Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
北海道コンサドーレ札幌

Full name	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Nickname	Consa
Founded	1935 (1935) as Toshiba Horikawa-cho SC
Stadium	Sapporo Dome (Sapporo, Hokkaido)
Capacity	42,065
Owner(s)	Isao Ishimizu (11.4%) Ishiya (9.5%)[1]
Chairman	Hajime Ishimizu
Manager	Kenta Kawai
League	J2 League
2025	J2 League, 12th of 20
Website	www.consadole-sapporo.jp
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (北海道コンサドーレ札幌, Hokkaidō Konsadōre Sapporo)^[2] is a Japanese professional football club based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. They will play in the 2025 J2 League, the second tier league of Japanese football, after relegation from the J1 League at conclusion of the 2024 season.

The club holds the record of winning 3 J2 League title in the club history.

The club tradition traces its origins to 1935, when the club was founded in Kawasaki, Kanagawa as the company team of the Toshiba in Kawasaki under the name Toshiba Horikawa-cho Soccer Club. They were promoted to the now-defunct Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1978.^[3] They adopted new name Toshiba Soccer Club in 1980 and were promoted to the JSL Division 1 in 1989.^[3] Their highest placement, 4th in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Relegating themselves as they were not ready for J.League implementation, they joined the newly formed Japan Football League in 1992 and played the last season as Toshiba S.C. in 1995.^[3]

They sought to be a professional club, but the owner Toshiba did not regard Kawasaki as an ideal hometown. This was because Verdy Kawasaki, one of the most prominent clubs at that time, was also based in the city, which Toshiba apparently believed was not big enough to accommodate two clubs. (Verdy has since crossed the Tama River to be based in Chōfu City in the west of Tokyo and has been renamed as Tokyo Verdy 1969; the only remaining professional club is Kawasaki Frontale, originally part of Fujitsu.)

They decided to move to Sapporo where the local government and community had been keen to provide a base for a professional soccer team as they awaited Daiwa House Premist Dome to be completed in 2001. The ownership was transferred from Toshiba to Hokkaido Football Club plc. before the start of the 1996 season.^[3]

In 1996, as the Japanese football transitioned toward afully professional structure under the J.League, the club relocated to Sapporo in 1996 and was renamed Consadole Sapporo where the club inherited the JFL status from Toshiba SC. Their debut season in 1996 was not overly successful as they finished 5th and missed promotion. However, they won the JFL championship in 1997 and were promoted to J.League.^[3]

In 1998, their first J.League season saw them finish 14th out of 18 but this did not guarantee them staying up. From the 1999 season, the J.League had 2 divisions and the play-offs involving five teams (four J.League sides and the champions of the JFL) were to be played. In order to decide who were involved in the play-offs, not only the results of the 1998 season but also those of the 1997 were taken account of Consadole Sapporo, who did not play in the previous season, was placed 14th in the aggregate standing and despite finishing above Gamba Osaka (who had finished fourth in 1997), was forced to face the play-offs. They lost all four games, two against Vissel Kobe, and another two against Avispa Fukuoka, and became the first-ever J.League side that experienced relegation.^[4]

In 1999, Takeshi Okada, the former Japan national team coach, was appointed as head coach in an effort to make an immediate comeback to J1, but this attempt failed as they finished 5th. Their heavy investment on players counted against them and, at this point, the debt owed by the club exceeded three billion yen (US$33 million). The bankruptcy looked a near-certainty.

In 2000, Consadole Sapporo cut costs dramatically. As a result, the team often included as many as eight on-loan players in the starting line-up. However, this strategy paid off and the club won the J2 League title as well as promotion to the first division league. The club posted a single-year profit for the first time in their history this year. Consadole Sapporo quickly gained strong local support enroute to promotion to the J1 League.

Consadole Sapporo made its return to the top division in 2001, marking an important milestone for professional football in Hokkaido In the 2001 season, they finished 11th in J1. However, at the end of the season, the club failed to persuade Okada to renew the contract and several leading players also left the club.

