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Tokushima Vortis

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Tokushima Vortis
徳島ヴォルティス
Full nameTokushima Vortis
NicknameVortis
Founded1955; 71 years ago (1955)
GroundPocarisweat Stadium
Naruto, Tokushima
Capacity17,924
ChairmanKazuhiro Kishida
ManagerTakefumi Otani
LeagueJ2 League
2025J2 League, 4th of 20
Websitevortis.jp

Tokushima Vortis (徳島ヴォルティス, Tokushima Vorutisu) is a Japanese professional football club located in Tokushima, capital of Tokushima Prefecture. The club currently playing in the J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football league.

Name origin

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The name, "Vortis" was named in 1997 (see below), and it was explained as a coinage of Italian "Vortice" (meaning whirlpool, after the famous Naruto whirlpool in Naruto Strait). The name was chosen to exhibit the dynamics of a whirlpool in the hope of swallowing up the whole audience in excitement by its power, speed and unity.[1]

History

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Founded in 1955 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Soccer Club, VORTIS joined the J-League in 2005. They are still sponsored by Otsuka's best-known brand, Pocari Sweat sports drink.[1]

They were first promoted to the old Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1989, but the company's reluctance to professionalize the team forced it to compete in the former JFL and current JFL. In the 1997 old JFL season, they first sported a Vortis Tokushima name, but the lack of fan interest at the time forced them to go back to the corporate identity. They finally adopted the Tokushima Vortis name for good after winning the new JFL championship in 2004 and being promoted.[2]

The first season in J2 was naturally a difficult one for Vortis, but they surprised many sceptics with their determination and quality of play. The team rose as high as fourth place, at one point, before slipping down the table later in the season to finish ninth. In 2006, the team was forced to rebuild, as the players who took the team into the J.League began to hit the ceiling of their abilities and made way for younger replacements. As a result, despite the encouragement of a local rivalry with Ehime FC, Tokushima drifted down-table, and they followed it up with a last-place finish in 2007 and 2008.[2]

In 2013, they earned fourth place in J2, matching the same placement they had two years before in the division and twenty years before in the old JFL Division 1; this time they won the playoff, defeating Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the final round at the National Stadium in Tokyo, thus becoming the first professional Shikoku football club to compete in the top division of their national league.[3]

Until their promotion, they were the only former JSL member currently a member of the J.League which has never competed in the top tier of Japanese football. With promotion and the creation of the J3 League in 2014, the distinction was taken over by Blaublitz Akita.

In the 2019 season, they finished 4th again and were one win away from a return to J1 in the playoffs, but ultimately failed to beat Shonan Bellmare away in the final game. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, they did one better and were promoted as J2 champions.

Team name transition

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  • Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1955–1996, 1998–2004)
  • Vortis Tokushima (1997)
  • Tokushima Vortis FC (2005–present)

Stadium

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Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima.

League & cup record

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
LeagueJ.League
Cup		Emperor's
Cup
SeasonDiv.TeamsPos.PWDLFAGDPtsAttendance/G
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
2003 JFL161st30233465214472781Not eligible3rd round
2004 161st302532742054783,0462nd round
Tokushima Vortis
2005 J2129th441216166076-16524,366Not eligible4th round
2006 1313th48811294392-49353,4774th round
2007 1313th48615273167-36333,2894th round
2008 1515th4278274072-32293,8623rd round
2009 189th51191517675215724,0732nd round
2010 198th361561551474514,6143rd round
2011 204th3819811513813655,2072nd round
2012 2215th421312174549-4513,9913rd round
2013 224th422071556515674,3482nd round
2014 J11818th3435261674-58148,884Group stage3rd round
2015 J22214th421314153544-9535,019Not eligible4th round
2016 229th421691746424574,5653rd round
2017 227th42181311714526674,9792nd round
2018 2211th421681848426564,9973rd round
2019 224th42211011674522735,7363rd round
2020 † 221st422598673334843,100Semi-finalist
2021 J12017th38106223455-21365,664Group stage3rd round
2022 J2228th4213236483513624,224Group stage3rd round
2023 2215th421019134353-10495,976Not eligible3rd round
2024 208th38167154244-2556,0541st round3rd round
2025 204th3818119452421659,7031st round3rd round
2026 10TBD18N/AN/A
2026-27 20TBD38TBDTBD
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 league home attendance
  • † 2020 season attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

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Tokushima Vortis honours
HonourNo.YearsNotes
Shikoku Football League 4 1978, 1979, 1981, 1989 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical
Japan Football League 2 2003, 2004 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical
J2 League 1 2020

