FC Osaka
 | |||
| Full name | Football Club Osaka | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 | ||
| Ground | Hanazono Rugby Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 27,346 | ||
| Chairman | Yusuke Kondo | ||
| Manager | Naoto Otake | ||
| League | J3 League | ||
| 2024 | J3 League, 6th of 20 | ||
| Website | fc-osaka | ||
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FC Osaka (FC大阪, Efu Shī Osaka) is a Japanese football club based in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the third tier of professional football league in the Japanese football league system.
History
[edit]FC Osaka was founded in 1996. 11 years after its foundation, in 2007, the team won the Osaka Prefectural Football League Division 1 for the first time. In 2010, they participated in the Shakaijin Cup for the first time, losing to Norbritz Hokkaido in the first round). In 2011, they won the 1st Division of the Osaka Prefectural League for the 3rd time in three consecutive years. The club won the Kansai Prefectural Soccer League Final Tournament, and was then promoted to the Kansai Soccer League Division 2. From this year onwards, the club's operating corporation was changed from "Nippon Entertainment Group Co., Ltd." to "R Dash Co., Ltd.".
Six years at Regional League level
[edit]In 2012, they won the Kansai Soccer League 2nd Division with 13 wins and 1 loss, including an uncommon run of 10 consecutive wins that started on their debut match at the tournament, and this contributed to their promotion to the Kansai Soccer League 1st Division. In 2013, the club won the Division 1 with 12 wins and 2 draws, remaining unbeaten at the competition. However, on the Regional Champions League, they weren't able to finish in a position that would enable them to get a promotion, exiting the competition at the group stage. On the same year, it was established the women's teamm, "FC Osaka CRAVO".
In 2014, they won The KSL Island Shield of Awaji, they won the Shakaijin Cup, and the Osaka Prefectural Soccer Championship for the first time. That win enabled them to qualify, and make their debut at the Emperor's Cup. FC Osaka lost to Zweigen Kanazawa in the first round. But, this Emperor's Cup loss in the middle of the year didn't reflected how the rest of the season would go, as it resulted favorably for the Osaka-based team. After winning the Shakaijin Cup, the club was runners-up at the Regional Champions League, granting them the possibility of promotion for the Japan Football League (Japan's 4th tier league), only pending the JFL Board of Directors approval, which was given on 10 December.
Eight-year stint at JFL
[edit]In 2015, they triumphed over Cerezo Osaka in the first round of the Emperor's Cup. In 2018, the "General Incorporated Association FC Osaka Sports Club" management corporation was formed as a step towards joining the J League. In their fourth year in the JFL, FC Osaka achieved their best-ever result, finishing as runners-up. On November 27 of the same year, the club was approved to establish Higashiosaka City as their hometown. Higashiosaka is also home to the Hanazono Rugby Stadium, which underwent significant renovations ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
On 26 November 2019, FC Osaka and Higashiosaka City signed an agreement to renovate the second ground of Higashiosaka Hanazono Rugby Stadium. The aging facility was upgraded with seating for over 5,000 spectators, preparing for a potential promotion to the J3 League. A roof was added to one of the stands, and the stand behind the goal was sloped. FC Osaka fully funded the construction and donated the completed project to Higashiosaka City. The renovation was successfully completed by December 2021. On the same day, the club also submitted documents for J.League admission, applying for the "J.League 100 Year Plan club status," a necessary step for joining the league.
On 25 February 2020, FC Osaka received J.League approval for their submitted documents, earning 100-year plan club status. Later, on 30 June, they applied for a J3 League license, aiming for promotion by 2021. The J.League issued the license on 15 September. However, FC Osaka couldn't secure promotion to the J3 League in 2020, as they were placed 9th when the league was abandoned. In 2021, they faced a similar outcome, finishing 7th, just two points short of the Top 4.
In 2021, the top team's name FC Osaka was changed to F.C. Osaka (F.C.大阪, Efu. Sī. Osaka) as of 1 January that year.[1] "FC" not only means "football club", but also various fields (Field), foundation / substrate (Foundation), for people (For people) "F" ” and the “C” which stands for Community contribution, Cooperation, Confidence and Creation. Osaka” was changed to “F.C.Osaka” (English notation: F.C.✩OSAKA).
On 12 January 2022, the name was changed back to FC Osaka.[2]
Promotion to J3
[edit]On November 5, FC Osaka achieved promotion to the J3 League for the first time in their history, after spending eight seasons in the Japan Football League. Just 15 days later, the club secured their place as runners-up by exceeding the 2,000 minimum average home attendance and finishing with a 10-goal difference over Nara Club, who were crowned champions. Although FC Osaka had one more win than Nara, they also suffered two more losses. This narrow gap between them and the champions, however, highlighted the hard-fought journey to promotion, where they will compete in the J3 League starting from the 2023 season.
