French
DeutschJ-Lease FC
| Full name | J-Lease Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | April 2018 | ||
| Stadium | Oita Athletic Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 15,943 | ||
| Owner | J-Lease Co., Ltd. | ||
| Manager | Masaki Yanagawa | ||
| League | Kyushu Soccer League | ||
| 2024 | 2nd of 10 | ||
| Website | j-lease-fc | ||
| | |||
J-Lease FC (ジェイリースFC, Jei Rīsu Efu Shī) are a Japanese football club based in Oita City, capital of Oita Prefecture. They currently play in the Kyushu Soccer League, which part of Japanese Regional Leagues. Their main colors, reflected on their crest are blue, white and black.
History
[edit]Founded in April 2018, the club quickly won back-to-back promotions alongside league titles from the 3rd to the 1st division of the Oita Prefecture between 2018 and 2020.
In 2021, the club won their first regional-level trophy, after a 4–3 win against Liberty FC gave them the Kyushu Football Championship title. The club would have qualified to the Shakaijin Cup with this win, if the 2021 competition was not cancelled because of COVID-19 extended measures.[1] The club recorded a 3rd place in its Kyushu Soccer League's debut season, only finishing behind Okinawa SV and Veroskronos Tsuno.
In 2022, the club participated in the Oita Prefecture Soccer Championship, which serves as a qualifying tournament for the Emperor's Cup. The club won their matches from the Round of 16 to the semi-finals against SOL FC, Nakatsu FC, and Nippon Bunri University ASC. In the final against Verspah Oita, which determined who would qualify for the Emperor's Cup, COVID-19 struck the team. With multiple players testing positive for the virus, the final could not take place on the scheduled date. J-Lease decided to forfeit the match, giving the Oita Prefecture slot in the competition to their opponent. [2]
In the same year, J-Lease qualified for the Shakaijin Cup for first time, a cup tournament for teams in any league below the Japan Football League (JFL) that also serves as an alternative way to play in JFL's promotion series. The club qualified via the Kyushu Football Championship, which was a single match against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki. They won the match by 4–0.[3] In their competition debut, they faced eventual semi-finalists of the Shakaijin Cup, Briobecca Urayasu, who were promoted to the Japan Football League in the same season. J-Lease lost the match by 2–0, exiting the competition in the first round.
Ending their season, the club finished in fourth place in the Kyushu Soccer League, having at one point won six matches in a row. Despite not earning a trophy at any competition, the club had high placements in Kyushu competitions and a decent performance against a JFL-tier club in an official competition during the season.
In 2024, Masaki Yanagawa was hired as the manager. In the Oita Prefectural Football Championship, they defeated Verspah Oita 2-0 in the final match to win the title for the first time and qualify for their first appearance in the 104th Emperor's Cup. In the Kyushu league, the team finished in second place, seven points behind Veroskronos Tsuno. In the 2024 All Japan Senior Football Championship, in the first round, J-Lease beat Yokohama Takeru 4-2. In the second round they beat Fukui United FC 7-6 in a penalty shoot-out after drawing nil all draw. In the quarterfinals round the also won after a penalty shoot-out by 5-3 after a nil draw against Aries Tokyo FC. In the semi-final they lost to FC Tokushima by 1-0. In the third-place playoff game against FC Kariya, another nil all draw was followed by a penalty shoot-out and a victory by 5-4 to win the bronze medal and qualification for the 2024 Regional Champions League.
In the final tournament J-Lease were pitted in Group A against FC Ise-Shima from the Tōkai Adult Soccer League, FC Tokushima from the Shikoku Soccer League and their compatriots from Kyushu Soccer League, Veroskronos Tsuno. They topped Group A by beating FC Ise-Shima 3-2 with a come from behind win in their opening game and getting revenge against FC Tokushima by winning 1-0 in the second match, in the final Group A match they drew with Veroskronos Tsuno 1-1.
The Final round they were pitted against Fukui United from Hokushin'etsu, Vonds Ichihara from Kantō and the eventual champions, Asuka FC from Kansai. They opened with a 3-3 draw against Fukui United. In the second match the also drew with their opponents, Vonds Ichihara 0-0. In the final winner takes all game against FC Asuka, they lost by 2-1 and finished fourth in the group with two points from the three matches.
Club record
[edit]| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | League | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Emperor's Cup | Shakaijin Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Oita Prefectural League (Div.3) | 1st | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 25 | Did not qualify | Did not play |
| 2019 | Oita Prefectural League (Div.2) | 1st | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 30 | ||
| 2020 | Oita Prefectural League (Div.1) | 1st | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 25 | Was not held | |
| 2021 | Kyushu Soccer League | 3rd | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 39 | ||
| 2022 | 4th | 20 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 17 | 28 | 41 | 1st Round | ||
| 2023 | 3rd | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 13 | 54 | 42 | Quarter-final | ||
| 2024 | 2nd | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 58 | 16 | 42 | 42 | 2nd round | 3rd | |
| 2025 | TBA | 18 | TBD | 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
Honours
[edit]| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Oita FA President's Cup Championship | 1 | 2018 |
| Oita Prefecture Soccer League 3rd Division | 1 | 2018 |
| Oita Prefecture Soccer League 2nd Division | 1 | 2019 |
| Oita Prefecture Soccer League 1st Division | 1 | 2020 |
| Oita Prefecture Soccer Tournament | 1 | 2020 |
| Oita Prefectural Football Championship Emperor's Cup Prefectural Qualifiers | 1 | 2024 |
Current squad
[edit]- As of 29 March 2025.[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.
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Coaching staff
[edit]For the 2025 season
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Masaki Yanagawa |
| Coach | Tetsuya Yamazaki |
| Goalkeeper coach |  Kim Jong-hsien |
| Assistant Coach | Tatsuya Ikeda |
| Trainer | Kazuya Kuramoto |
| Competent | Harusuke Ohno |
References
[edit]- ^ "2021 SCHEDULE". j-lease-fc.com (in Japanese). J-Lease. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "2022年大分県サッカー選手権大会決勝戦辞退のお知らせとお詫び". note.com/jleasefc (in Japanese). J-Lease FC. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "第58回 全国社会人サッカー選手権大会出場決定". note.com/jleasefc (in Japanese). J-Lease FC. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "TEAM". j-lease-fc.com (in Japanese). J-Lease FC. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ "Captain and Vice Captains". j-lease-fc.com. Retrieved 29 March 2025.