FC Osaka

FC Osaka
FC大阪
Full nameFootball Club Osaka
Founded1996; 28 years ago (1996)
GroundHanazono Rugby Stadium
Capacity27,346
ChairmanYusuke Kondo
ManagerNaoto Otake
LeagueJ3 League
2024J3 League, 6th of 20
Websitehttp://fc-osaka.com/

FC Osaka (FC大阪, Efu Shī Osaka) is a Japanese football club based in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the third tier of professional football league in the Japanese football league system.

History

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FC Osaka was founded in 1996. 11 years after its foundation, in 2007, the team won the Osaka Prefectural Football League Division 1 for the first time. In 2010, they participated in the Shakaijin Cup for the first time, losing to Norbritz Hokkaido in the first round). In 2011, they won the 1st Division of the Osaka Prefectural League for the 3rd time in three consecutive years. The club won the Kansai Prefectural Soccer League Final Tournament, and was then promoted to the Kansai Soccer League Division 2. From this year onwards, the club's operating corporation was changed from "Nippon Entertainment Group Co., Ltd." to "R Dash Co., Ltd.".

Six years at Regional League level

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In 2012, they won the Kansai Soccer League 2nd Division with 13 wins and 1 loss, including an uncommon run of 10 consecutive wins that started on their debut match at the tournament, and this contributed to their promotion to the Kansai Soccer League 1st Division. In 2013, the club won the Division 1 with 12 wins and 2 draws, remaining unbeaten at the competition. However, on the Regional Champions League, they weren't able to finish in a position that would enable them to get a promotion, exiting the competition at the group stage. On the same year, it was established the women's teamm, "FC Osaka CRAVO".

In 2014, they won The KSL Island Shield of Awaji, they won the Shakaijin Cup, and the Osaka Prefectural Soccer Championship for the first time. That win enabled them to qualify, and make their debut at the Emperor's Cup. FC Osaka lost to Zweigen Kanazawa in the first round. But, this Emperor's Cup loss in the middle of the year didn't reflected how the rest of the season would go, as it resulted favorably for the Osaka-based team. After winning the Shakaijin Cup, the club was runners-up at the Regional Champions League, granting them the possibility of promotion for the Japan Football League (Japan's 4th tier league), only pending the JFL Board of Directors approval, which was given on 10 December.

Eight-year stint at JFL

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In 2015, they defeated Cerezo Osaka in the first round of the 2015 Emperor's Cup. In 2018, the management corporation "General Incorporated Association FC Osaka Sports Club" was established as a prerequisite for joining the J League. In their 4th year participating in JFL, FC Osaka ended up in their highest ever position, finishing the tournament as runners-up. On 27 November of the same year, the club received an approval to make Higashiosaka City their hometown. The city is home to the Higashiosaka City Hanazono Rugby Stadium, which has undergone major renovations, ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

After that, on 26 November 2019, an agreement was signed between FC Osaka and Higashiosaka City regarding the renovation of the second ground of Higashiosaka Hanazono Rugby Stadium. Specifically, the second ground, which was deteriorating due to its age, was equipped with spectator seats for more than 5,000 spectators, preparing themselves to a possible promotion for the J3 League. A roof was installed on one of the stands, and the stand behind the goal was sloped. All construction costs was funded by FC Osaka and donated to the Higashiosaka City after completion. This renovation work was realized successfully, with the refurbishment work being completed after December 2021. In addition, on 26 November 2019, the club submitted documents for the J.League, applicating for the "J.League 100 Year Plan club status", as one of the prerequisites to join the J.League.

On 25 February 2020, the submitted documents received J.League approval, making FC Osaka one of the 100-year plan club status holders. After that, on 30 June, the club applied for a J3 league license, aiming to be promoted for the J3 league by 2021. The J3 League license was issued by the J.League on 15 September. FC Osaka couldn't be promoted to the J3 League on 2020, as at the time of league's abandonment, they were placed at 9th. On 2021, it worked out nearly the same way for the club, finishing just two points behind the Top 4, and at the 7th place.

