| 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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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.
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.
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.
The main home towns are Beppu and Yufu. On 28 June 2022, at a J.League Board of Directors meeting,[4] they approved the addition of the Ōita city.
| used until 2012 | used 2012–2013 |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| 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 | ||||||||||
As of 23 August 2023.[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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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Takashi Yamahashi
|
| Assistant Manager | Toyoki Hasegawa Hiroshi Tanaka
|
| Goalkeeper Coach | Yuya Kumagai
|
| Physical Coach | Shota Maki
|
| Trainer | Takuya Kawasaki
|
| Chief / Kit man | Ryota Sakamoto
|
| 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 |
