, Ehime and Kōchi). 2022 clubs Source: ...

, one of the

Japanese Regional Leagues are a group of parallel association football leagues in Japan that are organized on the regional basis. They form the fifth tier of the Japanese association football league system below the nationwide Japan Football League. Overview Japan is ...

from 2016–2019, winning it three times in a row from 2017–19. In 2019 they finished 2nd in the

Japanese Regional Football League Competition The Japanese Regional Champions League ( ja, 全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ, ''Zenkoku Chiiki Sakkā Championzu Rīgu''), known before 2016 as Japan Regional Football League Competition, is a nationwide play-off tournament m ...

, earning promotion to the

from the 2020 season. In November 2021 they applied for

J.League 100 Year Plan club status J.League 100 Year Plan club status, is a status given to Japanese non-league football clubs. The applicant must have an intention to become a professional club and to join the professional league, J.League, that governs the top three levels of the ...

with the aim of becoming a fully professional club in the future. In February 2022 their application was approved.

As Igosso Kōchi FC

*Postwar-1966: Kōchi Agricultural High School O.B. Club (高知農業高校OBクラブ). *1966-1996: Nangoku Soccer Club (Shikoku League Champions:1980). *1996-1999: Himawari Milk Nangoku F.C. (ひまわり牛乳南国FC). *1999-2014: Nangoku Kōchi F.C. (Shikoku League Champions: 2001, 2002. 2003, 2004, 2005). *2014-2016: Igosso Kōchi.

As Kōchi U Torastar FC

*1998-2000: Transistor (トランジェスター). *2000-2006: Torastar (トラスター). *2006-2008: Beiling Torastar (北陵トラスター). *2008-2013: Nankoku Torastar (南国トラスターFC). *2013-2016: Kōchi U Torastar FC (Shikoku League Champions: 2014)

2016 season

In their inaugural 2016 season they finished runners up in the Shikoku League (W12-D1-L1) to

FC Imabari FC Imabari (''FC今治'') is a Japanese football club based in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. They play in the J3 League. History The club was founded in 1976 and were promoted to the Shikoku Football League in 2001. From 2009 to 2011 they were own ...

(FC今治) . They also qualified for the All Japan Senior Football Championship (全国社会人サッカー選手権大会 ''Zenkoku Shakaijin Sakkā Senshuken Taikai''), but lost 4–3 in the first round to eventual winners Mitsubishi Mizushima FC (三菱水島 FC). In addition, they represented Kōchi in the Emperor's Cup (天皇杯 ''Tennōhai'') breaking Kochi University's 13 year streak, but lost 2–1 in the first round proper to

V-Varen Nagasaki is a Japanese J2 League football club based in Nagasaki. The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC till they merged with Kunimi FC in 2004 and adopted the present name in 2005. The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in ...

(V・ファーレン長崎) of the J2 League having taken a shock lead with a Kota Sugawara penalty. Takuya Kobayashi was the top goalscorer with 17 goals in all competitions.

2017 season

In the 2017 season they won the Shikoku League with a W12-D2-L0 record, thus qualifying for the

(全国地域サッカーチャンピオンズリーグ ''Zenkoku Chiiki Sakkā Championzu Līgu''). They were drawn in Group B for the tournament alongside Amitie SC Kyoto (now

Ococias Kyoto AC Ococias Kyoto AC ( ja, おこしやす京都AC) is a Japanese football club based in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. The club split off from the original ''Kyoto Shiko Club'' when it professionalized and became today's Kyoto Sanga FC. The club now f ...

おこしやす京都AC),

FC TIAMO Hirakata is a football (soccer) club based in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture in Japan. They currently play in the Japan Football League, the Japanese fourth tier of football league. History Founded in 2004 by the will of three former Gamba Osaka player ...

(FCティアモ枚方) of the

Kansai Soccer League is the Japanese fifth tier of league football, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. It covers most of the Kansai region, as well as the prefectures of Hyōgo, Kyōto, Nara, Osaka, Shiga and Wakayama. Mie, usually considered part of ...