In 2021, the top team's name FC Osaka was changed to F.C. Osaka (F.C.大阪, Efu. Sī. Osaka) as of 1 January that year.[1] "FC" not only means "football club", but also various fields (Field), foundation / substrate (Foundation), for people (For people) "F" ” and the “C” which stands for Community contribution, Cooperation, Confidence and Creation. Osaka” was changed to “F.C.Osaka” (English notation: F.C.✩OSAKA).

On 12 January 2022, the name was changed back to FC Osaka.[2]

Promotion to J3

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On 5 November, FC Osaka were promoted to J3 League for the first time in their history, after spending eight seasons in Japan Football League. 15 days later at the same month, The club was promoted after finishing as runners-up and going over the 2,000 minimum average home attendance, with a 10-goal difference between the club and Nara Club, who were awarded as champions. Despite FC Osaka having one more match won than Nara, the club also had two more matches lost than Nara. This tight gap between them and the champions, Nara Club, however, contributed positively for the hardly-fought promotion for the J3 League, where they will be playing from the 2023 season.

Stadium

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FC Osaka will use the Hanazono Rugby Stadium in all matches of the 2023 J3 season, confirmed after the full league calendar was released on 20 January 2023.

League & cup record

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J. League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
Shakaijin Cup
Season Division Tier Teams Pos. P W D L F A GD Pts Attendance/G
2008 Osaka Prefectural
League (Div. 1)
6 17 3rd 15 12 0 3 53 12 41 36 Not eligible Did not qualify Did not qualify
2009 1st 15 12 2 1 61 12 49 38
2010 1st 15 12 2 1 76 14 62 38
2011 1st 15 15 0 0 73 9 64 45
2012 Kansai Soccer
League (Div. 2)
5 8 1st 14 13 0 1 52 7 45 36 2nd round
2013 Kansai Soccer League (Div. 1) 4 1st 14 12 2 0 38 7 31 38 Quarter final
2014 5 2nd 14 9 4 1 37 15 22 31 1st round Winners
2015 JFL 4 16 8th 30 13 5 12 45 35 10 44 692 2nd round Not eligible
2016 5th 30 18 4 8 52 31 21 58 986 -
2017 4th 30 16 7 7 59 32 27 55 597 2nd round
2018 2nd 30 18 3 9 54 34 20 57 788 2nd round
2019 8th 30 10 10 10 33 32 1 40 1,098 2nd round
2020 8th 15 6 2 7 24 24 0 20 712 Did not qualify
2021 17 7th 32 13 9 10 37 35 2 48 516 2nd round
2022 16 2nd 30 17 8 5 47 34 13 59 2,563 Did not qualify
2023 J3 3 20 11th 38 14 11 13 41 38 3 53 2,680
2024 6th 38 15 13 10 43 31 12 58 2,470 1st round
2025 TBD 38 TBD
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
  • Source JFL

Honours

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FC Osaka Cheerleaders
FC Osaka Honours
Honour No. Years
Osaka Prefectural League Div. 1 3 2009, 2010, 2011
Kansai Soccer League Div. 2 1 2012
Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 1 2014
Shakaijin Cup 1 2014

