is a Japanese professional football club based in Yamaguchi, the capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture. They set to play in J3 League from 2026–27, the third tier of professional football in Japan's football league system after relegation from J2 League in 2025.
History The original football team consisted of a group of teaching staff who were based within Yamaguchi prefecture, a team called , often abbreviated to Yamaguchi Teachers or Yamaguchi KFC (compare Tochigi S.C. and Gainare Tottori, who started as teachers' clubs and are now members of the J.League).
In February 2006, the Yamaguchi Football Association eyed the placement of a team from Yamaguchi in the J.League. Setting its heart of operations at Yamaguchi Teachers, a new football club was established. At the same time, a public appeal was made to name the new club, with Renofa Yamaguchi F.C. being decided in March of the same year. The word renofa is a wasei-eigo, a combination of three English words: renovation, fight, and fine.
Without a specified home ground, the team played Chūgoku league matches across a number of different venues within the prefecture, including Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium, Yamaguchi Kirara Expo Memorial Park, Onoda Football Park, Shunan City Athletic Stadium, and Yamaguchi Football Park. Now however, home games are played at Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium.
Though structured with a hometown manager and local players, sponsored by local business and enterprises, and local action plans within the local community, Renofa Yamaguchi F.C. is aiming for a national future in the J.League.
In the days of Yamaguchi Teachers, the team frequently finished mid to low table in the Chūgoku league. However, since the establishing of the new club in 2006, the team has consistently improved their final league position. This culminated in the 2008 season where they achieved their first league win. In the All Japan Regional Football Promotion League Series of that year the team finished fourth in the final round, missing the opportunity for promotion to the Japan Football League. The 2009 season saw them win their first Emperor's Cup match, beating Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima F.C. in a penalty shoot out.
Since the team's formation it had operated as a private organisation, however when the Nonprofit organization Yamaguchi Athletics Club was established on 24 May 2011, managing control of the team changed hands putting the new NPO in charge.
After finishing in 4th place in the 2014 Japan Football League and securing the necessary licensing, the J.League officially welcomed Renofa Yamaguchi to join the J3 League, starting from the 2015 season. Their J.League debut came in 2015 season. On 23 November 2015, Renofa earned their first and successful promotion from the JFL after winning the J3 League. The club was promoted for the J2 League ahead of the 2016 season. The club was guaranteed promotion after a 2–2 draw against Gainare Tottori in the closing rounds of the season, as Renofa were working towards J2 licensing before the season ended, for the promotion to be actually earned.
On September 26, 2023, Renofa Yamaguchi announced that they had officially been granted a J1 License.
In 2025, Renofa Yamaguchi were relegated to the J3 League for the next season after finishing 19th, marking their worst performance in the league and ending a nine-year run in the second tier.
Changes in club name (Yamaguchi Teachers, Yamaguchi KFC) (1949–2005) (2006–)