, and Mitsubishi Mizushima FC of the Chūgoku Soccer League. They lost 1–0 against Kansai Champions Amitie SC Kyoto in their first match, but won their second game 2–1 against FC TIAMO Hirakata. In their final match they thrashed Mitsubishi Mizushima (6 times Chugoku League champions) 5–2, but it wasn't enough to win the group or qualify for the final stage as best runners up. Still, it was a fine overall performance in their first appearance in the tournament. In the Emperor's Cup they represented Kochi again, but went out in the first round proper for the second consecutive season, losing 2–1 to Verspah Oita (ヴェルスパ大分) of the

, after leading with a

Tsubasa Yokotake is a Japanese football player and plays for Kochi United SC of the Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J. ...

goal. In the All Japan Senior Football Championship first round, they led at half time but ended up losing 3–1 to Vonds Ichihara (VONDS市原). The top scorer for the season was Kota Sugawara with 23 goals in all competitions.

2018 season

In the 2018 season they retained their Shikoku League title despite one loss to FC Tokushima, and won the Kochi Prefectural Football Championship again with a 3–0 win against KUFC Nangoku in the final. In the first round proper of the Emperor's Cup, they defeated Mitsubishi Mizushima FC 2-0 at home, then faced

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the f ...

(アルビレックス新潟) of the J2 League away in the second round. After a 0-0 draw at

Denka Big Swan Stadium The , also nicknamed the , is a multi-purpose stadium in Niigata, Japan. It is the home ground of J2 League club Albirex Niigata and was one of the 20 stadia used in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosting three matches. Through a sponsorship deal the ...

, one of the venues for the

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, they lost 5-3 on penalties in front of 2241 fans. In the All Japan Senior Football Championship they lost 3-0 away in the first round to

Suzuka Unlimited FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was originally established in Nabari, Mie in 1980 under the name Mie Club, and it became a member of Mie Foo ...

(鈴鹿アンリミテッドFC). Finally, in the season ending Japanese Regional Football League Competition they disappointingly lost all three matches in the group stages against

Blancdieu Hirosaki FC is a association football, football club team based in Hirosaki, Aomori. They currently play in Tohoku Soccer League, which part of Japanese Regional Leagues. It was founded in 2012 and aims to be a future J. League member. History Founded in ...

: 3-2, Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth: 3-0 and FC Kariya: 2-1 respectively. The joint top scorers in all competitions were Kazuki Nakabayashi and Ryo Taguchi with 16 goals.

2019 season

The 2019 season was a breakthrough season for Kochi United. They won the Shikoku League for the third straight season with a 100% record and retained the Kochi Prefectural Football Championship, though they needed an extra-time winner to beat KUFC Nangoku in the final. In the first round proper they defeated MD Nagasaki (MD長崎) at home 1-0 in front of over 400 fans, but lost 2-1 away after extra-time to

of J2 in the second round. They failed to qualify for the first round proper of the All Japan Senior Football Championship after losing in the regional playoffs to FC Tokushima. However, in the Japanese Regional Football League Competition their luck changed. With home advantage in the group stages, they beat

2-1 in their opening group game. In their second match they thrashed SRC Hiroshima 7–0 and although they lost the final group game 2-0 to

, they still qualified for the final round. Things didn't look good when they lost the first game of the final stage 3-0 to

Iwaki FC is a football (soccer) club based in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The club will play in J2 League from 2023 season, which is the 2nd level in the Japanese football pyramid. History Founder Club Iwaki FC was founded in 20 ...

, but they responded well in the second match with a 3–1 victory over

Fukui United FC is a football (soccer) club based in Fukui, the capital city of Fukui Prefecture in Japan. They play in the Hokushinetsu Football League, which is part of Japanese Regional Leagues. They were founded in 2019 to take the place of their dissolved ...

. That meant they went into a winner-takes-all final match against Ococias Kyoto who they had lost to earlier on in the competition. This time, they emerged victorious with a stunning 3-1 win to get their revenge and finish second in the competition, thus earning promotion to the

; the first time a team from Kochi had achieved that feat.

2020 season

Japan Football League

# v

Tokyo Musashino City FC Tokyo Musashino United FC ( ja, 東京武蔵野ユナイテッドFC) is a football club based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. They play in the Japan Football League. Their team colour is blue and yellow. History The club was founded as a footb ...

