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Ehime FC
愛媛FC
Ehime FC logo.svg
Full name Ehime Football Club
Short name Ehime
Founded 1970; 55 years ago (1970)
Stadium Ningineer Stadium
Matsuyama, Ehime
Stadium
capacity
20,919
Chairman Fumio Kamei
Manager Shinya Aono (Interim)
League J3 League
2022 J3 League, 7th of 18

Ehime Football Club, often called Ehime FC, is a professional football team from Matsuyama, the main city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, which is the second highest level of professional football in Japan. They moved back to the J2 League in 2024 after winning the J3 League championship in 2023.

Club History

Ehime FC started in 1970 as Matsuyama Soccer Club. In 1995, the club changed its name to Ehime Football Club. For many years, they played in local and regional leagues.

Moving Up the Leagues

In 2003, Ehime FC was promoted to the Japan Football League (JFL). This was a big step up for the team. They won the JFL championship in 2005. This win helped them get promoted to the J2 League. Ehime FC then spent 16 seasons playing in the J2 League. However, at the end of the 2021 season, they were moved down to the J3 League.

Big Wins and Return to J2

On November 28, 2007, Ehime FC had a surprising victory. They beat Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 in the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup. Urawa Red Diamonds had just won the AFC Champions League, making Ehime's win a huge upset.

On November 11, 2023, Ehime FC made a comeback. After two years away, they officially returned to the J2 League for the 2024 season. They won the 2023 J3 League championship. They secured their promotion with a close 1-0 win against their local rivals, FC Imabari. Riki Matsuda scored the only goal in that important match.

Home Stadium

Ehime FC plays its home games at Ningineer Stadium. This stadium is located in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. The stadium can hold 20,919 people. The Ehime Prefectural Sports Promotion Corporation manages and operates the stadium.

League Performance

This table shows how Ehime FC has performed in the J. League over the years.

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J. League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W D L G A GD Pts Attendance/G
2006 J2 13 9th 48 14 11 23 51 63 −13 53 4,139 Not eligible 4th round
2007 13 10th 48 12 9 27 39 66 −27 45 3,317 Quarter-final
2008 15 14th 42 9 10 23 39 66 −27 37 3,704 4th round
2009 18 15th 51 12 11 28 54 80 −26 47 3,694 2nd round
2010 19 11th 36 12 12 12 34 34 0 48 4,386 2nd round
2011 20 15th 38 10 14 14 44 54 −10 44 3,475 4th round
2012 22 16th 42 12 14 16 47 46 1 50 3,629 2nd round
2013 22 17th 42 12 11 19 43 52 −9 47 3,950 2nd round
2014 22 19th 42 12 12 18 54 58 −4 48 3,820 4th round
2015 22 5th 42 19 8 15 47 39 8 65 3,771 3rd round
2016 22 10th 42 12 20 10 41 40 1 56 4,089 3rd round
2017 22 15th 42 14 9 19 54 68 −14 51 3,866 3rd round
2018 22 18th 42 12 12 18 34 52 −18 48 3,161 2nd round
2019 22 19th 42 12 6 24 46 62 −16 42 3,780 2nd round
2020 22 21st 42 8 10 24 38 68 −30 34 1,512 Did not qualify
2021 22 20th 42 7 14 21 38 67 −29 35 1,854 1st round
2022 J3 18 7th 34 14 10 10 51 41 10 52 2,938 Did not qualify
2023 20 1st 38 21 10 7 59 48 11 73 3,674
2024 J2 20 17th 38 10 10 18 41 69 −28 40 4,721 1st round Round of 16
2025 20 TBA 38 1st round 2nd round
Key
*Pos. = Position in the league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn (tied); L = Games lost; G = Goals scored; A = Goals given up; GD = Goal difference (goals scored minus goals given up); Pts = Points earned
  • Attendance/G = Average number of fans at home games
  • In 2020 and 2021, fewer fans could attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Club Honours

These are the championships and titles Ehime FC has won.

Ehime FC Honours
Honour No. Years
Shikoku Football League 3 1998, 1999, 2000
Japan Football League 1 2005
J3 League 1 2023

Current Squad

This is a list of the players currently on the Ehime FC team.