League & cup record ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotedRelegated League J. League Cup Emperor's Cup NotesSeason Division Pos. P W D L F A GD Pts Attendance/GYamaguchi Teachers1976 Not eligible 1st round1980ChūgokuLeague6th144372730−311 19817th143472931−210 19822nd1483334211319 1st round19832nd1483335231219 19844th1485138271117 19855th146173029113 19863rd1473434241017 19873rd126241816214 19883rd167363426817 19892nd1273228151317 19904th167363225717 19914th147163128322 19926th144191928−913 19933rd146442318522 19946th144552723417 19958th142572630−411 19966th143651735−1815 19978th1413101431−177 1 match won, 2 matches lost on penalties.Relegated to Yamaguchi Prefecture League.1998YamaguchiPrefectureLeague 1999 1st roundPromoted to Chūgoku League.2000Chūgoku League5th146172034−1420 1 match won on penalties.20017th123271730−1312 1st round1 match won, 1 match lost on penalties.20024th103251731−1412 1 match won, 1 match lost on penalties.Winners of the Chūgoku League fair play award.20038th14158822−1411 1st round3 matches won, 2 matches lost on penalties.Winners of the Chūgoku League fair play award.Relegated to Yamaguchi Prefecture League.2004YamaguchiPrefectureLeague1st10802 24 1st roundPromoted to Chūgoku League.2005Chūgoku League7th121471123−129 2 matches won, 2 matches lost on penalties.Renofa Yamaguchi FC2006Chūgoku League4th14 7 3 4 25 28 −3 25 Not eligible 20073rd17 6 4 7 33 46 −13 22 1st round 20081st16 11 5 0 45 15 30 38 Finalist in the Promotional Series20092nd18 13 1 4 53 21 32 40 2nd round20101st18 14 1 3 51 17 34 43 2nd round20112nd18 13 2 3 54 17 37 41 2nd round20124th18 9 5 4 47 22 25 32 20131st18 13 3 2 53 13 40 42 1st roundPromoted to JFL2014JFL4th26 16 3 7 51 27 24 51 2,297 Promoted to J32015J31st 36 25 3 8 96 36 60 78 4,367 1st roundPromoted to J22016J212th42 14 11 17 55 63 -8 53 6,654 3rd round 201720th42 11 5 26 48 69 -21 38 5,454 2nd round 20188th42 16 13 13 63 64 -1 61 6,123 3rd round 201915th42 13 8 21 54 70 -16 47 5,630 3rd round 2020 †22nd42 9 6 27 43 74 -31 33 1,976 Did not qualify2021 †15th42 10 13 19 37 51 -14 43 3,011 1st round 202216th42 13 11 18 51 54 -3 50 3,661 3rd round 202320th42 10 14 18 37 67 -30 44 4,407 2nd round 202411th38 15 8 15 43 44 -1 53 6,089 1st round TBC 202519th 38 7 15 16 36 47 -11 36 5,767 3rd round 2nd round 2026J3 TBD 18 N/A N/A2026-27TBD 38 TBD TBD Key
Honours +Renofa Yamaguchi honoursHonour No. YearsYamaguchi Prefectural Championship Emperor's Cup Yamaguchi Prefectural Qualifiers71999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010 Yamaguchi Prefectural League12004Chūgoku League32008, 2010, 2013Noue Cup12008Shakaijin Cup12013J3 League12015
Players Current squad
Out on loan
Club officials Club officials for 2025 season.
Position StaffManager Genki NakayamaHead coach Hideo YoshizawaCoach Ryo YokotaniGoalkeeper coach Kenji YamadaPhysical Coach Tetsuya SakamotoAssistant coaches Kensuke Akasaka Kensuke SatoDoctor Toru MoriwakiFitness coach Tomoyuki SatoPhysical coach Junichi MatsumotoChief trainer Tomoyuki SatoTrainers Atsushi Noto Akihiko MasunariPhysiotherapist Takashi SasakiCompetent Hiroki FujikawaDeputy officers Taiyo Kodama Rui NagaoInterpreter Yuto Kabazawa
Managerial history League matches only.Updated end of 2025 season Manager Nationality Tenure Managerial RecordFrom To P W D L W%Takashi Yamamoto 1990 31 January 2006Takashi Miyanari 1 February 2006 31 January 2010Takashi Kawamura 1 February 2012 31 January 2013Genki Nakayama 1 February 2013 31 January 2014Nobuhiro Ueno 1 February 2014 23 May 2017Shinji Sarusawa 24 May 2017 5 June 2017Carlos Mayor 6 June 2017 31 December 2017Masahiro Shimoda 1 February 2018 31 January 2021Susumu Watanabe 1 February 2021 28 September 2021Yoshihiro Natsuka 29 September 2021 9 May 2023Genki Nakayama 10 May 2023 7 June 2023Juan Esnáider 8 June 2023 13 November 2023Ryo Shigaki 1 December 202324 June 2025Genki Nakayama 24 June 2025present Key Source: J.League Data Site
Kit evolution Home Kits - 1st
Away Kits - 2nd
References
External links
Chūgoku League official site