| Full name | Verspah Oita | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2003; 22 years ago (2003) | ||
| Ground | Oita Sports Park | ||
| Capacity | 16,000 | ||
| Chairman | Sanu Toru | ||
| Manager | Takashi Yamahashi[1] | ||
| League | Japan Football League | ||
| 2024 | 6th of 16 | ||
| Website | verspah | ||
Verspah Oita (ヴェルスパ大分,Verusupa Ōita) is a Japanesefootball club based in the city ofŌita, capital ofŌita Prefecture. They currently play in theJapan Football League, the fourth tier of Japanese league football.[2] The 2025 season is their 14th consecutive season in the JFL.
The club was formed in 2003 as Hoyo FC. In 2005 they changed their name toHoyo Atletico Elan, the name in which they competed for many years in the Kyushu Football League. The club is backed by theHoyo Group, a digital camera andauto parts manufacturer based in nearbyKunisaki. In 2010 they changed their name toHoyo Atletico Elan Oita. In 2011, they changed their name toHoyo AC Elan Oita, won theKyushu Soccer League and earned third place in theRegional League promotion series, which gave them qualification to compete in the JFL from 2012. Ahead of a league jump, they changed their name toHoyo Oita on 2012.
In December 2013, the club tried to get closer ties to the community and therefore made another name change, this time toVerspah Oita (ヴェルスパ大分,Verusupa Ōita), for the 2014 season onwards, which the club have kept untouched ever since.[3]
In2020, Verspah won their firstJapan Football League title. The title campaign was fairly unusual, as issues regardingCOVID-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 aJ.League 100 Year Plan club status holders.
In2021, 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 following2022 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 knownBeppu Onsen), and the initial letter "H" of the former team name Hoyo Oita.
The main home towns areBeppu andYufu. On 28 June 2022, at a J.League Board of Directors meeting,[4] they approved the addition of theŌita 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 | 6th | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 45 | 1,801 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2025 | TBD | 30 | TBD | ||||||||||
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Oita Prefecture League 3rd Division | 1 | 2005 |
| Oita Prefecture League 2nd Division | 1 | 2006 |
| Oita Prefecture League 1st Division | 1 | 2009 |
| Kyushu League | 2 | 2010,2011 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2020 |
As of 30 May 2024.[5]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Takashi Yamahashi |
| Assistant manager | Gen Nakamura |
| First-team coach | Toyoki Hasegawa Kazuya Sakamoto |
| Goalkeeper coach | Masao Noda |
| Physical coach | Shota Maki |
| Trainer | Ryo Hanada |
| Kit man | Ryota Sakamoto |
| Side affairs | Chiharu Suzukawa |
| 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 |