In 2002,Consadole Sapporo struggled to maintain consistent results against stronger opponents and was relegated back to J2 shortly afterward where they ended up at the bottom of the league thus relegated to J2 for a second time.^[4]

In 2003, Consadole Sapporo again tried to return to the top-flight immediately by investing heavily but the team didn't perform well on the pitch. They finished ninth and their debt again crossed the 3-billion-yen mark.

Consadole Sapporo realized they needed a drastic restructuring and released highly paid leading players including mainstay Yasuyuki Konno. The rejuvenated but inexperienced team finished bottom of J2 in 2004. The bright side was their improved financial situation where the debt was sharply reduced to less than 100 million yen.

In 2005 and 2006, they finished sixth. In 2006, Consadole Sapporoalso reached the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup, 15 years after reaching the semi-finals in Kawasaki–the furthest they've reached in the Cup.

Consadole Sapporo won the J2 League title again in 2007 and secured another promotion to the top division ahead of the 2008 season.^[4]

A loss on 19 October 2008, confirmed Consadole Sapporo relegation to J2 for the 2009 season, overtaking Kyoto Sanga as the league's most relegated side. Having won the Japanese second-tier championship a record five times (including two JSL Second Divisions as Toshiba, and one former JFL title), they were promoted to Division One after finishing third in 2011. However, a torrid 2012 season ended with Consadole holding the highest goals conceded per game ratio, the worst points per game ratio and the highest loss percentage in J.League history as they were relegated after just 27 matches played, making the 2012 team one of the worst to have ever featured in the top division.^[5]　From the 2016 season, the club has adopted the new name as "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo".^[6]

In 2016, the club extended its name to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. After four years spent at the J2, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo returned to the J1 ahead of the 2017 season, having been promoted as 2016 J2 League champions.

On 9 February 2018, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo won the inaugural Pacific Rim Cup tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0.^[7] 2018 was the season they reached their highest placing in the J.League era and in Sapporo – 4th, 27 years after achieving the same place in Kawasaki.

In January 2022, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo's Thai player Chanathip Songkrasin who was part of the 2018 J.League Best XI joined Kawasaki Frontale with a transfer fee of around $3.8 million, breaking the J.League record for the highest domestic transfer.^[8]

On 1 December 2024, after seven years in the top flight, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo got relegated to the J2 League.

The club's name "Consadole" is a combination of consado, a reverse of the Japanese word Dosanko (道産子; meaning "people of Hokkaido") and the Spanish expression Olé.

In the Captain Tsubasa manga series, two characters were from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, midfielder Hikaru Matsuyama (himself a Hokkaido native) and forward Kazumasa Oda. In 2017, Matsuyama became an Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo player, given a squad number, 36, and is also an official ambassador of the team from Hokkaido.

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo's mascot is Dole Kun, an anthropomorphic Shima Fukurou (or Blakiston's fish owl). The owl was chosen as not only was it on Consa's crest, but also because it is the largest owl in Japan, and it also lives in Hokkaido. He also enjoys having hot baths sometimes. He also is friends with Frep the Fox and Polly Polaris, the mascots of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which can be attributed because the Fighters and Consa share the same stadium.

Thhe club plays its home matches at the Sapporo Dome, a large multi-purpose stadium located in Sapporo. Opened in 2001, the stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 42,065 spectators for football matches and is one of the most modern sporting venues in northern Japan.

The stadium is notable for its movable surface system, which allows the natural grass football pitch to slide in and out of the stadium, enabling the venue to host both football and baseball events. It has served as a major venue for international and domestic competitions, including matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Sapporo Dome became the primary home ground of Consadole Sapporo after its opening in 2001, replacing the older Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium, which had previously hosted many of the club’s home matches. Although Sapporo Dome is the main venue, the club occasionally continues to play selected fixtures at Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium, particularly during the warmer months.

The stadium is also used by the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, making it one of Japan’s notable shared multi-sport facilities.

