Tochigi City FC
| Full name | Tochigi City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1947 as Hitachi Tochigi Soccer Club | ||
| Stadium | City Football Station Tochigi, Tochigi | ||
| Capacity | 5,129 | ||
| Chairman | Takashi Ōkuri | ||
| Manager | Naoki Imaya | ||
| League | J3 League | ||
| 2024 | JFL, 1st of 16 (promoted) | ||
| Website | tochigi-city | ||
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Tochigi City Football Club (栃木シティフットボールクラブ, Tochigi Shiti Futtobōrukurabu), commonly known as Tochigi City (栃木シティ, Tochigi Shiti Efushi) is a Japanese football club based in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture. The club currently plays in the third-tier J3 League, after promotion from the Japan Football League in 2024.
Origin name
In 2006, Tochigi was adopted the moniker Uva (meaning "grape" in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish). Grapes are a specialty in the area of Ohira Town,[1] which is the location of the Hitachi Tochigi Plant in Tochigi Prefecture.
History
The club was formed in 1947 as Hitachi Tochigi Soccer Club, the works team of the local Hitachi, Ltd. affiliate.
After finishing as a runners-up in the local Kanto Soccer League in 2009 season, they were promoted to the 2010 Japan Football League through the All Japan Regional Football Promotion League Series. Prior to their first season in JFL, the club has dropped Hitachi prefix in its name and changed the reference to sport from "soccer" to "football" following general Japanese trend. From the 2019 season, the club has adopted the new name as Tochigi City .[2][3]
Promotion to Japan Football League
In 2023, Tochigi City secured promotion to Japan Football League after defeating Tsukuba 4–0 in final day of 2023 Japanese Regional Football Champions League, Champions of Japanese Regional Football Champions League for the first time in their history due to finishing in second place in Kanto Soccer League and a return to fourth tier after six years absence since change name from Tochigi Uva.
Promotion to J. League
On 24 September 2024, Tochigi City announced that it was officially granted a J3 Club License after approval from the J. League Board of Directors. [4]
On 17 November 2024, Tochigi City secured the 2024 Japan Football League championship and promotion to the J3 League for the first time in history after defeating Atletico Suzuka 6–0 in Kanseki Stadium Tochigi in match week 29, their final home match of the season, returning to the third tier after 11 years.[5][6]
On 13 December 2024, Tochigi City officially announced their first J3 League home game will be against SC Sagamihara on 16 February 2025 and their first away game will be against relegated team from J2, Thespa Gunma on 24 February 2025.[7] Tochigi City will also compete in the Tochigi Derby against Tochigi SC.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | Emperor's Cup |
J. League Cup | Shakaijin Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div. | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||||
| Hitachi Tochigi Uva SC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Kanto Division 2 | 5 | 8 | 2nd | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 18 | 17 | 30 | Did not qualify | Not eligible | ||
| 2007 | Kanto Division 1 | 4 | 8 | 2nd | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 17 | 16 | 27 | ||||
| 2008 | 2nd | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 26 | 3rd round | ||||||
| 2009 | 2nd | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 31 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| Tochigi Uva | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Japan Football League | 3 | 18 | 15th | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 41 | 75 | -34 | 31 | 1st round | – | Ineligible | |
| 2011 | 17 | 10th | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 43 | -3 | 45 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2012 | 17 | 17th | 32 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 36 | 70 | -34 | 22 | Prefectural qualify round | |||||
| 2013 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 34 | 64 | -32 | 30 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2014 | 4 | 14 | 13th | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 37 | -21 | 19 | 1st round | ||||
| 2015 | 16 | 16th | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 29 | 61 | -32 | 19 | 1st round | |||||
| 2016 | 16 | 15th | 30 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 34 | 77 | -43 | 16 | 1st round | |||||
| 2017 | 16 | 16th | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 56 | -34 | 24 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2018 | Kantō Soccer League Division 1 | 5 | 10 | 1st | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 14 | 36 | 52 | Prefectural qualify round | Did not play | ||
| Tochigi City FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Kantō Soccer League Division 1 | 5 | 10 | 3rd | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 32 | 1st round | – | 2nd round | |
| 2020 † | 10 | 1st | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 23 | 1st round | Cancelled | ||||
| 2021 | 12 | 4th | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 45 | 26 | 19 | 46 | 2nd round | |||||
| 2022 | 10 | 1st | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 37 | Prefectural qualify round | Quarter final | ||||
| 2023 | 10 | 2nd | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 54 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 2nd round | 1st round | ||||
| 2024 | Japan Football League | 4 | 16 | 1st | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 66 | 35 | 31 | 64 | 2nd round | Ineligible | ||
| 2025 | J3 League | 3 | 20 | TBD | 38 | Prefectural qualify 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
- † Number of games played reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tochigi Prefecture Division 1 | 10 | 1967, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1999, 2002 |
| Tochigi Prefecture 2nd Division A | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
| Tochigi Prefecture Division 2 | 1 | 1991 |
| Tochigi Prefectural Football Championship Emperor's Cup Tochigi Prefectural Qualifiers |
11 | 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 |
| Kantō Soccer League | 3 | 2018, 2020, 2022 |
| Japanese Regional Football Champions League | 1 | 2023 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2024 |
Current squad
As of 28 June 2025.[8]
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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Out on loan
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
- As of the 2025 season.
| Position | Staff[9] |
|---|---|
| Manager | Naoki Imaya |
| Defense coach | Takuma Tsuda |
| Offense coach | Atsushi Izawa |
| Goalkeeper coach | Yuki Takita |
| Strengthening coach | Nobuaki Sekimura |
| Analyst | Eishiro Hashiya Kazuki Yokoyama Kentaro Yoshihara |
| Chief trainer | Arihiro Koizumi |
| Trainer | Kosuke Inoue |
| Competent/Kitman | Masateru Hata |
| Side affair and interpreter | Naoki Iwahashi |
| Reinforcement affairs | Takumi Abe |
| Doctor | Hideyuki Sanuma Masataka Hasue Akinori Kimura Tsuneari Takahashi Takahiro Higashi Yasuhiro Higai Yuya Ogawa Taisuke Sato |
References
- ^ "Grape picking in Ohira, Tochigi". visit-tochigi.com. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ mainichi.jp
- ^ sankei.com
- ^ "2025シーズン Ｊ３クラブライセンス交付のお知らせ" (Press release). 栃木シティFC. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
- ^ "Ｊリーグ入会（Ｊ３）について：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-17.
- ^ "Ｊ３昇格決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-17.
- ^ "2025シーズン 年間対戦カード決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 2024-12-13. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ^ "Tochigi City FC". Tochigi City FC. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ^ "Club staff 2025". tochigi-city.com. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Tochigi Uva FC U-15 U-12 Football School (archived)