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| Full name | Ventforet Kofu Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Ventforet | ||
| Short name | VFK | ||
| Founded | 1965; 60 years ago (1965) asKofu Club | ||
| Stadium | JIT Recycle Ink Stadium,Kōfu | ||
| Capacity | 15,853 | ||
| Chairman | Kazuyuki Umino | ||
| Manager | Shinji Otsuka | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2024 | J2 League, 14th of 20 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Ventforet Kofu (ヴァンフォーレ甲府,Vanfōre Kōfu) is a Japanese professionalfootball club fromKōfu inYamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in theJ2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football, hosting their home matches in theJIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu.
Ventforet has won a total of 1J2 League title and 1Emperor's Cup in their history.
The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French root words: "vent" (wind) and "forêt" (forest). The name alludes to the famous phraseFū-rin-ka-zan (風林火山) thatTakeda Shingen, a prominent Kōfu-baseddaimyō in theSengoku period, emblazoned on his war banners. The phrase contains four similies: as swift as the wind; as silent as a forest; as fierce as fire; as immovable as a mountain.
The club was founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School, the Kakujo Club, started to recruit graduates of other high schools with the intention of promotion to theJapan Soccer League and was formed asKofu Club. Kofu Club was formed by volunteers, unlike other mainstream football clubs at that time in Japan, whose players were mostly the employees of their sponsoring companies.
Kofu Club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when it became a founding member of theformer Japan Football League.
The club was renamedVentforet Kofu in 1995 and joinedJ.League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. The club survived a difficult period between 1999 and 2001, when it suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch, including a streak of twenty-five consecutive losses. Ventforet finished bottom for three seasons in succession and was dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2".
Ventforet improved in 2002, and in 2005 finished third, gaining promotion to the Japanese first division by winning thepromotion/relegation play-offs againstKashiwa Reysol. However, the team was relegated with a week remaining in the 2007 season.
At the end of 2010 season, the team was promoted a second time. Despite having strikerMike Havenaar contend for the Top Scorer award in division one the following year, the club was relegated again at the end of 2011. However, it returned after only one year's absence aschampions of division two, Ventforet's first championship in its thirty-six-year history. Ventforet remained inJ.League 1 until 2017, consistently staying as a top tier J.League 2 team after relegation
Ventforet participated in the2022 Emperor's Cup, earning a direct second round entry alongside allJ1 andJ2 League teams. Following a 5–1 win over Okayama-basedInternational Pacific University, they then only facedJ1 League opponents the rest of the tournament. They would beatHokkaido Consadole Sapporo andSagan Tosu away from home by 2–1 and 3–1 respectively to advance to the quarter finals, in a stage which they had been on 4 times without ever getting past it. In another match away from home, now againstAvispa Fukuoka, the game would be tied up 1–1 and head into extra time, withYoshiki Torikai scoring in the 97th minute to bring Kofu to their first Emperor's Cup Semi-final, where they would beatKashima Antlers thanks toJumma Miyazaki's goal in the 37th minute to reach their first Emperor's Cup Final.
In the final, Kofu were up againstSanfrecce Hiroshima, a J1 team who hadn't won an Emperor's Cup since 1969 (including amateur era).Kazushi Mitsuhira scored in the 26th minute to give Kofu the lead, before Sanfrecce midfielderTakumu Kawamura tied the match in the 84th minute. After a scoreless extra time, the final was decided in a penalty shootout. After Sanfrecce missed their fourth penalty, 42-year-oldHideomi Yamamoto scored Kofu's fifth and final penalty to win the Emperor's Cup champions for the first time. Their win marked the first time that a J2 League team had won the Emperor's Cup sinceFC Tokyo in2011, the fourth J2 champion overall, and the first occasion in which the winner was not thesecond division champions. Thus, they will play theAFC Champions League while playing in their domestic second-tier league.
