| Full name | Kōchi United Sports Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2016; 8 years ago (2016) | ||
| Ground | Kochi Haruno Sports Ground (Kōchi Haruno Athletic Stadium) Haruno, Kōchi | ||
| Capacity | 25,000 | ||
| Chairman | Shigekazu Takemasa | ||
| Manager | Takafumi Yoshimoto | ||
| League | Japan Football League | ||
| 2023 | 7th of 15 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Kōchi United Sports Club, (高知ユナイテッドスポーツクラブ, Kōchi Yunaiteddo Supōtsukurabu) 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 in Japan. They play in the Japan Football League, Japan's fourth tier semi-professional football league.
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. 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 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 (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 bonitoorskipjack 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, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues from 2016 to 2019, winning it three times in a row from 2017 to 2019. In 2019 they finished 2nd in the Japanese Regional Football League Competition, earning promotion to the Japan Football League from the 2020 season.
In their inaugural 2016 season, they finished runners-up in the Shikoku League (W12-D1-L1) to FC Imabari (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 (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.
In the 2017 season, they won the Shikoku League with a W12-D2-L0 record, thus qualifying for the Japanese Regional Football League Competition (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 おこしやす京都AC), FC TIAMO Hirakata (FCティアモ枚方) of the Kansai Soccer League, 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 Japan Football League, after leading with a Tsubasa Yokotake goal. In the All Japan Senior Football Championship first round, they led at halftime 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.
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 (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, one of the venues for the 2002 World Cup, 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 (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: 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.
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 V-Varen Nagasaki 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 Blancdieu Hirosaki FC 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 Ococias Kyoto AC, 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, but they responded well in the second match with a 3–1 victory over Fukui United FC. 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 Japan Football League; the first time a team from Kochi had achieved that feat.
In the 2023 season, Kochi United surprisingly defeated both Gamba Osaka and Yokohama FC of J1 to progress to the last 16 of the 2023 Emperor's Cup, however they were narrowly beaten 1–0 by Kawasaki Frontale in the 4th round.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Takafumi Yoshimoto
|
| Assistant manager | Masahiro Tateda
|
| Goalkeeper coach | Takahiro Nakamoto
|
| Trainer | Ikki Motegi
|
| Physical trainer | Midori Horri
|
| Competent | Yusuke Hata
|
| General manager | Akihiro Nishimura
|
| League | Emperor's Cup |
AJSFC | RFCL | Top Goalscorer (All Competitions) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||||
| 2016 | Shikoku Soccer League | 2nd | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 6 | 64 | 37 | 1st round | 1st round | Did not qualify | Takuya Kobayashi (17) |
| 2017 | 1st | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 5 | 78 | 38 | 1st round | 1st round | Group stages | Kota Sugawara (23) | |
| 2018 | 1st | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 80 | 6 | 74 | 37 | 2nd round | 1st round | Group stages | Kazuki Nakabayashi / Ryo Taguchi (16) | |
| 2019 | 1st | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 4 | 88 | 42 | 2nd round | Did not qualify | 2nd | Ryo Taguchi (19) | |
| 2020 | JFL | 14th | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 16 | Round of 16 | Uneligible | Kaima Akahoshi (9) | |
| 2021 | 13th | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 49 | -19 | 33 | 2nd round | Yuta Nishimura (9) | |||
| 2022 | 11th | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 34 | 2nd round | Kaima Akahoshi (11) | |||
| 2023 | 7th | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 38 | Round of 16 | Kokoro Kobayashi (9) | |||
| 2024 | TBD | 30 | 2nd round | |||||||||||
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | League Managerial Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | P | W | D | L | W% | ||
| Akihiro Nishimura | Japan |
1 February 2016 | 31 December 2016 | |||||
| Takefumi Otani | Japan |
1 February 2017 | 31 January 2020 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 074.07 |
| Akihiro Nishimura | Japan |
1 February 2020 | 31 January 2022 | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 028.26 |
| Takafumi Yoshimoto | Japan |
1 February 2022 | current | |||||
Updated to November 2023
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aso FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 |
| Belugarosso Iwami | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Blancdieu Hirosaki FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Brew Kashima | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Briobecca Urayasu | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| Criacao Shinjuku | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Fukui United FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Gamba Osaka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Hisaeda FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 |
| Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| Honda FC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 |
| FC Imabari | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Iwaki FC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 |
| FC Kagura Shimane | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | -7 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| FC Kariya | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Kochi University | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 |
| Koyo Sealing Techno Soccer Club | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 1 | +66 |
| KUFC Nangoku | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 7 | +37 |
| Kyoto Sanga FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Llamas Kochi FC | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 2 | +59 |
| FC Maruyasu Okazaki | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | -5 |
| MD Nagasaki | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Minebea Mitsumi FC | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 | +3 |
| Mitsubishi Mizushima FC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 |
| Nara Club | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -5 |
| Nakamura Club | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 |
| Niisho Club | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | +48 |
| Ococias Kyoto AC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Okinawa SV | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| FC Osaka | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| Reilac Shiga FC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| ReinMeer Aomori | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -3 |
| Rossorise KFC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | +25 |
| FC RSG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
| R.Velho Takamatsu | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 0 | +56 |
| Shinnitte Tsusumikin Oita Soccer Club | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Showa Club | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
| Sony Sendai FC | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| SRC Hiroshima | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 |
| Suzuka Point Getters | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -8 |
| Tadotsu FC | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 4 | +51 |
| Takamatsu University | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| FC TIAMO Hirakata | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 |
| FC Tokushima | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 10 | +25 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Tokyo Musashino United FC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Tsukuba University | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Verspah Oita | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Veertien Mie | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 |
| Vonds Ichihara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| Yokohama FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
Updated to July 2024
| Name | Ranking | Active | League | Cup | Other | Total | Hat-tricks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroki Maehara | 1 | 2016-2020 | 37 | 16 | 4 | 57 | 5 |
| Ryo Taguchi | 2 | 2017-2020 | 39 | 12 | 2 | 53 | 5 |
| Kota Sugawara | 3 | 2016-2018 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 49 | 5 |
| Tsubasa Yokotake | 4 | 2016- | 22 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 0 |
| Kaima Akahoshi | 5 | 2020-2022 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Kazuki Nakabayashi | 5 | 2017-2018 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| Yuta Nishimura | 6 | 2019-2023 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 0 |
| On Byung-Hoon | 6 | 2016-2018 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Kai Murakami | 9 | 2017-2019 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Kokoro kobayashi | 10 | 2023- | 15 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kochi Prefectural Football Championship | 9 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Shikoku Soccer League | 3 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
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Japan Football League (JFL)
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| Current teams (2024) |
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