H: D 1-1 (Shimodo). (First ever match in JFL) # v Nara Club A: D 1-1 (Nagao) # v Matsue City FC A: L 2-1 (Shimodo) # v

FC Maruyasu Okazaki , playing as , is a Japanese professional football team based in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture. They currently play in Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, po ...

H: L 0-2 # v

A: L 4-3 (Hirata, Nagao, Izumi) # v Honda Lock SC H: L 0-1. # v

Suzuka Point Getters is a Japanese professional football club based in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was originally established in Nabari, Mie in 1980 under the name Mie Club, and it became a member of Mie ...

H: D 2-2 (Akahoshi, Fujisaki) # v Sony Sendai FC A: L 3-1 (Tsuboi) # v Verspah Oita H: L 0-1 # v Honda F.C. A: W 0-1 (Akahoshi). (First JFL win) # v Tegevajaro Miyazaki H: L 0-2 # v

MIO Biwako Shiga is a Japanese football club based in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, although they also play matches in Ōtsu and Konan. They were promoted to Japan Football League for the first time at the end of 2007, and played their first season in 2008 wher ...

H: W 3-0 (Yokotake (pen), Akahoshi, Taguchi). (First home JFL win) # v

FC Osaka is a Japanese football club based in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture. They play in J3 League, the third tier of professional league football in the Japanese football league system. History FC Osaka was founded in 1996. 11 years after its founda ...

A: W 0-2 (Akahoshi 2). (First back-to-back JFL wins) # v ReinMeer Aomori H: D 1-1 (Akahoshi) # v

Veertien Mie Veertien Mie (ヴィアティン三重) is a Japanese football club based between Kuwana and Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. History "Veertien" means "fourteen" in Dutch, after Johan Cruijff's playing numbe ...

A: W 0-1 (Fujisaki)

Emperor's Cup

# Kochi Prefectural Football Championship Final v Kochi University: W 2-0 (Maeda 2). Fifth consecutive title # Second Round: v Takamatsu University: W 2-1 (Akahoshi, Izumi) # Third Round: v F.C Tokushima: W 2-0 (Taguchi, Nagao) # Fourth Round: v

Tsukuba University is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 college cl ...

: L 3-2 AET (Akahoshi 2)

2021 season

Japan Football League

# v Verspah Oita (A) W 0-1 (Nishimura Yuta) # v ReinMeer Aomori (H) W 2-1 (Nagao, Izumi) # v

(A) L 2-1 (Akahoshi) # v Sony Sendai FC (H) L 1-2 (Tanaka Shoma) # v

(A) L 2-1 (Shimodo) # v

(A) L 3-2 (Nishimura Koji 2) # v

(H) W 1-0 (Shimodo) # v

(A) W 1-2 (Nishimura Yuta, Akahoshi) # v

(H) W 3-1 (Fujii, Nagao, Nishimura Yuta) (First 3 straight wins in JFL) # v

(A) L 1-0 # v Honda Lock SC (H) W 1-0 (Nishimura Yuta) # v Nara Club (H) L 0-2 # v Honda FC (A) L 5-0 # v FC Kariya (H) L 1-4 (Lucas) # v Matsue City FC (A) L 4-0 # v

(H) W 1-0 (Nishimura Yuta) # v ReinMeer Aomori (A) D 2-2 (Nagao, Hosoyama) # v Verspah Oita (H) L 1-2 (Akahoshi) # v

(H) D 0-0 # v

(A) L 2-1 (Tanaka Shoma) # v

(H) D 1-1 (Lucas) # v

(A) W 0-3 (Nishimura Yuta 2, Nakamasu). (Biggest away win in JFL. First double) # v

(H) D 0-0 # v Honda Lock SC (A) L 3-2 (Akahoshi, Lucas) # v FC Kariya (A) L 2-1 (Shimodo) # v Honda FC (H) D 0-0 # v Sony Sendai FC (A) W 0-1 (OG) # v

(H) L 0-1 # v

(A) L 2-0 # v Matsue City FC (H) L 0-1 # v Nara Club (A) D 0-0. (Secured JFL safety) # v

(H) L 1-5 (Akahoshi)

Emperor's Cup

# Kochi Prefectural Football Championship Final v Kochi University (H): W 2-1 (Nishimura Yuta 2). Sixth consecutive title # First Round v

Kamatamare Sanuki Kamatamare Sanuki (カマタマーレ讃岐、Kamatamare Sanuki) is a football club based in Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. They entered the J League in 2014 after finishing as ru ...