Toshiba does not have financial interest in the club anymore but Consadole still boasts their forerunner's red and black colours on their uniform.^[9] The colours were an idea from then-player Nobuhiro Ishizaki (who played when the team was still based in Kawasaki and later coached them in Sapporo) who was a fan of Italian club AC Milan. It also became the symbol of Toshiba's sports teams such as Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.

Year	Kit manufacturer	Main sponsor
1991–1995	Puma	Toshiba
1996–1997		Hudson Soft
1998		Shiroi Koibito
1999–2001	Adidas	Sapporo Breweries
2002–2005		Shiroi Koibito
2006–2007	Kappa
2008–2009		Nitori
2010–2017		Shiroi Koibito
2018–2020		Ishiya
2021–present	Mizuno

Home Kits - 1st
1997 - 1998	1999 - 2000	2001 - 2002	2003 - 2004	2005
2006	2007 - 2008	2009	2010	2011
2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
2022	2023	2024	2025 -

Away Kits - 2nd
1997 - 1998	1999 - 2000	2001	2002 - 2003	2004 - 2005
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010 - 2011
2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
2022	2023	2024	2025 -

Special Kits - 3rd
2016 20th Hakodate Commemorative	2018 Hokkaido naming 150th anniversary	2020 3rd	2021 3rd	2021 25th Anniversary
2022 3rd	2023 3rd	2024 3rd	2025 3rd

• Khon Kaen (March 2013−)
• Long An (March 2013−)
• Sint-Truidense VV (April 2019−)
• Buriram United (June 2022−) ^[10]
• Persipura Jayapura (June 2023−)
• AC Milan (March 2024−)

As of 17 March 2026.^[11]

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 1 GK  JPN Takanori Sugeno 2 DF  JPN Ryu Takao 3 DF  KOR Park Min-gyu 4 DF  JPN Toya Nakamura 5 DF  JPN Akito Fukumori 7 MF  THA Supachok Sarachat 9 FW  BRA Mario Sérgio 10 MF  JPN Hiroki Miyazawa 11 MF  JPN Ryota Aoki 13 MF  JPN Yuki Horigome 14 MF  JPN Katsuyuki Tanaka 15 DF  JPN Rei Ieizumi 16 MF  JPN Tatsuya Hasegawa 17 DF  JPN Mizuki Uchida 18 MF  JPN Shuma Kido 19 MF  THA Teerapat Pruetong (on loan from BG Pathum United) 20 FW  SLE Amadou Bakayoko

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 FW  GHA Kinglord Safo 23 FW  JPN Shingo Omori 24 GK  JPN Tomoki Tagawa (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos) 25 DF  JPN Leo Osaki 27 MF  JPN Takuma Arano 28 DF  JPN Yamato Okada 30 MF  JPN Hiromu Tanaka 31 MF  JPN Yuto Horigome 35 MF  JPN Kosuke Hara 39 DF  JPN Hayato Kawahara 40 FW  JPN Yosei Sato 41 GK  JPN Kakuma Tadano 47 DF  JPN Shota Nishino 50 DF  JPN Niki Urakami 51 GK  JPN Shun Takagi 71 FW  JPN Haruto Shirai

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 — MF  JPN Tomoki Takamine (at Nagoya Grampus) — GK  JPN Kojiro Nakano (at AC Nagano Parceiro) — FW  JPN Taika Nakashima (at Thespa Gunma)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  JPN Shido Izuma (at Thespa Gunma) — MF  JPN Yuto Hayashida (at Verspah Oita)

• Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found here

For the 2025 season.

Position	Staff
Manager	Kenta Kawai
Assistant managers	Yasuyuki Akaike
Assistant coaches	Kenta Togawa Makoto Sunakawa
Goalkeeping coaches	Osamu Sasaki Yuya Hikichi
Performance coordinator	Yosuke Kuotani
Physical coach	Osamu Yamada
Set-piece coach & analyst	Watabiki Daimu
Analyst	Kentaro Nakanishi
Trainer	Kazuhiro Sagawa
Athletic trainer	Seiichi Iwasa Takuma Morinaga
Sub-manager & equipe	Ren Sato
Equipe	Yuta Aikawa
Sub-manager & interpreter	Lee Sung-ju
Interpreter	Nakajima Farang Issei Narit Jampalee

As both Toshiba SC (1935–1995), Consadole Sapporo (1996–2015) and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (2016–present)

Bold is for those competition that are currently active.