Stadium
[edit]FC Osaka will play all their matches of the 2023 J3 League season at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, as confirmed with the release of the full league calendar on 20 January 2023.
League & cup record
[edit]| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J. League Cup |
Emperor's Cup |
Shakaijin Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | |||
| 2008 | Osaka Prefectural League (Div. 1) |
6 | 17 | 3rd | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 12 | 41 | 36 | Not eligible | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | |
| 2009 | 1st | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 61 | 12 | 49 | 38 | |||||||
| 2010 | 1st | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 76 | 14 | 62 | 38 | |||||||
| 2011 | 1st | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 9 | 64 | 45 | |||||||
| 2012 | Kansai Soccer League (Div. 2) |
5 | 8 | 1st | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 7 | 45 | 36 | 2nd round | |||
| 2013 | Kansai Soccer League (Div. 1) | 4 | 1st | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 7 | 31 | 38 | Quarter final | ||||
| 2014 | 5 | 2nd | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 15 | 22 | 31 | 1st round | Winners | ||||
| 2015 | JFL | 4 | 16 | 8th | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 45 | 35 | 10 | 44 | 692 | 2nd round | Not eligible | |
| 2016 | 5th | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 52 | 31 | 21 | 58 | 986 | - | |||||
| 2017 | 4th | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 59 | 32 | 27 | 55 | 597 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2018 | 2nd | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 54 | 34 | 20 | 57 | 788 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2019 | 8th | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 32 | 1 | 40 | 1,098 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2020 | 8th | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 20 | 712 | Did not qualify | |||||
| 2021 | 17 | 7th | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 35 | 2 | 48 | 516 | 2nd round | ||||
| 2022 | 16 | 2nd | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 34 | 13 | 59 | 2,563 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2023 | J3 | 3 | 20 | 11th | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 53 | 2,680 | |||
| 2024 | 6th | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 43 | 31 | 12 | 58 | 2,470 | 1st round | |||||
| 2025 | TBD | 38 | 1st round | |||||||||||||
- 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
- Source JFL
Honours
[edit]
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Osaka Prefectural League Div. 1 | 3 | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Kansai Soccer League Div. 2 | 1 | 2012 |
| Kansai Soccer League Div. 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| Shakaijin Cup | 1 | 2014 |
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]As of 6 June 2025.[3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Club officials
[edit]| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Naoto Otake
|
| Assistant manager | Hiroshi Otsuki
|
| Analyst coach | Masahiro Hirano
|
| Goalkeeper coach | Shinsuke Yoshioka
|
| Physical coach | Toshinori Ito
|
| Chief trainer | Koji Iwaki
|
| Trainer | Koki Ogata
|
| Physical trainer | Naotoshi Izuike
|
| Medical trainer | Yoshihiro Ike
|
| Competent | Naoki Urakawa
|
| Side affairs | Taito Sebe
|
| Doctor | Satoshi Sobajima Tomohiro Tomihara
|
| Physiotherapist | Keita Morimoto
|
| Groundkeeper | Makoto Oogi
|
| Sports data science director | Yuichiro Iwasaki
|
| Technical staff | Shinya Tsukahara
|
| Stadium MC | Rina Ishizuka
|
| Stadium DJ | Yuji Yamashita
|
Managerial history
[edit]- As of 15 December 2022
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Masami Ogawa | Japan |
1 February 2007 | 31 July 2008 |
| Shigeru Morioka | Japan |
1 August 2008 | 31 December 2015 |
| Haruo Wada | Japan |
1 February 2016 | 31 January 2020 |
| Shinya Tsukahara | Japan |
1 February 2020 | 31 January 2023 |
| Ryo Shigaki | Japan |
1 February 2023 | 31 January 2024 |
| Naoto Otake | Japan |
1 February 2024 | present |
Kit evolution
[edit]| FP 1st | ||||
          2015 |
     2016 |
     2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
     2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
     2023 |
     2024 |
     2025 - | ||||
| FP 2nd | ||||
   2015 |
     2016 |
     2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
     2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
     2023 |
     2024 - |
     2025 - | ||||
Partnerships
[edit]On September 2, 2014, FC Osaka announced a partnership with Sporting Clube de Macau, which makes the transfer of players between Macau and Japan possible.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "法人名及びクラブ名 改称のお知らせ". FC Osaka (in Japanese). December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "クラブ名およびトップチーム名称変更のお知らせ". FC Osaka (in Japanese). January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ FC Osaka. "Player / staff". fc-osaka.com. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Catarina Pinto (September 3, 2014). "Sporting Macau signs partnership with Osaka F.C." Macau Daily Times.