Players

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Current squad

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As of 31 July 2024.[3][4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Japan JPN Tatsunari Nagai
2 DF Japan JPN Kazuya Mima
3 DF Japan JPN Ryusei Saito
5 DF Japan JPN Shusuke Sakamoto (captain)
6 DF Japan JPN Shunsuke Tachino
7 MF Japan JPN Takahiro Kitsui
8 MF Japan JPN Keita Hidaka
9 FW Japan JPN Takumi Shimada
10 FW Japan JPN Rikuto Kubo
11 MF Japan JPN Rui Tone
14 FW Japan JPN Naoki Tanaka
15 MF Japan JPN Kazuya Miyagi
16 MF Japan JPN Yuta Shimozawa (on loan from Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
17 DF Japan JPN Yuto Kide
18 FW Japan JPN Kaito Utaka
19 MF Japan JPN Shunji Masuda
20 MF Japan JPN Asahi Haga (on loan from Iwaki FC)
21 FW Japan JPN Sora Mochizuki
22 DF Japan JPN Kaito Hayashida
23 DF Japan JPN Takuya Akiyama
25 MF Japan JPN Seigo Takei
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF Japan JPN Soichiro Tsutsumi
27 FW Japan JPN Ryota Sawazaki
29 GK South Korea KOR Kang Sung-guk
30 DF Japan JPN Rinshiro Kojima (on loan from Kagoshima United)
31 GK Japan JPN Koji Yamada
33 MF South Korea KOR Woo Sang-ho
34 FW Japan JPN Daigo Furukawa
35 DF South Korea KOR Choi Young-hoon
36 FW South Korea KOR Ji Seong-min
38 MF Japan JPN Yamato Natsukawa
39 DF Japan JPN Ryosei Ito
40 GK Japan JPN Toi Yamamoto
41 MF Japan JPN Yuto Kokuryo
42 FW Brazil BRA Everton Kanela
43 FW Japan JPN Masaki Nishimura
44 DF Japan JPN Malick Fofana (on loan from Tiamo Hirakata)
47 DF Japan JPN Yuto Minakuchi (on loan from SC Sagamihara)
81 FW Australia AUS Jonas Markovski
98 DF Brazil BRA João Moura
99 MF Malaysia MAS Muhammad Khalil (on loan from Selangor)
DF South Korea KOR Cho Young-kwang (on loan from FC Seoul)

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 DF Japan JPN Genki Egawa (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
13 FW Japan JPN Hayate Take (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
24 FW Japan JPN Kentaro Shigematsu (at FC Ryukyu)
28 FW Japan JPN Katsuyuki Ishibashi (at South Korea Pocheon Citizen)
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 FW Brazil BRA Efrain Rintaro (at Myanmar Shan United)
32 DF Japan JPN Yuto Fujita (at South Korea Pocheon Citizen)
FW Japan JPN Talla Ndao (at Maruyasu Okazaki)

Club officials

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Position Staff
Manager Japan Naoto Otake
Assistant manager Japan Hiroshi Otsuki
Analyst coach Japan Masahiro Hirano
Goalkeeper coach Japan Shinsuke Yoshioka
Physical coach Japan Toshinori Ito
Chief trainer Japan Koji Iwaki
Trainer Japan Koki Ogata
Physical trainer Japan Naotoshi Izuike
Medical trainer Japan Yoshihiro Ike
Competent Japan Naoki Urakawa
Side affairs Japan Taito Sebe
Doctor Japan Satoshi Sobajima
Japan Tomohiro Tomihara
Physiotherapist Japan Keita Morimoto
Groundkeeper Japan Makoto Oogi
Sports data science director Japan Yuichiro Iwasaki
Technical staff Japan Shinya Tsukahara
Stadium MC Japan Rina Ishizuka
Stadium DJ Japan Yuji Yamashita

Managerial history

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As of 15 December 2022
Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Masami Ogawa  Japan 1 February 2007 31 July 2008
Shigeru Morioka  Japan 1 August 2008 31 December 2015
Haruo Wada  Japan 1 February 2016 31 January 2020
Shinya Tsukahara  Japan 1 February 2020 31 January 2023
Ryo Shigaki  Japan 1 February 2023 31 January 2024
Naoto Otake  Japan 1 February 2024 present

Kit evolution

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FP 1st
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
FP 2nd
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -

Partnerships

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On September 2, 2014, FC Osaka announced a partnership with Sporting Clube de Macau, which makes the transfer of players between Macau and Japan possible.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "法人名及びクラブ名 改称のお知らせ". FC Osaka (in Japanese). December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "クラブ名およびトップチーム名称変更のお知らせ". FC Osaka (in Japanese). January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. ^ FC Osaka. "2023年シーズン トップチーム 選手背番号ならびにチームスタッフ発表". fc-osaka.com. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  4. ^ FC Osaka. "PLAYER・STAFF | 選手・スタッフ". fc-osaka.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Catarina Pinto (September 3, 2014). "Sporting Macau signs partnership with Osaka F.C." Macau Daily Times.
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