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Thespa Gunma
ザスパ群馬
Thespa Gunma.jpg
Nickname(s) Thespa (ザスパ, Zasupa)
Founded 1995; 30 years ago (1995) (as Liaison Kusatsu)
2005; 20 years ago (2005) (as Thespa Kusatsu)
2013; 12 years ago (2013) (as Thespakusatsu Gunma)
2024; 1 year ago (2024) as (Thespa Gunma)
Ground Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma
Maebashi, Gunma
Ground Capacity 15,253
Owner Kusatsu Onsen Football Club
Chairman Tomohiko Nara
Manager Akira Muto
League J3 League
2024 J2 League, 20th of 20 (relegated)

Thespa Gunma (ザスパ群馬, Zasupa Gunma) is a professional football (soccer) club from Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club used to be called Thespakusatsu Gunma (ザスパクサツ群馬, Zasupakusatsu Gunma). Starting in 2025, they will play in the J3 League, which is the third level of professional football in Japan. They were moved down from the J2 League in 2024.

History of Thespa Gunma

The club started in 1995 in Kusatsu. This town is famous for its hot springs, also known as spas. The team was first called Liaison Kusatsu Football Club. The players were students from a special soccer school.

In 1999, the school had money problems and closed. But the players really wanted to keep the club going! So, they stayed in Kusatsu. In 2002, the club officially became a company. They changed their name to Thespa Kusatsu (ザスパ草津, zasupa kusatsu). "Thespa" means "The Spa," referring to Kusatsu's hot springs. They hoped to join the J. League, Japan's top football league.

Because of rules about stadiums in the J. League, the team plays its home games in Maebashi. This city is the capital of Gunma Prefecture and is close to Kusatsu. They have played at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma since they moved up to J. League Division 2 in the 2005 season.

On February 1, 2013, the club changed its name again to "Thespakusatsu Gunma". This new name helped show that the club represented the whole Gunma Prefecture. They still kept "Kusatsu" in the name and kept their original logo.

After playing in the J2 League for 12 years, Thespakusatsu Gunma moved down to the J3 League for the first time. This happened in the 2017 J2 League season when they finished last. But they worked hard and returned to the J2 League in 2020 after two years in J3.

On October 5, 2023, the club announced another name change. From the 2024 season, they would be known as Thespa Gunma. They removed "Kusatsu" from the name, which had been there since 2005.

On September 29, 2024, Thespa Gunma was moved down to J3 again for the 2025 season. This happened after they lost a game to Roasso Kumamoto at home. This ended their four years in the second-tier league with five games still left to play.

Home Stadium and Training Ground

The main stadium for Thespa Gunma is Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma. It is located in Maebashi, Gunma. The stadium can hold 15,253 people. The team practices at GCC The Park, which is also in Maebashi.

Thespa Gunma's League Records

This table shows how Thespa Gunma 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 F A GD Pts Attendance/G
As Thespa Kusatsu
2005 J2 12 12th 44 5 8 31 26 82 -56 23 3,959 Not eligible 4th round
2006 13 12th 48 9 15 24 54 86 -32 42 3,736 4th round
2007 13 11th 48 7 21 20 42 71 -29 42 3,808 4th round
2008 15 9th 42 13 14 15 45 52 -7 53 4,215 3rd round
2009 18 10th 51 18 11 22 64 76 -12 65 4,330 3rd round
2010 19 12th 36 14 6 16 36 48 -12 48 4,424 2nd round
2011 20 9th 38 16 9 13 51 51 0 57 3,211 2nd round
2012 22 17th 42 12 11 19 31 15 -14 47 3,341 2nd round
As Thespakusatsu Gunma
2013 J2 22 20th 42 9 13 20 43 61 -18 40 3,571 Not eligible 2nd round
2014 22 18th 42 14 7 21 45 54 -9 49 3,689 4th round
2015 22 18th 42 13 9 20 34 56 -22 48 4,099 1st round
2016 22 17th 42 11 12 19 52 66 -14 45 4,744 2nd round
2017 22 22nd 42 5 5 32 32 88 -56 20 3,832 3rd round
2018 J3 17 5th 32 15 7 10 37 35 2 52 3,346 2nd round
2019 18 2nd 34 18 9 7 59 34 25 63 3,594 2nd round
2020 † J2 22 20th 42 15 4 23 40 62 -22 49 1,709 Did not qualify
2021 † 22 18th 42 9 14 19 35 56 -21 41 2,082 4th round
2022 22 20th 42 11 9 22 36 57 -21 42 3,076 Round of 16
2023 22 11th 42 14 15 13 44 44 0 57 4,116 2nd round
As Thespa Gunma
2024 J2 20 20th 38 3 9 26 24 62 -38 18 3,988 2nd round 2nd round
2025 J3 20 TBD 38
Key
* Pos. = Where the team finished in the league.
  • P = How many games they played.
  • W = How many games they won.
  • D = How many games were a draw (tied).
  • L = How many games they lost.
  • F = How many goals they scored.
  • A = How many goals were scored against them.
  • GD = The difference between goals scored and goals against.
  • Pts = Total points they earned.
  • Attendance/G = The average number of fans at their home games.
  • † In 2020 and 2021, fewer people could attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Team Achievements

Thespa Gunma has won several honors throughout its history.