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Kenta Tokushige
2 Japan DF Ibuki Konno (on loan from Gamba Osaka)
4 Japan DF Kotaro Yamahara
5 Japan MF Taiga Ishiura
6 Japan MF Masashi Tanioka
7 Japan MF Yutaka Soneda
8 Japan MF Yuta Fukazawa
9 Australia FW Ben Duncan
10 Japan FW Ryo Sato
11 Japan FW Yuta Fujihara
13 Japan MF Ryo Kubota
14 Japan MF Shunsuke Tanimoto
15 Japan FW Reiju Tsuruno (on loan from Avispa Fukuoka)
16 Japan MF Kohei Hosoya (on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
17 Japan FW Yuhi Murakami (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos)
18 Japan FW Yuya Taguchi
No. Position Player
19 Japan DF Takaya Kuroishi
24 Japan MF Hidemasa Koda (on loan from Nagoya Grampus)
25 Japan MF Haruki Yoshida (on loan from Nagoya Grampus)
26 Japan DF Kazuya Kanazawa
27 Japan FW Kyota Funahashi
29 Japan DF Hayato Fukushima (on loan from Shonan Bellmare)
31 Japan GK Fuma Shirasaka
36 Japan GK Shugo Tsuji
37 Japan DF Ryoga Ishio
39 Japan MF Hiroshi Muto DSP
40 Japan FW Kazuki Sota
41 Japan GK Kota Kameyama Type 2
44 Japan DF Kimiya Moriyama (on loan from Avispa Fukuoka)
48 Japan MF Toki Yukutomo
90 Brazil FW Arthur Viana (on loan from Cruzeiro)

Players on Loan

These players are still part of Ehime FC but are currently playing for other teams.

No. Position Player
21 South Korea DF Bak Keon-woo (at South Korea Chungbuk Cheongju)
23 South Korea DF Yu Ye-chan (at Nara Club)
Japan GK Kazuma Makiguchi (at Cerezo Osaka)
No. Position Player
South Korea DF Kang Sung-chang (at Kochi United SC)
Japan GK Raihei Kurokawa (at Kochi United SC)

Club Officials

These are the main people working for Ehime FC for the 2025 season.

Position Name
Manager Japan Shinya Aono (Interim)
Assistant managers Japan Kazuhisa Kawahara
South Korea Ong Byung-hun
Goalkeeper coach Japan Keisuke Hada
Physical coach Japan Takehisa Tsugawa
Analytical coach Japan Toya Takemoto
Interpreter Japan Yohei Murayama
Thailand Wongthawat Kuntarakornkiti
Chief trainer Japan Haruhiko Tsukada
Physiotherapist Japan Yukinari Miyamoto
Conditioning coach Japan Hiroshi Maezuru
Chief doctor Japan Kazuki Morizane
Doctor Japan Takashi Inoue
Japan Yoshito Homma
Japan Shinji Iwata
Japan Tomofumi Kinoshita
Japan Koji Yamashita
Competent Japan Hideki Ikenaga
Deputy Officers Japan Manato Fujitsu
Japan Taichi Zen
Mental advisor Japan Konomi Kimura

Kit Evolution

This section shows how Ehime FC's home and away uniforms have changed over the years.

Home kit – 1st
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Away kit – 2nd
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -

Managerial History

This table lists the managers who have led Ehime FC over the years.

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Takashi Onishi  Japan 1 February 2001 31 January 2005
Kazuhito Mochizuki  Japan 1 February 2005 14 September 2009
Ivica Barbarić  Bosnia 15 September 2009 15 November 2012
Kiyotaka Ishimaru  Japan 1 February 2013 31 January 2015
Takashi Kiyama  Japan 1 February 2015 31 January 2017
Shuichi Mase  Japan 1 February 2017 15 May 2018
Kenta Kawai  Japan 15 May 2018 31 January 2021
Shigenari Izumi  Japan 1 February 2021 4 April 2021
Noritada Saneyoshi  Japan 7 April 2021 16 December 2021
Kiyotaka Ishimaru  Japan 17 December 2021 21 May 2025
Shinya Aono (Interim)  Japan 21 May 2025 Current

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ehime FC para niños

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