Giravanz Kitakyushu

Giravanz Kitakyushu
ギラヴァンツ北九州
Full name Giravanz Kitakyushu
Nickname(s) Giravanz, Kita-Q
Founded 2001 (2001)[1]
Ground Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture
Capacity 15,300
Chairman Japan Hidemi Hayashi
Manager Japan Tetsuji Hashiratani
League J3 League
2017 9th
Website Club website

Giravanz Kitakyushu (ギラヴァンツ北九州, Giravantsu Kitakyūshū) is a Japanese football club based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The club's name was changed from New Wave Kitakyushu (ニューウェーブ北九州, Nyū Wēbu Kitakyūshū) as of 1 December 2009.[2] They played in the Japan Football League from 2008–2009, and were promoted to J. League Division 2 (J2) for the 2010 season, then have played in J2 until 2016 season, in which season they have suffered relegation to 2017 J3 League as being ranked 22nd.

History

The club was formed in 1947 as part of Mitsubishi Chemical's Kurosaki factory. Most of its career was spent in the regional and prefectural leagues, as Kitakyushu was represented in the Japan Soccer League by Yawata Steel F.C. Yawata was a founding member of the JSL in 1965, and finished as runner-up in its first two seasons in that league. Yawata was renamed New Nippon Steel F.C. in 1970, when Yawata Steel merged with Fuji Steel to form (New) Nippon Steel. It ultimately was relegated to the Second Division in 1982, then relegated from the Second Division to Kyushu regional league after 1990–91 season, and has never returned.

In 2001, Mitsubishi Chemical Kurosaki F.C., which had been a member of Kyushu regional league since 1973, became a community-oriented club (New Wave) Kitakyushu F.C.

In 2007 New Wave took second place in the Regional League promotion series, and was promoted to the JFL for the 2008 season.

The team applied for J. League Associate Membership in January 2008, and the application was accepted at the J. League board meeting on February 19, 2008.

On 1 April 2009, the club made an announcement that they would be accepting suggestions for a new name. This was because the name "New Wave" may cause trademark or tradename disputes.[3] Therefore, the new name had to be something not yet registered as a trademark.

On 2 October 2009, they announced that the new club name for the 2010 season would be Giravanz Kitakyushu (ギラヴァンツ北九州, Giravantsu Kitakyūshū). According to the official news release, the name "Giravanz" is coined from two Italian words: "Girasole", which means "sunflower", and "Avanzare", which means "moving forward".[4] (The sunflower is one of Kitakyushu's symbol flowers.)

On 23 November 2009, after a 2–1 win away against Arte Takasaki, Kitakyushu secured a top four position in the JFL for the 2009 season, regardless of the result at the final week of 2009 JFL. This means they will play in J. League Division 2 for the 2010 season, something which was confirmed by the J.League board meeting on 30 November 2009.[5][6][7]

New Wave Kitakyusu crest

In its inaugural year in the pro ranks, despite attaining a large number of draw matches, Kitakyushu set new records for fewest wins and points in the season standings.

After several seasons in J2 League, on 20 November 2016 they suffered their first relegation to J3 League.

Current squad

As of September 18, 2018.[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Norihiro Yamagishi
2 Japan DF Shingo Arizono
3 Japan DF Kenta Fukumori
4 Japan DF Ryu Kawakami
5 Japan MF Tatsuya Onodera
6 Japan DF Shunsuke Fukuda
7 Japan MF Taira Shige
8 Japan MF Naoto Ando
9 Brazil FW Davi
10 Japan MF Shota Inoue
11 Japan FW Tomoki Ikemoto
13 Japan DF Itsuki Urata
14 Japan FW Shoki Hirai
15 Japan MF Wataru Noguchi
16 Japan FW Sota Sato
No. Position Player
17 Japan MF Koken Kato
18 Japan MF Yohei Naito
19 Japan MF Daichi Kawashima
20 Japan MF Sho Hanai
21 Japan GK Takuya Takahashi
22 Japan MF Soya Fujiwara
23 Japan MF Ryuko Kito
24 Japan DF Nobuyuki Kawashima
25 Japan FW Hiroki Maeda
26 South Korea FW Jeong Won Jae
27 Japan GK Kaiho Nakayama
29 Japan MF Kengo Kotani
28 South Korea DF Bae Soo-yong
30 Japan DF Taisuke Muramatsu
31 Brazil FW Ferro
43 Japan MF Masashi Motoyama

Record as J. League member

SeasonDiv.Tms.Pos.Attendance/GJ. League CupEmperor's Cup
2010J219194,189-3rd Round
2011J22084,051-3rd Round
2012J22293,346-2nd Round
2013J222163,175-3rd Round
2014J22253,622-Quarter-finals
2015J22273,488-2nd Round
2016J222223,224-2nd Round
2017J31795,939-2nd Round
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance

References

  1. ↑ Club Profile
  2. ↑ News Release:New Wave Kitakyushu became a member of J. League(Japanese) (ニュースリリース ニューウェーブ北九州がJリーグ入会) Archived 2009-12-01 at the Wayback Machine. J. League official website posted 2009-11-30
  3. ↑ Official website (Japanese only)
  4. ↑ Announcement of the new team name and its emblem (新チーム名称・エンブレム発表) Archived 2009-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. New Wave Kitakyushu official website news release : dated 2 October 2009
  5. ↑ Official website (Japanese only) Archived 2009-12-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2009-11-30. J's Goal Website (Japanese only)
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Players & Staff選手・スタッフ". Giravanz Kitakyushu. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
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