V-Varen Nagasaki
Japanese football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
V-Varen Nagasaki (V・ファーレン長崎, Bi Fāren Nagasaki) is a Japanese professional football club based in Nagasaki, Capital of Nagasaki Prefecture. They will be competing in the J1 League, Japan’s top-tier professional football league, starting in the 2026–27 season after securing promotion from J2 in 2025.
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| Full name | V-Varen Nagasaki | ||
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| Nickname | VVN | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Stadium | Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank, Nagasaki, Nagasaki | ||
| Capacity | 20,000 | ||
| Owner | Japanet Holdings | ||
| Chairman | Hideki Iwashita | ||
| Manager | Takuya Takagi | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2025 | J2 League, 2nd of 20 (promoted) | ||
| Website | v-varen | ||
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History
The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC until the club decided to merge with Kunimi FC in 2004. The merger led the club to adopt the new name V-Varen Nagasaki in 2005, which has been used ever since.
V-Varen Nagasaki, since 2006, had been contending for the Kyūshū Soccer League championship and thus a place in the Japan Football League, but they only won it in November 2008, as second place in the Regional League promotion series.
In January 2009, they applied for J. League Associate Membership and their application was accepted at the J. League board meeting in February. In 2012, they won the Japan Football League title and thus promotion to the J. League Division 2.[1] Five years later they won promotion to the J1 League for the first time after finishing runners-up in the 2017 season.
J. League: 2013 –
In preparation for the club's first season in the J. League Division 2 the club hired local-born Takuya Takagi as their coach for the season.[1] On 3 March 2013 V-Varen Nagasaki played in their first ever J. League Division 2 match against Fagiano Okayama at the Kanko Stadium in Okayama in which the club drew the match 1–1 with Kōichi Satō scoring the first J. League Division 2 goal for V-Varen Nagasaki in the 25th minute. The club then played their first home match in the J. League Division 2 on 10 March 2013 at the Nagasaki Athletic Stadium against former J. League champions Gamba Osaka in which V-Varen Nagasaki lost 3–1 in front of a huge crowd of 18,153.
The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in 2012 for the first time in their history after finishing as the champions in the 2012 Japan Football League and hired Nagasaki native Takuya Takagi to coach the club for the 2013 season.[1]
On 11 November 2017, the club clinched promotion to the J1 League for the first time in their history after a 3–1 home win over Kamatamare Sanuki.[2]
On 29 November 2025, the club secure promotion to J1 League after draw 1–1 against Tokushima Vortis in final matchweek at away game and return to top tier after six years absence.
Financial troubles
After facing dire financial difficulties, on 8 March 2017 the club was purchased by Japanet Holdings, the parent company of Japanese television shopping giant Japanet Takata Co., Ltd., becoming a fully owned subsidiary. Japanet have invested significant sums into the club, securing promotion to the top tier of Japanese football and publishing plans to build a new football-specific stadium on the former site of Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipbuilding operations, which opened in 2024.[3]
Club name
The "V" in the club's name comes from the Portuguese word vitória (meaning 'victory') as well as the Dutch word vrede (meaning 'peace'), while varen is the Dutch verb meaning 'to sail', relating to Nagasaki's heritage as port of call of Portuguese and Dutch traders during the Sakoku period in the Tokugawa shogunate (see Dejima).[4]
V-Varen Nagasaki unveiled a new club logo ahead of the 2025 season.
Stadium
Their stadium, the Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank, started construction in downtown Nagasaki in June 2022, and was completed in September 2024. The club played the first competitive match in the new stadium on October 6, 2024, beating Oita Trinita 4-1. SoftBank signed a partnership[5] with V-Varen for 4 years.