Players

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Current squad

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As of 1 August 2026.[4]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  JPN Hayato Tanaka (on loan from Kashiwa Reysol)
3 DF  JPN Nao Yamada (captain)
4 DF  BRA Kaique Mafaldo
5 DF  JPN Hayato Aoki
6 MF  JPN Naoki Kanuma (vice-captain)
7 MF  JPN Shunto Kodama
8 MF  JPN Ken Iwao
9 FW  BRA Thonny Anderson (vice-captain)
10 MF  JPN Taro Sugimoto
11 FW  BRA Lucas Barcellos
14 FW  JPN Yukihito Kajiya
15 DF  JPN Kohei Yamakoshi
16 FW  JPN Daiki Watari (vice-captain)
17 MF  JPN Tetsuyuki Inami
19 FW  JPN Jumma Miyazaki
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF  JPN Ko Yanagisawa
23 MF  JPN Yu Takada
24 MF  JPN Soya Takada
26 MF  JPN Yusei Onoe
27 FW  NGA Lawrence David
28 DF  JPN Towa Nishisaka
29 GK  JPN Daiki Mitsui
31 GK  JPN Toru Hasegawa
37 GK  JPN Kai Chidi Kitamura
42 DF  JPN Yuya Takagi
44 DF  JPN Tatsuya Yamaguchi
50 GK  KOR Kang Young-kwang
55 MF  JPN Takuya Shigehiro
69 MF  JPN Muku Fukuta
97 DF  JPN Malcolm Tsuyoshi Moyo

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
21 GK  JPN Kokoro Aoki (at Kamatamare Sanuki)
No. Pos. Nation Player
77 MF  BRA Thales (at Kagoshima United)
— FW  JPN Kiyoshiro Tsuboi (at Kataller Toyama)

Club staff

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Position Staff
ManagerJapan Takefumi Otani
First-team coachJapan Masaya Yamaguchi
Japan Tsuyoshi Furukawa
Goalkeeper coachJapan Masahiko Nakagawa
AnalystJapan Akira Nakajima
Physical coachBrazil Wellington
Rehabilitation fitness coachJapan Atsushi Nagatani
Chief trainerJapan Shoji Suzuki
TrainerJapan Hisaaki Maehara
Japan Masaya Furukawa
Japan Kenta Saito
InterpreterJapan Masahiro Fukasawa
Japan Masayuki Hatamoto Ferreira
Japan Hiroki Nunome
General managerJapan Yusuke Abe
Assistant general managerJapan Yuya Ishii
Japan Daiki Sugawara

Managerial history

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ManagerNationalityTenure
StartFinish
Kunio Yamade Japan198831 January 1993
Hajime Ishii Japan1 February 199331 January 1996
Edinho Brazil1 February 199631 December 1998
Shinji Tanaka Japan1 January 199928 September 2006
Yutaka Azuma Japan28 September 200631 January 2007
Masataka Imai Japan1 January 200731 January 2008
Naohiko Minobe Japan1 February 200831 January 2012
Shinji Kobayashi Japan1 February 201231 January 2016
Hiroaki Nagashima Japan25 November 201531 January 2017
Ricardo Rodríguez Spain1 February 201731 January 2021
Takeshi Komoto (Interim) Japan1 February 202116 April 2021
Dani Poyatos Spain1 February 2021
Actual start date
16 April 2021[5]		31 January 2023
Beñat Labaien Spain1 February 202322 August 2023
Tatsuma Yoshida Japan23 August 202331 March 2024[6]
Kosaku Masuda Japan1 April 2024 (Interim)
7 May 2024 (Official)[7]		28 December 2025 [8]
Gert Engels Germany28 December 2025[9]8 May 2026[10]
Takefumi Otani Japan8 May 2026[11]Current

Kit evolution

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Home kits - 1st
2005-2006
2007-2008
2009-2010
2011-2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Away kits - 2nd
2005-2006
2007-2008
2009-2010
2011-2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Other kits - 3rd
2017
Summer 3rd
2019
15th Anniversary
Summer Only
2021
Summer
2024
20th Anniversary

References

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  1. 1 2 "Tokushima Vortis Challenges J1 League Rivals". Otsuka Pharmaceutical. February 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "The 2013 Promotion Playoff winners are the first club from the island of Shikoku to participate in Japan's top flight". Goal.com. March 26, 2014. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Gus Fielding (December 8, 2013). "Tokushima reaches J1 with playoff final victory". Kyodo News. The Japan Times. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ "選手・スタッフ | トップチーム | 徳島ヴォルティス". 選手・スタッフ | トップチーム | 徳島ヴォルティス (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Dani Poyatos arrives in Japan". www.vortis.jp. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "吉田監督の解任を発表【徳島】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "増田氏が正式に監督に就任【徳島】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "Announcement of Masuda retirement". vortis.jp. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "New manager appointed". vortis.jp. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "ゲルト エンゲルス監督 契約解除のお知らせ". NEWS | 徳島ヴォルティス オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "大谷 武文 監督就任のお知らせ". NEWS | 徳島ヴォルティス オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 May 2026.
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