Nara Club
| Nickname(s) | Nara | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 | ||
| Stadium | Rohto Field Nara, Nara[1] | ||
| Capacity | 30,600 | ||
| Coordinates | 34°41′54″N 135°49′45″E / 34.69833°N 135.82917°E | ||
| Owner | BG Sports (14.98%) | ||
| Chairman | Mitsuru Hamada[2] | ||
| Manager | Michiharu Otagiri | ||
| League | J3 League | ||
| 2024 | J3 League, 17th of 20 | ||
| Website | naraclub | ||
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Nara Club (奈良クラブ, Nara Kurabu) is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in the Nara city, capital of Nara Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the third tier professional in the Japanese football.
History
The club was originally established in Nara in 1991 under the name Tonan Club (都南クラブ, Tonan Kurabu) and it became a member of the Football Association of Nara. The club went up to the top division in 1997.
It was renamed to its current name in 2008, and was promoted to the regional league in 2009. In 2014, they won the Regional League promotion series, earning promotion to the Japan Football League, where they played from 2015 to 2022.
On 5 November 2022, Nara was promoted to the J3 League for the first time in their history, after beating Veertien Mie in a narrow 1–0 win, with Sotaro Yamamoto scoring the winning goal in the 86th minute, to confirm their early access to the J3, a few rounds before the end of the season. The Nara-based club was promoted after eight consecutive seasons in the JFL. 15 days later at the same month, Nara secured their first JFL title, after drawing 1–1 with Sony Sendai at the last round of the competition. A ten-goal difference in Nara's favor them and FC Osaka was the determining factor that gave Nara the league title.
On 24 October 2023, Nara Club announcement officially granted J2 License after approval of Club Licensing Board.[3]
Starting in 2024, the club partnered with BG Group from the Kingdom of Thailand as one of their shirt sponsors and Thai players Patrick Gustavssonn and Kiadtiphon Udom joined from BG Pathum United FC, which is owned by BG.[4] On January 24, 2025, it was announced that a capital alliance would be formed with BG Group, which will acquire and hold 14.98% of the shares for approximately 92 million yen. [5][6]
Stadium
Nara Club currently plays its home matches at the Rohto Field Nara. The capacity is 30,600.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Shakaijin Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |||
| Tonan Club | |||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Nara Pref. League Edu. | 11 | * | 3rd | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | Not eligible | * |
| 1993 | Nara Pref. League Div. 5 | 10 | 1st | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||
| 1994 | Nara Pref. League Div. 4 | 8 | 1st | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||
| 1995 | Nara Pref. League Div. 3 | 7 | 1st | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||
| 1996 | Nara Pref. League Div. 2 | 6 | 1st | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||
| 1997 | Nara Pref. League (Div. 1) |
5 | 6th | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||
| 1998 | 4th | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||||
| 1999 | 6 | 3rd | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | |||||
| 2000 | 2nd | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||||
| 2001 | 1st | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||||
| 2002 | 11 | 7th | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 12 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | |||
| 2003 | 5th | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 18 | ||||||
| 2004 | 1st | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 25 | ||||||
| 2005 [* 1] | 3rd | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 19 | ||||||
| 2006 [* 2] | 1st | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 25 | ||||||
| 2007 | 12 | 3rd | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 22 | |||||
| Nara Club | |||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Nara Pref. League (Div. 1) |
6 | 12 | 2nd | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 9 | 30 | 27 | Did not qualify | Not eligible | 1st round |
| 2009 | Kansai Soccer League (Div. 2) | 5 | 8 | 1st | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 18 | 29 | 30 | 2nd round | Did not qualify | |
| 2010 | Kansai Soccer League (Div. 1) |
4 | 4th | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 24 | 1st round | |||
| 2011 | 1st | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 13 | 29 | 35 | 1st round | |||||
| 2012 | 2nd | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 29 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2013 | 5th | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 14 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2014 | 5 | 1st | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 33 | 3rd round | Quarter-finals | |||