V-Varen Nagasaki previously used the Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki as its home stadium until the end of September 2024.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | ||
| 2008 | Kyushu | 18 | 2nd | 18 | 14 | 1 (1) | 2 | 76 | 10 | 66 | 46 | Not eligible | Did not qualify | |
| 2009 | JFL | 18 | 11th | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 43 | –5 | 44 | 2,763 | Second round | |
| 2010 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 38 | 12 | 53 | 2,525 | Second round | ||
| 2011 | 18 | 5th | 33 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 44 | 17 | 56 | 1,513 | Second round | ||
| 2012 | 17 | 1st | 34 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 24 | 33 | 67 | 3,656 | Second round | ||
| 2013 | J2 | 22 | 6th | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 66 | 6,167 | Second round | |
| 2014 | 22 | 14th | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 45 | 42 | 3 | 52 | 4,839 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2015 | 22 | 6th | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 42 | 33 | 9 | 60 | 4,931 | Second round | ||
| 2016 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 39 | 51 | –12 | 47 | 5,225 | Second round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 2nd | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 80 | 5,941 | Second round | ||
| 2018 | J1 | 18 | 18th | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 39 | 59 | –20 | 30 | 11,225 | Group stage | Third round |
| 2019 | J2 | 22 | 12th | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 57 | 61 | –4 | 56 | 7,737 | Not eligible | Semi-finals |
| 2020 † | 22 | 3rd | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 66 | 39 | 27 | 80 | 3,714 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 † | 22 | 4th | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 69 | 44 | 25 | 78 | 4,956 | Fourth round | ||
| 2022 | 22 | 11th | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 50 | 54 | –4 | 56 | 5,061 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2023 | 22 | 7th | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 70 | 56 | 14 | 65 | 7,300 | Second round | ||
| 2024 | 20 | 3rd | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 74 | 39 | 36 | 75 | 9,814 | Playoff round | Round of 16 | |
| 2025 | 20 | 2nd | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 63 | 44 | 19 | 70 | 15,877 | Second round | Third round | |
| 2026 | J1 | 10 | TBD | 18 | N/A | N/A | ||||||||
| 2026–27 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBD | TBD | |||||||||
- 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
- Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 pandemic
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2012 |
| Kyushu Soccer League | 1 | 2006 |
| Nagasaki Prefectural Football Championship Emperor's Cup Nagasaki Prefectural Qualifiers |
6 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
Current squad
- As of 30 April 2026.[6]
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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Coaching staff
2025 Official club staff.[7]
Notice of Coach Yusuke Murakami's retirement.[8]
| Position | Staff name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Takuya Takagi |
| Head coach | Ryotaro Tanaka |
| Coaches | Akira Ito Naoyuki Saito |
| Goalkeeper coach | Takanori Miyoshi |
| Analytic coach | Yukimura Yoshizawa |
| Chief physical coach | Daiki Makino |
| Physical coach | Keita Kikuchi |
| Interpreter | Jefferson Youei Tonaki Tetsuya Ozawa |
| Chief trainer | Takeshi Mochizuki |
| Trainers | Akira Migitaka Yujiro Sakae Hiroaki Shibata |
| Chief manager | Takashi Yonetani |
| General manager | Toshiya Wada |
| Kit man | Keita Kusunoki |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Fumiaki Iwamoto | Japan | 1 February 2005 | 31 January 2008 |
| Yoshinori Higashikawa | Japan | 1 February 2008 | 13 June 2009 |
| Takeshi Okubo | Japan | 4 June 2009 | 30 June 2009 |
| Fumiaki Iwamoto | Japan | 1 July 2009 | 31 January 2010 |
| Tōru Sano | Japan | 1 February 2010 | 31 January 2013 |
| Takuya Takagi | Japan | 1 February 2013 | 31 January 2019 |
| Makoto Teguramori | Japan | 1 February 2019 | 31 January 2021 |
| Takayuki Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2021 | 3 May 2021 |
| Kazuki Satō | Japan | 4 May 2021 | 6 May 2021 |
| Hiroshi Matsuda | Japan | 4 May 2021 | 12 June 2022 |
| Takeo Harada (caretaker) | Japan | 13 June 2022 | 30 June 2022 |
| Fábio Carille |  Brazil | 1 July 2022 | 31 December 2023 |
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Japan | 1 February 2024 | 17 June 2025 [9] |
| Takuya Takagi | Japan | 22 June 2025 | present |
Kit evolution
| Home kits - 1st | ||||
          2005 - 2006 |
     2007 - 2008 |
     2009 - 2010 |
     2011 |
     2012 |
     2013 |
     2014 |
    2015 |
     2016 |
   2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
     2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
    2023 |
     2024 |
     2025 - | ||
| Away kits - 2nd | ||||
     2005 - 2006 |
     2007 - 2008 |
     2009 - 2010 |
     2011 |
     2012 |
     2013 |
     2014 - 2015 |
     2016 |
     2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
     2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
   2023 |
     2024 |
     2025 - | |||
| Alternative kits - 3rd | ||||
   2015 Peace Memorial |
   2016 Peace Memorial |
   2017 Peace Memorial |
     2018 Peace Memorial |
     2019 Peace Memorial |
     2021 Peace Memorial |
    2022 Peace Memorial |
     2023 Peace Memorial |
     2024 Peace Prayer |
     2024 Peace Stadium Opening Celebration |