Kochi United SC
Kōchi United Sports Club, (高知ユナイテッドスポーツクラブ, Kōchi United SC) is a football (soccer) club based in Kōchi, the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture in Japan. They played in the Shikoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues 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, earning promotion to the Japan Football League for the 2020 season.
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| Full name | Kōchi United Sports Club | ||
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| Founded | 2016 | ||
| Ground | Kochi Haruno Sports Ground (Kōchi Haruno Athletics Stadium) Haruno, Kōchi, Japan   | ||
| Capacity | 1000 (25,000) | ||
| Chairman | Shigekazu Takemasa | ||
| Manager | Akihiro Nishimura | ||
| League | Japan Football League | ||
| 2019 | Shikoku Soccer League 1st  | ||
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History
On February 1st 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 1st 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 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.
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.
2017 season
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 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
Emperor's Cup
Regional Rounds:
Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Quarter-Final v Showa Club (昭和ｸﾗﾌﾞ): W 6–0.
Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Semi-Final v Rossorise KFC (ロッサライズKFC): W 5–1.
Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Final v KUFC Nangoku (KUFC南国): W 3–0.
Main Draw:
First Round Proper v Mitsubishi Mizushima FC: W 2-0 (Taguchi, Hirata). Attendance: 621.
Second Round Proper v Albirex Niigata (アルビレックス新潟): D 0-0 (L 5-3 pens). Venue: Denka Big Swan Stadium. Attendance: 2241.
All Japan Senior Football Championship
Kochi Prefecture Play-Off v Rossorise KFC:W 4–0.
Shikoku Playoff Tournament First Round v Koyo Sealing Techno (光洋シーリングテクノ):W 9–0.
Shikoku Playoff Semi-Final v Tadotsu FC (多度津FC): W 5–0.
First Round Proper v Suzuka Unlimited FC (鈴鹿アンリミテッドFC): L 0–3.
Shikoku Soccer League
1. v Koyo Sealing Techno: W 6–0.
2. v Llamas Kochi FC (llamas高知FC): W 8–0.
3. v Niisho Club (新商クラブ): W 3–0.
4. v R.Velho Takamatsu (アルヴェリオ高松): W 0–8.
5. v Tadotsu FC: W 8–0.
6. v KUFC Nangoku: W 3–1.
7. v FC Tokushima (FC徳島): L 1–0.
8. v Koyo Sealing Techno: W 0–8.
9. v Llamas Kochi FC: W 0–6.
10. v R.Velho Takamatsu: W 10–0.
11. v Tadotsu FC: W 1–5.
12. v KUFC Nangoku: W 0–1.
13. v FC Tokushima: D 3–3. (Attendance: 600+).
14. v Niisho Club: W 0-11.
Japanese Regional Football League Competition
1. Group A: v Blancdieu Hirosaki FC: L 2–3.
2. Group A: v Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth: L 0–3.
3. Group A: v FC Kariya L 1–2.
2019 season
Emperor's Cup
Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Semi-Final v Llamas Kochi FC: W 5–0. (Hiroki Maehara becomes Kochi United SC's all-time leading cup goal-scorer)
Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Final v KUFC Nangoku: W 3-2 (AET).
First Round Proper v MD Nagasaki (MD長崎): W 0-1 (Murakami). Attendance: 462.
Second Round Proper v V.Varen Nagasaki: L 1-2 (AET) (Nishimura). Attendance: 1498.
All Japan Senior Football Championship
Kochi Prefecture Play-Off v KUFC Nangoku: W 5-0 (Hiroki Maehara scores record equaling 49th goal for the club).
Shikoku Playoff Tournament First Round v Hisaeda FC (久枝FC): W 9–0.
Shikoku Playoff Semi-Final v FC Tokushima: L 1–2.
Shikoku Soccer League
1. v Koyo Sealing Techno: W 11-0 (Attendance 1000+).
2. v Niisho Club: W 10–0.
3. v Llamas Kochi FC: W 4–0.
4. v R.Velho Takamatsu: W 0–9.
5. v Tadotsu FC: W 7–0.
6. v KUFC Nangoku: W 4-0 (Ryo Taguchi becomes the club's all-time top league goal scorer with his 36th Shikoku League goal).
7. v FC Tokushima: W 1–2.
8. v Niisho Club: W 0-7 (Ryo Taguchi equals the all-time goal scoring record with his 49th strike in all competitions for Kochi United SC).
9. v Koyo Sealing Techno: W 0-14 (Hiroki Maehara becomes Kochi United's all-time leading goalscorer and the first player to score 50 goals for the club).