| 2015 | JFL | 4 | 16 | 7th | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 46 | 1st round | Not eligible | |
| 2016 | 10th | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 41 | 48 | -7 | 37 | 1st round | |||||
| 2017 | 7th | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 40 | 1st round | |||||
| 2018 | 8th | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 32 | 1 | 42 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2019 | 14th | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 34 | 1st round | |||||
| 2020 | 13th | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 18 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2021 | 17 | 10th | 32 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 39 | 36 | 3 | 43 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2022 | 16 | 1st | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 48 | 25 | 23 | 59 | 1st round | ||||
| 2023 | J3 | 3 | 20 | 5th | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 45 | 32 | 13 | 57 | 1st round | ||
| 2024 | 17th | 38 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 43 | 56 | -13 | 39 | 2nd round | 2nd round | ||||
| 2025 | TBD | 38 | 2nd round | 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: http://naraclub.jp/club
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Nara Prefecture League Division 5 | 1 | 1993 |
| Nara Prefecture League Division 4 | 1 | 1994 |
| Nara Prefecture League Division 3 | 1 | 1995 |
| Nara Prefecture League Division 2 | 1 | 1996 |
| Nara Prefecture League Division 1 | 3 | 2001, 2004, 2006 |
| Kansai League Division 2 | 1 | 2009 |
| Nara Prefectural Football Championship (Emperor's Cup Prefectural Qualifiers) |
16 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Kansai League Division 1 | 2 | 2011, 2014 |
| KSL Cup | 2 | 2012, 2014 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2022 |
Players
Current squad
As of 1 July 2025.[9] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Michiharu Otagiri [10] |
| Assistant manager | Kenta Betsuki |
| Goalkeeper coach | Masatoshi Hayashi |
| Interpreter | Yosuke Fukuda |
| Analyst and side affairs | Kazuki Fujiwara |
| Chief trainer | Hiroshi Fujimoto |
| Chief trainer | Kazushi Matsumura |
Managerial history
- As of June 2025
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Koji Yamaguchi | Japan | 1991 | 2009 |
| Ken'ichiro Fujimoto | Japan | 2010 | |
| Satoru Yoshida | Japan | 1 January 2011 | 31 December 2011 |
| Masashi Hachūda | Japan | 1 February 2012 | 3 January 2013 |
| Jiro Yabe | Japan | 3 July 2012 | 7 October 2013 |
| Jun Mizukoshi | Japan | 8 October 2013 | 31 January 2014 |
| Atsushi Nakamura | Japan | 1 February 2014 | 31 January 2017 |
| Norihiro Satsukawa | Japan | 12 February 2017 | 31 January 2019 |
| Koichi Sugiyama | Japan | 12 February 2019 | 31 January 2020 |
| Maiki Hayashi | Japan | 1 February 2020 | 31 January 2021 |
| Julián Marín Bazalo | Spain | 1 February 2021 | 4 September 2024 |
| Ichizo Nakata | Japan | 4 September 2024 | 12 June 2025 [11] |
| Michiharu Otagiri [12] | Japan | 12 June 2025 | present |
Kit evolution
| Home kit - 1st | ||||
2009 - 2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 - |
||||
| Away kit - 2nd | ||||
2009 - 2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 - |
||||
| Others - 3rd | ||||
2021 SP FP |
2022 SP FP |
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References
- ^ "Jリーグ準加盟審査結果について" (Press release) (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ 今後のクラブ運営体制について. Nara Club (in Japanese). 26 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ "2024年シーズン「Ｊ2クラブライセンス」交付のお知らせ". naraclub.jp. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Announcement of the addition of "BG Group" as a uniform partner". naraclub.jp. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Press Conference on Capital Alliance with BG Group". naraclub.jp. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Enhancement of club activities: Capital alliance between Nara Club and Thai companies". www.nara-np.co.jp. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "１部リーグ勝敗表" (PDF). Nara Football Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "平成18年度 奈良県社会人サッカーリーグ１部星取表" (PDF). Nara Football Federation. 23 November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "2025トップチーム". naraclub.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "Announcement of the appointment of Michiharu Odagiri as Director". naraclub.jp. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ "Notice of Termination of Coach Kazuzo Nakata's Contract". naraclub.jp. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ "Announcement of the appointment of Michiharu Odagiri as Director". naraclub.jp. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
External links
- (in Japanese) Official website