As of 13 April 2026.

Top 10 all-time appearances

Rank	Player	Years	Club appearance
1	Hiroki Miyazawa	2008–present	560
2	Makoto Sunakawa	2003–2015	440
3	Takuma Arano	2010–present	423
4	Akito Fukumori	2017–present	343
5	Daiki Suga	2016–2024	310
6	Kazumasa Uesato	2004–2016	269
7	Yoshihiro Uchimura	2010–2018	253
8	Yushi Soda	2001–2009	246
9	Kazuki Fukai	2013–2025	230
10	Hironobu Haga	2006–2012	225

Top 10 all-time goalscorer

Rank	Player	Club appearance	Total goals
1	Ken Tokura	182	72
2	Yoshihiro Uchimura	253	60
3	Makoto Sunakawa	440	40
4	Anderson Lopes	75	39
	Jay Bothroyd	123	39
6	Davi	71	33
7	Musashi Suzuki	78
	Shinya Aikawa	141
10	Emerson Sheik	35	31
	Hiroki Miyazawa	560

• Biggest wins: 8–0 vs Shimizu S-Pulse (17 August 2019)
• Heaviest defeats:
  • 0–7 vs Kashima Antlers (18 October 1997)
  • 0–7 vs Kashima Antlers (19 May 2012)
  • 0–7 vs Kawasaki Frontale (15 September 2018)
• Youngest ever debutant: Shuto Sugaya ~ 16 years 5 months 13 days old (On 7 June 2023 vs SC Sagamihara)
• Oldest ever player: Masashi Nakayama ~ 45 years 2 months 1 days old (On 24 November 2012 vs Yokohama F. Marinos)
• Youngest goal scorers: Shido Izuma ~ 18 years 27 days old (On 12 July 2023 vs Verspah Oita)
• Oldest goal scorers: Shinji Ono ~ 41 years 8 months 13 days old (On 9 June 2021 vs Sony Sendai)

As of the end of the 2025 season.

• J.League Top Scorer:

• Will (2001)

• J.League Best XI:
• J1 League
  • Will (2001)
  • Chanathip Songkrasin (2018)
• J2 League
  • Tomoki Takamine (2025)

• J.League Best Young Player:
  • Koji Yamase (2001)
• J.League Manager of the Year:
  • Mihailo Petrović (2018)

Manager	Period	Honours
Tadao Onishi	1 February 1981–31 January 1986	– 1981 JSL Cup
Takeo Takahashi	1 February 1987–1 February 1997	– 1988–89 Japan Soccer League Division 2
Hugo Fernández	1 February 1997–18 October 1998	– 1997 Japan Football League
Hajime Ishii	19 October 1998–31 January 1999
Takeshi Okada	1 February 1999–31 January 2002	– 2000 J2 League
Tetsuji Hashiratani	1 February 2002–31 May 2002
Radmilo Ivančević	1 June 2002–16 September 2002
Chang Woe-ryong	16 September 2002–31 January 2003
João Carlos	1 February 2003–4 August 2003
Chang Woe-ryong (2)	5 August 2003–31 January 2004
Masaaki Yanagishita	1 February 2004–31 January 2007
Toshiya Miura	1 February 2007–31 January 2009	– 2007 J2 League
Nobuhiro Ishizaki	1 February 2009–31 January 2013
Keiichi Zaizen	1 February 2013–27 August 2014
Yoshihiro Natsuka	28 August 2014–6 September 2014
Ivica Barbarić	7 September 2014–24 July 2015
Shuhei Yomoda	24 July 2015–31 January 2018	– 2016 J2 League
Mihailo Petrović	1 February 2018–31 January 2025[12]
Daiki Iwamasa	1 February 2025–10 August 2025[13]
Shingo Shibata	11 August 2025–present

Key

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Consadole Sapporo.

• Official website (in Japanese)