FC Imabari (FC今治, Efu Shī Imabari) is a Japanese football club based in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League after promotion from J3 League in 2024, Japan's second tier of professional football.
History The club was founded in 1976 and were promoted to the Shikoku Football League in 2001.
From 2009 to 2011, they were owned by Ehime FC as their reserve team, Ehime FC Shimanami. In 2014, the majority of FC Imabari was bought by former Japan national team coach Takeshi Okada.
In February 2016, the club made another step forward towards the J. League, as JFA recognised J.League Hundred Year Vision clubs. In November, they won the Regional Promotion Series and were promoted to the Japan Football League. During their debut season on the JFL, they opened their new stadium and acquired a J3 League license from the 2018 season.
In 2019, after finishing on third place at the JFL, FC Imabari were promoted to Japan's professional league system, becoming a professional club, as they were promoted to the J3 for the first time in their history.
FC Imabari acquired a J2 license in 2021, meaning that the club can be promoted to the J2 League once they are able to finish the season in the promotion zone.
On 10 November 2024, FC Imabari secured promotion to the J2 League for the first time in their history, ending a five year stint in the third tier.
On 25 September 2025, FC Imabari announced that it had been granted a J1 League license, making the club eligible for promotion to the J1 League should they finish the season in a promotion position.
Stadium
Arigato Service Dream Stadium (2017–2022) FC Imabari played their J3 League matches on the Arigato Service Dream Stadium from 2017 to 2022. They played their final league match there (as their home stadium) at the club's last home match of the 2022 season. Imabari played this match against Nagano Parceiro on 13 November 2022, at the 33rd Matchweek, with the match ending tied by 3–3.
ASICS Satoyama Stadium (2023–) From 2023, Imabari decided to change its home stadium to their newly built ASICS Satoyama Stadium. The opening ceremony was decided to be held on 29 January 2023. Satoyama Stadium was opened to the public on 29 January 2023, with a charity match contested between an XI of J-League Legends against FC Imabari U-18 and Ladies, respectively. On 5 March of the same year, FC Imabari played their first match of the season at their new stadium against Fukushima United in the J3 League, which ended in a 1–0 win for Imabari.
League and cup records ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotedRelegated League J. LeagueCup Emperor'sCup ShakaijinCupSeason Division Tier Pos P W D L F A GD Pts Attendance/G2011Shikoku SoccerLeague41st 14 13 1 0 52 4 48 34 Not eligible1st round 3rd place20121st 14 11 2 1 44 10 34 34 3rd round 1st round20131st 14 13 1 0 72 7 65 40 2nd round 1st round201453rd 14 11 1 2 78 16 62 34 1st round Did not play20151st 14 12 1 1 58 5 53 37 1st round 2nd round20161st 14 13 0 1 54 7 47 39 1st round 2nd round2017JFL 46th 30 12 12 6 54 36 18 48 2,182 2nd round Noteligible 20185th 30 14 7 9 63 32 31 49 3,081 2nd round20193rd 30 13 12 5 41 26 15 51 3,101 Did not qualify2020 †J3 3 7th 34 15 10 9 39 27 12 55 1,3552021 †11th 28 7 9 12 34 33 1 30 1,660 2nd round20225th 34 18 6 10 55 40 15 60 2,320 1st round20234th 38 16 11 11 54 42 12 59 3,711 2nd round20242nd 38 22 7 9 62 38 24 73 3,786 2nd round 1st round2025J2 2 11th 38 13 14 11 46 46 0 53 4,800 2nd round 1st round2026TBD 18 N/A2026-27TBD 38 TBD TBD Key
Honours +FC Imabari HonoursHonour No. YearsEhime Prefectural Football Championship (and Emperor's Cup Ehime Prefectural Qualifiers)112009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021Shikoku Soccer League52011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016Regional League Promotion Series12016
Players Current squad As of 1 August 2026.
Coaching staff . Position NameManager Yoshikiyo KuboyamaCoach Takamasa WatanabeCoach Kota OkamaotoCoach Ryosuke OchiGoalkeeping Coach Tomohito ShugyoPhysical Coach Mario KomiyaTechnical Staff Seigo FujitaExecutive Officer Masafumi YanoOperations Officer Ryoichi KanaiPress Officer Kanako Muroyama
Managerial history Manager Nationality Tenure Start Finish Takahiro Kimura February 1, 2012 January 31, 2016Hirofumi Yoshitake February 1, 2016 June 27, 2018Naoto Kudo June 27, 2018 January 31, 2019Takeshi Ono February 1, 2019 January 31, 2020Lluís Planagumà February 1, 2020 May 19, 2021Kazuaki Hashikawa May 19, 2021 May 23, 2021Keiichiro Nuno May 24, 2021 29 September 2021Kazuaki Hashikawa September 29, 2021 January 31, 2023Riki Takagi February 1, 2023 August 16, 2023Naoto Kudo August 16, 2023 January 31, 2024Toshihiro Hattori February 1, 2024 January 31, 2025Keiji Kuraishi February 1, 2025 April 8, 2026Yuji Tsukada April 8, 2026 June 10, 2026Abel Mourelo López June 11, 2026 September 21, 2026Yoshikiyo Kuboyama September 21, 2026 present
Kit evolution Home kit - 1st Away kit - 2nd
References
External links