Iwate Grulla Morioka

"Grulla" is the Spanish word of "crane", which was used in the mon of Nanbu clan of former Morioka han and later became the local symbol of Morioka.

Initially known as Villanova Morioka (ヴィラノーバ盛岡, Viranōba Morioka), the team was organised by alumni of Morioka Commercial High School and Morioka Chuo High School in 2000.

In 2003, a nonprofit organisation Association of Setting Up a J. League Team in Morioka (Jリーグチームを盛岡に作る会, J Rīgu chīmu wo Morioka ni tsukuru kai) was founded, and the team was reorganised and changed their name to Grulla Morioka (グルージャ盛岡) in February 2004 with the intention of achieving promotion to the J. League by 2008.

Under the new organisation, former JEF United and Oita Trinita player Shinichi Muto was invited to coach and captain the team with the company of players from the defunct Villanova Morioka and from J2 league. They played their first match on May 9, 2004, and it could be seen as an introduction to the local press beforehand. They won the Tohoku Soccer League second division in 2004 and therefore promotion to the first division for the 2005 season. In 2005 season, they won their first of six league championships, which they shared with TDK S.C.

In 2013 they won the Regional Promotion Series and were promoted directly to the newly formed J3 League, skipping the Japan Football League which became the new fourth tier.

From the 2019 season, the club has adopted the new name as "Iwate Grulla Morioka".^[1] In 2021 they earned promotion to the J2 League as J3 runners-up and made their debut in the second tier in 2022.

On 28 October 2022, Iwate Grulla Morioka acquired the J1 License, meaning that from the 2022 season, they can now be promoted to the J1 League if the club finishes in J2's Top 2.

The team played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, when was promoted to the J2 for the 2022 season.

Iwate plays at (or have played) at three stadiums. Their main stadium is Iwagin Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,938.

The second stadium is the Kitakami Stadium, located in the city of Kitakami, Iwate, which has a capacity of 6,376.

They have played before at the Iwate Morioka Stadium.

Key

As of 7 July 2025^[update].^[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.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  JPN Yuan Shimazu 4 DF  JPN Yusuke Muta 6 MF  HAI Cédric Toussaint 7 FW  JPN Shumpei Fukahori 8 MF  JPN Tsubasa Yuge 9 FW  BRA Sillas 11 FW  JPN Noriaki Fujimoto 13 MF  JPN Daiki Kogure 14 MF  JPN Takahiro Nakazato 16 DF  PRK Ryu Se-gun 17 FW  JPN Taishiro Okazaki 18 MF  JPN Shuto Kawai 19 FW  KOR Won Tae-rang 21 MF  JPN Hiroto Domoto 22 DF  JPN Daigo Nishi 23 FW  JPN Atsutaka Nakamura 25 DF  JPN Koji Wada

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 MF  JPN Koki Matsumura 29 FW  JPN Yu Machida 30 MF  JPN Atsuki Wada 32 DF  JPN Taku Saito 33 DF  JPN Shusei Yamauchi 36 GK  JPN Haruki Tanaka 39 MF  JPN Shota Yomesaka 40 GK  JPN Takuma Narahashi 44 DF  JPN Eiru Aratama 49 MF  JPN Yuki Kobayashi 50 GK  JPN Manafu Wakabayashi (on loan from RB Omiya Ardija) 55 MF  JPN Jukiya Fujishima 61 MF  JPN Kaichi Iwabuchi 62 DF  JPN Katsumi Yanagawa 63 DF  JPN Toma Nanao 77 MF  JPN Kanta Komatsu 80 MF  JPN Mao Hamana

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