On 20 September 2023, Ventforet played their firstAFC Champions League official match against Australian sideMelbourne City for the competition's group stage. Playing away atMelbourne Rectangular Stadium with few of their usual starting players, the match ended in a 0–0 draw, earning them their first point and clean sheet in this competition.[1] On 4 October 2023, Ventforet picked up their first Champions League win against Thai championsBuriram United.Motoki Hasegawa scored in stoppage time as Ventforet won 1–0 at home, On 12 December 2023, Ventforet clinched their spots in theRound of 16 after a 2–3 away win against Buriram United. This marks the first time a team qualified for the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League though not playing in their nation's top division. Ventforet than faced against Korean giants,Ulsan Hyundai in the Round of 16, however, they were knocked out from the tournament after suffering a 5–1 on aggregate defeat.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VEN | MCY | ZHP | BUR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ventforet Kofu | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 11 | Advance toround of 16 | — | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–0 | |
| 2 |  Melbourne City | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 9 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 |  Zhejiang | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 7 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 3–2 | ||
| 4 |  Buriram United | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 6 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 4–1 | — |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | AFC Champions League | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Division | Tier | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | |||
| 1992 | former JFL Div. 2 | 3 | 5th | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 29 | -3 | 28 | Not eligible | Not eligible | ||
| 1993 | 9th | 18 | 6 | - | 12 | 15 | 37 | -22 | - | ||||||
| 1994 | former JFL | 2 | 14th | 30 | 9 | - | 21 | 36 | 74 | -38 | - | 2nd round | |||
| 1995 | 9th | 30 | 14 | - | 16 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 43 | ||||||
| 1996 | 11th | 30 | 11 | - | 19 | 50 | 56 | -6 | 33 | 2nd round | |||||
| 1997 | 6th | 30 | 19 | - | 11 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 52 | 3rd round | |||||
| 1998 | 4th | 30 | 22 | - | 8 | 74 | 40 | 34 | 59 | 4th round | |||||
| 1999 | J2 | 2 | 10th | 36 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 32 | 85 | -53 | 18 | 1,469 | 1st round | 2nd round | |
| 2000 | 11th | 40 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 31 | 84 | -53 | 18 | 1,850 | 1st round | 4th round | |||
| 2001 | 12th | 44 | 8 | 2 | 34 | 38 | 98 | -60 | 25 | 3,130 | 1st round | 3rd round | |||
| 2002 | 7th | 44 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 58 | 4,914 | Not eligible | 3rd round | |||
| 2003 | 5th | 44 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 58 | 46 | 12 | 69 | 5,796 | 3rd round | ||||
| 2004 | 7th | 44 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 51 | 46 | 5 | 58 | 6,370 | 4th round | ||||
| 2005 | 3rd | 44 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 78 | 64 | 14 | 69 | 6,931 | 4th round | ||||
| 2006 | J1 | 1 | 15th | 34 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 64 | -22 | 42 | 12,211 | Group Stage | Quarter Finals | |
| 2007 | 17th | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 33 | 65 | -32 | 27 | 13,734 | Quarter Finals | 5th round | |||
| 2008 | J2 | 2 | 7th | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 56 | 47 | 9 | 59 | 10,354 | Not eligible | 4th round | |
| 2009 | 4th | 51 | 28 | 13 | 10 | 76 | 46 | 30 | 97 | 11,059 | 4th round | ||||
| 2010 | 2nd | 36 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 71 | 40 | 31 | 70 | 12,431 | 3rd round | ||||
| 2011 | J1 | 1 | 16th | 34 | 9 | 19 | 6 | 42 | 63 | -21 | 33 | 12,106 | 1st round | 3rd round | |
| 2012 | J2 | 2 | 1st | 42 | 24 | 4 | 14 | 63 | 35 | 28 | 86 | 10,407 | 2nd round | ||
| 2013 | J1 | 1 | 15th | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 37 | 12,614 | Group Stage | Quarter Finals | |
| 2014 | 13th | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 27 | 31 | -4 | 41 | 12,171 | Group Stage | Round of 16 | |||
| 2015 | 13th | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 26 | 43 | -17 | 37 | 11,612 | Group Stage | 4th round | |||
