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 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.
History 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1955–1996, 1998–2004) Vortis Tokushima (1997) Tokushima Vortis FC (2005–present)
Stadium Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima.
League & cup record ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotedRelegated League J.LeagueCup Emperor'sCupSeason Div. Teams Pos. P W D L F A GD Pts Attendance/GOtsuka Pharmaceuticals2003JFL 16 1st 30 23 3 4 65 21 44 72 781 Not eligible 3rd round200416 1st 30 25 3 2 74 20 54 78 3,046 2nd roundTokushima Vortis2005J2 12 9th 44 12 16 16 60 76 -16 524,366 Not eligible 4th round200613 13th 48 8 11 29 43 92 -49 35 3,477 4th round200713 13th 48 6 15 27 31 67 -36 33 3,289 4th round200815 15th 42 7 8 27 40 72 -32 29 3,862 3rd round200918 9th 51 19 15 17 67 52 15 72 4,073 2nd round201019 8th 36 15 6 15 51 47 4 51 4,614 3rd round201120 4th 38 19 8 11 51 38 13 65 5,207 2nd round201222 15th 42 13 12 17 45 49 -4 51 3,991 3rd round201322 4th 42 20 7 15 56 51 5 67 4,348 2nd round2014J1 18 18th 34 3 5 26 16 74 -58 14 8,884 Group stage 3rd round2015J2 22 14th 42 13 14 15 35 44 -9 53 5,019 Not eligible 4th round201622 9th 42 16 9 17 46 42 4 57 4,565 3rd round2017227th 42 18 13 11 71 45 26 67 4,979 2nd round201822 11th 42 16 8 18 48 42 6 56 4,997 3rd round201922 4th 42 21 10 11 67 45 22 73 5,736 3rd round2020 †22 1st 42 25 9 8 67 33 34 84 3,100 Semi-finalist2021J1 20 17th 38 10 6 22 34 55 -21 36 5,664 Group stage 3rd round2022J2 22 8th 42 13 23 6 48 35 13 62 4,224 Group stage 3rd round202322 15th 42 10 19 13 43 53 -10 49 5,976 Not eligible 3rd round202420 8th 38 16 7 15 42 44 -2 55 6,054 1st round 3rd round202520 4th 38 18 11 9 45 24 21 65 9,7031st round 3rd round202610 TBD 18 N/A N/A2026-2720 TBD 38 TBD TBD Key
Honours +Tokushima Vortis honoursHonour No. Years NotesShikoku Football League41978, 1979, 1981, 1989as Otsuka PharmaceuticalJapan Football League22003, 2004as Otsuka PharmaceuticalJ2 League12020
Players Current squad
Out on loan
Club staff PositionStaffManager Takefumi OtaniFirst-team coach Masaya Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi FurukawaGoalkeeper coach Masahiko NakagawaAnalyst Akira NakajimaPhysical coach WellingtonRehabilitation fitness coach Atsushi NagataniChief trainer Shoji SuzukiTrainer Hisaaki Maehara Masaya Furukawa Kenta SaitoInterpreter Masahiro Fukasawa Masayuki Hatamoto Ferreira Hiroki NunomeGeneral manager Yusuke AbeAssistant general manager Yuya Ishii Daiki Sugawara
Managerial history Manager Nationality TenureStart Finish Kunio Yamade 1988 31 January 1993Hajime Ishii 1 February 1993 31 January 1996Edinho 1 February 1996 31 December 1998Shinji Tanaka 1 January 1999 28 September 2006Yutaka Azuma 28 September 2006 31 January 2007Masataka Imai 1 January 2007 31 January 2008Naohiko Minobe 1 February 2008 31 January 2012Shinji Kobayashi 1 February 2012 31 January 2016Hiroaki Nagashima 25 November 2015 31 January 2017Ricardo Rodríguez 1 February 2017 31 January 2021Takeshi Komoto (Interim) 1 February 2021 16 April 2021Dani Poyatos 1 February 2021Actual start date16 April 2021 31 January 2023Beñat Labaien 1 February 2023 22 August 2023Tatsuma Yoshida 23 August 2023 31 March 2024Kosaku Masuda 1 April 2024 (Interim)7 May 2024 (Official) 28 December 2025 Gert Engels 28 December 2025 8 May 2026Takefumi Otani 8 May 2026 Current
Kit evolution Home kits - 1st Away kits - 2nd
Other kits - 3rd
References
External links