10. v Llamas Kochi FC: W 0–6.
11. v R.Velho Takamatsu: W 5–0.
12. v Tadotsu FC: W 2–7.
13. v KUFC Nangoku: W 1–2.
14. v FC Tokushima: W 4-0 (Attendance: 1100).
Japanese Regional Football League Competition
Group C: v Blancdieu Hirosaki: W 2–1.
Group C: v SRC Hiroshima: W 7–0.
Group C: v Ococias Kyoto AC: L 0–2.
Final Round: v Iwaki FC: L 3–0.
Final Round: v Fukui United FC: W 3–1.
Final Round: v Ococias Kyoto: W 3–1.
2020 season
Emperor's Cup
1. Kochi Prefectual Football Championship Final v Kochi University: W 2-0 (Maeda 2).
Current squad
Updated to May 4th, 2020.[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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League and Cup Record
| Season | League | GP | Pts | W | D | L | Position | Emperor's Cup | AJSFC | CCL | Top Goalscorer (All Competitions) |
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| 2016 | Shikoku Soccer League | 14 | 37 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2nd | 1st round | 1st round | DNQ | Takuya Kobayashi (17) |
| 2017 | 14 | 38 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 1st round | 1st round | Group Stages | Kota Sugawara (23)
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| 2018 | 14 | 37 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1st | 2nd Round | 1st round | Group Stages | Kazuki Nakabayashi / Ryo Taguchi (16) | |
| 2019 | 14 | 42 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1st | 2nd Round | DNQ | 2nd place | Ryo Taguchi (19) |
Note: AJSFC=All Japan Senior Football Championship. CCL=Chiiki Champions League
All-time Competitive Record Table
Updated to Nov 2019
| 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 |
| Blancdieu Hirosaki FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Fukui United FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Hisaeda FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 |
| Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| FC Imabari | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Iwaki FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| FC Kariya | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Kochi University | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
| Koyo Sealing Techno Soccer Club | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 1 | +66 |
| KUFC Nangoku | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 7 | +35 |
| Llamas Kochi FC | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 2 | +59 |
| Matsue City FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| MD Nagasaki | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Mitsubishi Mizushima FC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| SRC Hiroshima | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 |
| Suzuka Unlimited FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| Tadotsu FC | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 4 | +51 |
| FC TIAMO Hirakata | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| FC Tokushima | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 9 | +24 |
| Tokyo Musashino City FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Verspah Oita | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Vonds Ichihara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
All-time Top Ten Record Goalscorers
Updated to Nov 2019
| Name | Ranking | Active | League | Cup | Other | Total | Hat-tricks |
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| Hiroki Maehara | 1 | 2016- | 37 | 16 | 4 | 57 | 5 |
| Ryo Taguchi | 2 | 2017- | 38 | 11 | 2 | 51 | 5 |
| Kota Sugawara | 3 | 2016-2018 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 49 | 5 |
| Tsubasa Yokotake | 4 | 2016- | 19 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 0 |
| Kazuki Nakabayashi | 5 | 2017-2018 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| On Byung-Hoon | 6 | 2016-2018 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Kai Murakami | 7 | 2017-2019 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Takuya Kobayashi | 8 | 2016 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| Shuhei Horie | 9 | 2017-2018 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Jun Kanebashi | 10 | 2016 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Koki Izumi | 10 | 2018- | 10 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 2 |
Honours
- Shikoku Soccer League: Champions (3)
- 2017, 2018, 2019
- Kochi Prefectural Football Championship: Winners (5)
- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
- Japanese Regional Football League Competition: 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 defeat: 0-3 v Matsue City FC (Western Japan Soccer Championship, 2016), 0-3 v Suzuka Unlimited FC (All Japan Senior Cup 1st Round, 2018), 0-3 v Hokkaido Tokachi Sky Earth (Japanese Regional Football League Competition, 2018), 0-3 v Iwaki FC (Japanese Regional Football League Competition, 2019).
- Record away league defeat: 2-1 v FC Imabari (Shikoku Soccer League, 2016) & 1-0 v FC Tokushima (Shikoku Soccer League, 2018).
- Note: Kochi United SC have never lost a home game in the league.
- Longest winning streak (all comps): 13 games (2017–18 and 2019 season).
- Longest losing streak (all comps): 4 games (Oct-Nov 2018).
- 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).
References
External links
- Official Website (in Japanese)
- Official Facebook Page (in Japanese)