is a Japanese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, Capital of

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

. They currently play in

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

, the Japanese second tier professional in football league.

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 The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...

, 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, they won the

title and thus promotion to the J. League Division 2. Five years later they won promotion to the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

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. 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 is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

season. On 11 November 2017, the club clinched promotion to the

for the first time in their history after a 3–1 home win over Kamatamare Sanuki.

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, opening in 2023.

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 is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

period in the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

(see Dejima). V-Varen Nagasaki unveiled a new club logo ahead of the 2025 season.

Stadium

Their stadium, the

Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank (ピーススタジアムコネクテッドバイソフトバンク) is a association football, football stadium in Nagasaki, Japan, which has a seating capacity of 20,027. It has been the home of V-Varen Na ...

, started construction in downtown Nagasaki in June of 2022, and was completed in September 2024. The club played the first competitive match in the new stadium on October 6th, 2024. beating Oita Trinita 4-1.

SoftBank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...

signed a partnership 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

;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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

worldwide pandemic *Source
J.League Data Site

Honours

Current squad

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Managerial history

Kit evolution

References

External links

* {{Japanese Club Football, group=clubs Football clubs in Japan Association football clubs established in 2005 2005 establishments in Japan Sports clubs and teams in Nagasaki Prefecture Japan Football League clubs J.League clubs