V-Varen Nagasaki (V・ファーレン長崎, Vi Fāren Nagasaki) is a Japanese football club based in Nagasaki, Capital of Nagasaki Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, 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.
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.[1] 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 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.
On 11 November 2017, the club clinched promotion to the J1 League for the first time in their history after a 3–1 home win over Kamatamare Sanuki.[2]
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.[3]
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 period in the Tokugawa shogunate (see Dejima).[4]
Their new stadium, Peace Stadium Connected by Softbank, has been in construction in downtown Nagasaki since 2022, and its scheduled to be completed around August 2024. The club plans to the new stadium on 10 October 2024. Softbank signed a sponsor partnership with V-Varen for 4 years.
On 6 October 2024, V-Varen Nagasaki first match in new stadium against Oita Trinita and win 4-1.
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
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