(H): W 1-0 (Fujii). First ever win over J-League opposition # Second Round v

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vorti ...

(A): L 1-2 (Shimodo). First goal scored against J1 opposition

2022 season

Japan Football League

# v Tokyo Musashino United FC (H) D 1-1 (Koji Nishimura) # v Honda Lock SC (A) W 0-1 (Yuta Nishimura) # v Sony Sendai FC (H) D 0-0 # v

(A) D 1-1 (Higuchi) # v Honda FC (H) L 0-2 # v Verspah Oita (A) W 0-1 (Koji Nishimura) # v

(H) D 1-1 (Akahoshi) # v Nara Club (H) L 0-1 # v

(A) L 3-2 (Daisuke Okada, Akahoshi) # v FC Kagura Shimane (H) W 1-0 (Akahoshi). (First win v Shimane) # v

(A) L 1-0 # v

(H) D 1-1 (Akahoshi) # v ReinMeer Aomori (A) D 0-0 # v

(H) L 3-5 (Koji Nishimura, Akahoshi 2) # v Criacao Shinjuku (A) W 0-1 (Fujisaki) # v Tokyo Musashino United FC (A) W 1-3 (Akahoshi, Yokotake, Higuchi) # v Honda Lock SC (H) W 3-0 (Yamada, Koji Nishimura, Akahoshi) # v Nara Club (A) L 2-0 # v

(H) L 1-2 (Yuta Nishimura) # v FC Kagura Shimane (A) W 1-2 (Inazumi 2) # v

(H) W 2-0 (Inazumi, Tajiri). (First win v Suzuka) # v Honda FC (A) L 2-0 # v

(H) W 2-1 (Koji Nishimura, Aiba) # v Sony Sendai FC (A) D 1-1 (Akahoshi) # v Criacao Shinjuku (H) L 0-1 # v

(A) L 3-0 # v

(A) L 3-1 (Yuta Nishimura). (First loss v Mie) # v Verspah Oita (H) L 2-3 (Higuchi, Akahoshi) # v

(A) L 1-0 # v ReinMeer Aomori (H) L 0-2

Emperor's Cup

# Kochi Prefectural Football Championship Final: v KUFC Nangoku: W 2-0 (Koji Nishimura 2). Seventh consecutive title # First Round: v Brew KASHIMA (A) W 0-2 (Yamada, Yuta Nishimura) # Second Round: v

Kyoto Sanga FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist templ ...

(A) L 1-3 AET (Akahoshi)

Current squad

''Updated to 22 February 2023''.

Coaching staff

League and Cup record

;Key

Managerial history

All-time competitive record table

''Updated to November 2022''

All-time top ten record goalscorers

''Updated to November 2022''

Honours

: Champions (3) : 2017, 2018, 2019 * Kochi Prefectural Football Championship: Winners (7) : 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 *

: Runners Up (1) : 2019

Records

*Record home victory: 11-0 v Rossorise KFC (Emperor's Cup Regional Round, 2017) & v Koyo Sealing Techno (Shikoku Soccer League, 2019). *Record away victory: 0-14 v Koyo Sealing Techno (Shikoku Soccer League 2019). *Record away defeat: 5-0 v Honda FC (JFL 2021). *Record home defeat: 1-5 v Suzuka Point Getters (JFL 2021). *Longest winning streak (all comps): 13 games (2017–18 and 2019 season). *Longest losing streak (all comps): 6 games (JFL 2022). *Most goals by one player in a game: 4 (Takuya Kobayashi: SSL 2016, Kazuki Nakabayashi: AJSFC 2017, Paulo Sousa: SSL 2018, Ryo Taguchi: SSL 2019, Hiroki Maehara: SSL 2019). *Most career goals for Kochi United SC: 57 (Hiroki Maehara). *Most hat-tricks for Kochi United SC: 5 (Kota Sugawara, Ryo Taguchi, Hiroki Maehara). *Record home attendance: 3305 v Suzuka Point Getters (JFL 2022).

References

External links

Official Website

Official Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kochi United SC Football clubs in Japan Sports teams in Kōchi Prefecture Kōchi Japan Football League clubs