is a Japanese football club based in the city of Ōita, capital of Ōita Prefecture. They currently play in the Japan Football League, the fourth tier of Japanese league football. The 2025 season is their 14th consecutive season in the JFL.
History The club was formed in 2003 as Hoyo FC. In 2005 they changed their name to Hoyo Atletico Elan, the name in which they competed for many years in the Kyushu Football League. The club is backed by the Hoyo Group, a digital camera and auto parts manufacturer based in nearby Kunisaki. In 2010 they changed their name to Hoyo Atletico Elan Oita. In 2011, they changed their name to Hoyo AC Elan Oita, won the Kyushu Soccer League and earned third place in the Regional League promotion series, which gave them qualification to compete in the JFL from 2012. Ahead of a league jump, they changed their name to Hoyo Oita on 2012.
In December 2013, the club tried to get closer ties to the community and therefore made another name change, this time to , for the 2014 season onwards, which the club have kept untouched ever since.
In 2020, Verspah won their first Japan Football League title. The title campaign was fairly unusual, as issues regarding COVID-19 prevented the league to be held normally. The clubs were only able to play the first half of the planned matches, 15 out of 30. The league decided to abandon the season and give the title to the 1st-placed team at that time, which was Verspah Oita. As the club did not have a J3 license at the time, the club was unable to receive promotion to professional league football, despite being a J.League 100 Year Plan club status holders.
In 2021, with the league operating normally with all matches being played, Verspah ended the league season in the 3rd place, but, the same issue was brought up. The club still was not a J3 license holder, and then, could not get promoted to the J3. Their J3 license was issued and granted only in the following 2022 season, which the club finished in 8th place, eight points off the promotion zone.
Team name The current team's name, "Verspah", was coined by combining the Portuguese word "vermelho", which means "red", and the English word "spa", which represents hot springs (after famously known Beppu Onsen), and the initial letter "H" of the former team name Hoyo Oita.
Home Towns The main home towns are Beppu and Yufu. On 28 June 2022, at a J.League Board of Directors meeting, they approved the addition of the Ōita city.
Historical Logos used until 2012 used 2012–2013
League & cup record ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotedRelegated League Emperor'sCupSeason Division Tier Pos. P W (PK) D L (PK) F A GD Pts Att/GHoyo Atletico Elan2007Oita Prefectural League(Div. 1) 5 2nd10 8 1 1 53 5 48 25 –20083rd10 7 1 2 44 11 33 22 –20091st9 8 1 0 39 5 34 25 –Hoyo Atletico Elan Oita2010Kyushu SoccerLeague 4 1st 16 13 (2)– 1 (0)48 8 40 44 1st roundHoyo AC Elan Oita2011Kyushu SoccerLeague 4 1st 18 15 (2) – 0 (1) 55 11 44 49 1st roundHoyo Oita2012JFL3 15th 32 9 8 15 40 57 -17 35 479 2nd round201315th 34 9 5 20 32 45 -13 32 333 2nd roundVerspah Oita2014JFL 4 7th 26 8 9 9 30 28 2 33 333 2nd round201510th 30 10 7 13 40 47 -7 37 488 2nd round201613th 30 6 13 11 30 42 -12 31 488 Did not qualify201714th 30 5 12 13 27 46 -19 27 407 2nd round20189th 30 11 6 13 29 38 -9 39 582 1st round20197th 30 10 10 10 42 36 6 40 503 1st round2020 †1st 15 10 2 3 27 16 11 32 306 4th round2021 †3rd 32 19 5 8 46 24 22 62 386 Round of 1620228th 30 12 7 11 40 44 -4 43 1,590 2nd round20236th 28 10 10 8 28 29 -1 40 834 3rd round20246th 30 11 12 7 37 37 0 45 1,801 Did not qualify20255th 30 14 7 9 41 33 8 49 1,822 1st round2026/27TBD 30 TBD
Key
Honours +Verspah Oita HonoursHonourNo.YearsOita Prefecture League 3rd Division12005Oita Prefecture League 2nd Division12006Oita Prefecture League 1st Division12009Kyushu League22010, 2011Japan Football League12020
Current squad As of 30 May 2024.
Club staff PositionStaffManager Takashi YamahashiAssistant manager Gen NakamuraFirst-team coach Toyoki Hasegawa Kazuya SakamotoGoalkeeper coach Masao NodaPhysical coach Shota MakiTrainer Ryo HanadaKit man Ryota SakamotoSide affairs Chiharu Suzukawa
Managerial history Manager Nationality Tenure Start Finish Haruo Yuki 1 January 1, 2012 31 December 2015Tōru Sano 1 February 2016 31 January 2018Shigemitsu Sudō 1 February 2018 31 January 2021Takashi Yamahashi 1 February 2021 Current
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