Thespa Gunma

Thespa Gunma
ザスパ群馬
Nickname(s)Thespa (ザスパ, Zasupa)
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995) (as Liaison Kusatsu)
2005; 19 years ago (2005) (as Thespa Kusatsu)
2013; 11 years ago (2013) (as Thespakusatsu Gunma)
2024; 0 years ago (2024) as (Thespa Gunma)
GroundShoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma
Maebashi, Gunma
Capacity15,253
OwnerKusatsu Onsen Football Club
ChairmanTomohiko Nara
ManagerAkira Muto
LeagueJ3 League
2024J2 League, 20th of 20 (relegated)
Websitethespa.co.jp
Current season

Thespa Gunma (ザスパ群馬, Zasupa Gunma), formerly Thespakusatsu Gunma (ザスパクサツ群馬, Zasupakusatsu Gunma) is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club set to play in the J3 League from 2025 after relegation from J2 in 2024, Japanese third tier of professional football.

History

The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most well-known spa resorts in Japan, as Liaison Kusatsu Football Club.[1] The players were students of the specialized training college Higashi Nihon Soccer Academy. When the school closed in 1999 due to financial difficulties, the players decided to stay in Kusatsu and keep the club alive. In 2002, the club was incorporated as K.K. Kusatsu Onsen Football Club with a future promotion to the J. League in mind and adopted the new team name Thespa Kusatsu (ザスパ草津, zasupa kusatsu), meaning "The Spa, Kusatsu".[1]

Because of J. League restrictions on stadiums, they play at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma (Shikishima Athletics Stadium) in nearby Maebashi, the prefectural capital since the club were promoted to J. League Division 2 in the 2005 season.[2]

From 1 February 2013, the club adopted the new name "Thespakusatsu Gunma", to give the impression of the club as a representative of the entire Gunma Prefecture, while still leaving the name "Kusatsu" in it, as well as the logo of the club as it is.[3][4]

After 12 years spent in the J2 League, Thespakusatsu Gunma were relegated to the J3 League for the first time in their history, having finished in last place in the 2017 J2 League. Gunma returned to the J2 League ahead of the 2020 season after being promoted back to J2 after two years spent in J3.

On 5 October 2023, Thespakusatsu Gunma announced officially, a change of name and logo to Thespa Gunma commencing from the 2024 season, dropping the "Kusatsu" which was included in the name since 2005. [5]

On 29 September 2024, Thespa Gunma were officially relegated to J3 for the second time in their history, for the 2025 season after a defeat by Roasso Kumamoto 2-3 at home, which ended four years in second tier with five games remaining.

Stadium and training ground

The home stadium is Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma, Maebashi, Gunma. The capacity of the stadium is 15,253. The training ground is GCC The Park in Maebashi.

Record as J. League member

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. = 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 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

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 squad

As of 13 August 2024.[6]

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

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

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Japan JPN Yudai Nakata (on loan at Tiamo Hirakata)

Coaching staff

Coaching staff for 2024.[7]

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

Managerial history

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 [8] current

Kit evolution

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 -

References

  1. ^ a b "Club guide; Thespa Kusatsu". J. League. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  2. ^ "Two JFL clubs apply for J. League entry". Japan Times. September 30, 2004. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Ken Matsushita (February 12, 2014). "Classifying the J2 teams from top to bottom". ONE World Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  4. ^ チーム名・ロゴ・マスコット [Team name, Emblem, Mascot] (in Japanese). Thespakusatsu Gunma. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "新クラブプロパティについて". ザスパクサツ群馬. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  6. ^ "2024 Season Member". Thespakusatsu Gunma. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Coaching staff for 2024". thespa-co-jp. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  8. ^ "武藤 覚ヘッドコーチ　新監督就任のお知らせ". thespa.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 May 2024.