Thespa Gunma honours
Honour No. Years Notes
Gunma Prefecture Division 4 1 1995 as Liaison Kusatsu
Gunma Prefecture Division 3 1 1996
Gunma Prefecture 2nd Division A 1 1997
Gunma Prefecture Division 2 B 1 2001
Gunma Prefecture Division 1 1 2002 as Thespa Kusatsu
Kantō Division 2 1 2003
Gunma Prefectural Football Association
President's Cup Soccer Tournament		 3 2003, 2018, 2019

Current Players

Here are the players currently on the Thespa Gunma team.

No. Position Player
3 Japan DF Ryuya Ohata
4 Japan DF Yuma Funabashi
5 Japan MF Chie Edoojon Kawakami
6 Japan MF Tatsuya Uchida
7 Japan MF Masashi Wada
8 Japan FW Yuya Takazawa
9 Japan FW Shuto Kitagawa
10 Japan MF Ryo Sato
11 Japan FW Ryuji Sugimoto
13 Japan GK Issei Kondo
14 Japan FW Riyo Kawamoto (on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse)
15 Japan MF Koki Kazama
17 Japan MF Atsuki Yamanaka
18 Japan FW Luna Iwamoto
19 Japan FW Sena Saito (on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse)
21 Japan GK Masatoshi Kushibiki
22 Japan DF Yuriya Takahashi
No. Position Player
23 Japan FW Shu Hiramatsu
24 Japan DF Shuichi Sakai
25 Japan DF Rikiru Nakano
27 Japan MF Ren Fujimura
28 Japan MF Ryonosuke Kabayama (on loan from Sagan Tosu)
29 Japan DF Ryota Tagashira
30 Japan FW Toranosuke Onoseki
32 Japan FW Atsushi Kawata
33 Japan MF Hajime Hosogai
35 Japan MF Taishi Tamashiro
36 Japan DF Daiki Nakashio
37 Japan MF Gijo Sehata (on loan from V-Varen Nagasaki)
39 Japan GK Kohei Maki
40 Japan FW Kosuke Sagawa (on loan from Tokyo Verdy)
42 Japan GK Ryo Ishii
44 Japan MF Taishi Semba (on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
50 Japan DF Kenta Kikuchi

Players on Loan to Other Teams

No. Position Player
Japan MF Yudai Nakata (on loan at Tiamo Hirakata)

Coaching Staff

This is the team of coaches and support staff for 2024.

Position Name
Manager Japan Akira Muto
Coach Japan Kentaro Yoshida
Assistant coach Japan Ryo Ishibashi
Goalkeeping coach Japan Hidetoyo Watanabe
Analyst Japan Yota Sakuma
Physical coach Japan Yutaka Aoki
Physiotherapist Japan Koki Katakai
Trainer Japan Ryo Murakami
Japan Ryoji Sejino
Chief secretary Japan Ryo Suzuki
Team secretary Japan Ryota Osawa
Kitman Japan Riku Takahashi

Team Managers Over the Years

This table shows all the managers who have led the team.

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Ratko Stevović  Montenegro 1995 1997
Naoki Kimura  Japan 1998 1999
Ratko Stevović  Montenegro 2000 2001
Ryōsuke Okuno  Japan 1 February 2002 31 January 2004
Satoshi Tezuka  Japan 1 January 2005 31 December 2005
Shigeharu Ueki  Japan 1 February 2006 31 January 2009
Tōru Sano  Japan 1 February 2009 31 January 2010
Hiroshi Soejima  Japan 1 February 2010 31 January 2013
Tadahiro Akiba  Japan 1 February 2013 31 January 2015
Hiroki Hattori  Japan 1 January 2015 31 December 2016
Hitoshi Morishita  Japan 1 February 2017 31 January 2018
Keiichirō Nuno  Japan 1 February 2018 31 January 2020
Ryōsuke Okuno  Japan 1 February 2020 4 July 2021
Kiyokazu Kudō  Japan 5 July 2021 31 January 2022
Tsuyoshi Otsuki  Japan 1 February 2022 8 May 2024
Akira Muto  Japan 9 May 2024 current

Team Uniforms Over the Years

These sections show how the team's home and away uniforms have changed over time.

Home kits - 1st
2003 - 2004
2005
2006 - 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
Away kits - 2nd
2003 - 2004
2005
2006 - 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Thespakusatsu Gunma para niños

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