Giravanz Kitakyushu

History

Mitsubishi Chemical SC (1947[[Japan Soccer League 1990-91|–]]2000)

The club was formed in 1947 as part of Mitsubishi Chemical's Kurosaki factory. The club was a founding member of Kyushu regional league since 1973. Most of its career was spent in the regional and prefectural leagues, as Kitakyushu was represented in the Japan Soccer League by Yahata Steel F.C. Yahata was a founding member of the JSL in 1965, and finished as runner-up in its first two seasons in that league. Yahata was renamed New Nippon Steel F.C. in 1970, when Yahata 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 closed in 1999.

New Wave Kitakyushu (2001[[Japan Soccer League 1990-91|–]]2009)

In 2001, the club 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 club 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. Therefore, the new name had to be something not yet registered as a trademark.

Giravanz Kitakyushu (2010–present)

On 2 October 2009, they announced that the new club name for the 2010 season would be Giravanz Kitakyushu. 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". (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. They played in J. League Division 2 from 2010-2016.

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 coming in last in the 2018 J3 League season, they named Shinji Kobayashi as the new manager and Sports Director. In 2019, Kobayashi led a turnaround; the club became league champions and were promoted to the 2020 J2 League. They finished 5th in 2020. At the end of the 2021 season, they were relegated to the J3 League, becoming the first J.League club relegated to the J3 League a second time. They finished 13th in 2022, and finished last in 2023. The 2023 season was the first J3 season to have relegation to the JFL, but Kitakyushu avoided it because both Honda FC and Briobecca Urayasu, the respective champions and runners-up of the JFL that season, did not have the necessary license for promotion. In 2024, Kitakyushu finished seventh, missing qualification to the playoffs by two points. The 2025 J3 season was the last season played on a calendar year format.

Stadium

Giravanz played in the Honjo Athletic Stadium from 2010 until 2016.

Giravanz moved to the Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu, for the 2017 season.

League and cup record

;Key

• Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goal 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

Players

Current squad

As of 29 August 2025.

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Managerial history

Colour, sponsors and manufacturers

Kit evolution

References

References

1. [http://www.jleague.jp/en/club/kitakyushu/day/#profile Club Profile]
2. [http://newwave-k.co.jp/news/index/0/111 Official website (Japanese only)]{{dead link. (October 2017)
3. [http://newwave-k.co.jp/news/index/0/291 {{nihongo. Announcement of the new team name and its emblem. 新チーム名称・エンブレム発表] {{webarchive. link. (2009-10-07 New Wave Kitakyushu official website news release : dated 2 October 2009)
4. [http://newwave-k.co.jp/news/index/0/353 Official website (Japanese only)] {{webarchive. link. (2009-12-03)
5. "J's GOAL | オフィシャルニュース | ニューウェーブ北九州がＪリーグ入会".
6. (February 2022)
7. "J. League Data Site". J. League.
8. "Players & Staff選手・スタッフ". Giravanz Kitakyushu.