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Thespa Gunma
Japanese football club
Japanese football club
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| clubname | Thespa Gunma |
| ザスパ群馬 | |
| image_size | 160px |
| nickname | Thespa |
| founded | (as Liaison Kusatsu) |
| ground | Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma |
| Maebashi, Gunma | |
| capacity | 15,253 |
| owner | Kusatsu Onsen Football Club |
| chairman | Hajime Hosogai |
| manager | Masaru Okita |
| league | |
| season | |
| position | |
| current | 2025 Thespa Gunma season |
| website | |
| pattern_la1 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| pattern_b1 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 HOME |
| pattern_ra1 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| pattern_sh1 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| pattern_so1 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| leftarm1 | FFFF11 |
| body1 | 002354 |
| rightarm1 | FFFF11 |
| shorts1 | 002354 |
| socks1 | FFFF11 |
| pattern_la2 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 AWAY |
| pattern_b2 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 AWAY |
| pattern_ra2 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 AWAY |
| pattern_sh2 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| pattern_so2 | _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME |
| leftarm2 | FFFFFF |
| body2 | FFFFFF |
| rightarm2 | FFFFFF |
| shorts2 | FFFFFF |
| socks2 | FFFFFF |
ザスパ群馬 Maebashi, Gunma Thespa Gunma, formerly Thespakusatsu Gunma is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club currently play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese 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. 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, meaning "The Spa, Kusatsu".
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.
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.
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.
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 | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 | JFL | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 35 | 28 | 62 | 4,948 | Not eligible | Quartferfinals | |
| 2005 | J2 | 12 | 12th | 44 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 26 | 82 | -56 | 23 | 3,959 | 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 | 14th | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 59 | -3 | 46 | 3,555 | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
| 2026 | 10 | TBD | 18 | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||
| 2026–27 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBD | TBD |
;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
| Honour | No. | Years | Notes | Gunma Prefecture Division 4 | Gunma Prefecture Division 3 | Gunma Prefecture 2nd Division A | Gunma Prefecture Division 2 B | Gunma Prefecture Division 1 | Kantō Division 2 | Gunma Prefectural Football Association |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President's Cup Soccer Tournament | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1995 | as Liaison Kusatsu | ||||||||
| 1 | 1996 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2001 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2002 | as Thespa Kusatsu | ||||||||
| 1 | 2003 | |||||||||
| 4 | 2003, 2018, 2019, 2025 |
Current squad
– Do NOT add new players before their signing is officially announced by the club through their website, including medical and signing the contract. A transfer fee agreed doesn't mean the player will sign. – Do NOT remove players before their exit is officially announced by the club. – Do NOT add or change squad numbers until it is official on the Thespa Gunma website – Only add numberless players that are likely to become part of the first team – Pre-season numbers can be added temporarily with A REFERENCE – This is Wikipedia, not a football newspaper. Anything unconfirmed and unsourced will be removed on sight
Out on loan
Coaching staff
Coaching staff for 2025.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | JPN Masaru Okita |
| Coach | JPN Kentaro Yoshida |
| Assistant coach | JPN Ryo Ishibashi |
| Goalkeeping coach | JPN Hidetoyo Watanabe |
| Analyst | JPN Yota Sakuma |
| Physical coach | JPN Yutaka Aoki |
| Physiotherapist | JPN Koki Katakai |
| Trainer | JPN Ryo Murakami |
| JPN Ryoji Sejino | |
| Chief secretary | JPN Ryo Suzuki |
| Team secretary | JPN Ryota Osawa |
| Kitman | JPN Riku Takahashi |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratko Stevović | 1995 | 1997 | ||
| Naoki Kimura | 1998 | 1999 | ||
| Ratko Stevović | 2000 | 2001 | ||
| Ryōsuke Okuno | 1 February 2002 | 31 January 2004 | ||
| Satoshi Tezuka | 1 January 2005 | 31 December 2005 | ||
| Shigeharu Ueki | 1 February 2006 | 31 January 2009 | ||
| Tōru Sano | 1 February 2009 | 31 January 2010 | ||
| Hiroshi Soejima | 1 February 2010 | 31 January 2013 | ||
| Tadahiro Akiba | 1 February 2013 | 31 January 2015 | ||
| Hiroki Hattori | 1 January 2015 | 31 December 2016 | ||
| Hitoshi Morishita | 1 February 2017 | 31 January 2018 | ||
| Keiichirō Nuno | 1 February 2018 | 31 January 2020 | ||
| Ryōsuke Okuno | 1 February 2020 | 4 July 2021 | ||
| Kiyokazu Kudō | 5 July 2021 | 31 January 2022 | ||
| Tsuyoshi Otsuki | 1 February 2022 | 8 May 2024 | ||
| Akira Muto | 9 May 2024 | 31 January 2025 | ||
| Masaru Okita | 1 February 2025 | present |
Kit evolution
| {{Football kit | filetype=png | pattern_b = _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 AWAY | pattern_ra = _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2025 AWAY | pattern_sh = _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME | pattern_so = _thespakusatsu GUNMA 2024 HOME | body = | rightarm = | shorts = | socks = | 2025 - }}}} |
|---|
References
References
- "Club guide; Thespa Kusatsu". [[J. League]].
- (September 30, 2004). "Two JFL clubs apply for J. League entry". Japan Times.
- Ken Matsushita. (February 12, 2014). "Classifying the J2 teams from top to bottom". [[ONE World Sports]].
- link. Thespakusatsu Gunma
- (2023-10-27). "新クラブプロパティについて".
- "武藤 覚ヘッドコーチ 新監督就任のお知らせ".
- (2024-12-10). "沖田 優 氏の監督就任決定について". ザスパ群馬.
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