| 2016 | 14th | 34 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 32 | 58 | -26 | 31 | 10,833 | Group Stage | 2nd round | |||
| 2017 | 16th | 34 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 23 | 39 | -16 | 32 | 10,829 | Group Stage | 2nd round | |||
| 2018 | J2 | 2 | 9th | 42 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 56 | 46 | 10 | 59 | 7,384 | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | |
| 2019 | 5th | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 64 | 40 | 24 | 71 | 8,273 | Not eligible | Quarter Finals | |||
| 2020† | 4th | 42 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 65 | 2,485 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2021† | 3rd | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 65 | 38 | 27 | 80 | 4,325 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2022 | 18th | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 48 | 4,930 | Winner | ||||
| 2023 | 8th | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 50 | 10 | 64 | 7,485 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2024 | 14th | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 54 | 57 | -3 | 45 | 8,274 | Quarter final | 2nd round | |||
| 2025 | TBA | 38 | 2nd round | 3rd round | |||||||||||
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kantō Soccer League | 2 | 1969,1970 |
| J2 League | 1 | 2012 |
| Emperor's Cup | 1 | 2022 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff for 2025 season[3]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Shinji Otsuka |
| Coaches | Katsutomo Oshiba Yuji Yokoyama Nazri Nasir |
| Goalkeeper coach | Yuji Nakagawa |
| Physical coach |  José Fernando |
| Analysis coach | Yoshiki Hara Kanta Yonekura |
| Chief trainer | Hiroaki Maeda |
| Trainers | Masaya Tanaka Yuto Mogi Naoaki Higashi |
| Physiotherapist | Takayuki Ando |
| Athletic trainer | Shigeru Asahina |
| Competent | Yoshiki Tsuruta |
| Deputy officer | Tetsuro Ajisawa |
| Interpreter | Bruno Iwasaki |
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Susumu Katsumata | Japan | 1 January 1994 | 31 January 1995 |
| Yūji Tsukada | Japan | 1 February 1995 | 31 January 1999 |
| Susumu Katsumata | Japan | 1 February 1999 | 31 January 2000 |
| Yūji Tsukada | Japan | 1 February 2000 | 31 January 2001 |
| Luis dos Reis | Brazil | 1 February 2001 | 31 January 2002 |
| Takeshi Ōki | Japan | 1 February 2002 | 31 January 2003 |
| Hideki Matsunaga | Japan | 1 February 2003 | 31 January 2005 |
| Takeshi Ōki | Japan | 1 February 2005 | 31 January 2008 |
| Takayoshi Amma | Japan | 1 February 2008 | 31 January 2010 |
| Kazuo Uchida | Japan | 1 February 2010 | 31 January 2011 |
| Toshiya Miura | Japan | 1 February 2011 | 7 August 2011 |
| Satoru Sakuma | Japan | 8 August 2011 | 31 December 2011 |
| Hiroshi Jōfuku | Japan | 1 February 2012 | 31 January 2015 |
| Yasuhiro Higuchi | Japan | 1 February 2015 | 13 May 2015 |
| Satoru Sakuma | Japan | 13 May 2015 | 31 December 2016 |
| Tatsuma Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2017 | 30 April 2018 |
| Nobuhiro Ueno | Japan | 1 May 2018 | 31 January 2019 |
| Akira Itō | Japan | 1 February 2019 | 31 January 2022 |
| Tatsuma Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2022 | 31 January 2023 |
| Yoshiyuki Shinoda | Japan | 1 February 2023 | 1 July 2024 |
| Shinji Otsuka | Japan | 2 July 2024 | Current |
| Home kits - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          1999 - 2000 |     2001 - 2002 |      2003 |      2004 |     2005 |
     2006 |      2007 - 2008 |      2009 - 2010 |      2011-2012 |   2013 - 2014 |
 2015 - 2016 |     2017 - 2018 |      2019 - 2020 |      2021 |      2022 |
    2023 |      2024 |      2025 - | ||
| Away kits - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     1999 - 2000 |     2001 - 2002 |      2003 |    2004 |      2005 |
     2006 |      2007 - 2008 |      2009 - 2010 |      2011 - 2012 |      2013 - 2014 |
  2015 - 2016 |     2017 - 2018 |      2019 - 2020 |    2021 |      2022 |
    2023 |      2024 |      2025 - | ||
| Third kits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     2015 Summer |      2016 Summer |      2017 Summer |      2018 Summer |      2019 Summer |
     2020 Summer |      2021 Summer |      2022 Limited |      Special for Champions League Home |      Special for Champions League Away |
     2024 SUMMER Vivid × Vital | ||||
