# Nakano Esperanza

Nakano Esperanza (中野エスペランサ, Nakano Esuperansa) is a football (soccer) club based in Nakano, which is located in Nagano Prefecture in Japan. As of 2022, it plays in the Nagano Prefectural League 1st Division.

## History

Nakano Football Club was founded in 1971: this name lasted for 29 years, before changing it again to Nagano Esperanza FC in 2001. The current denomination - Football Club Nakano Esperanza - came only in 2007, with the Spanish "Esperanza" standing for "hope" in English. The club's first logo also features Common kestrel, a type of bird that can be easily seen on Nagano Prefecture. They reached the second division of Hokushinetsu Football League in 2015, and got relegated on 2018, back to the first division of the Nakano Prefectural League. The club still hope to be in professional football on a long-term program.
On 16 August 2022, the club's 51st anniversary. Nakano Esperanza unveiled its new logo. The crest was produced and designed by Millions Co. Ltd. The rose represents the flower of Nakano City. Red-coloured, it's designed to match the club's color. The designers' intention was to make the logo simple and timeless, under the era of modern and simple logos commonly replacing older, and more detailed ones.

## Past Logos

* used until 15 August 2022
* Nakano Esperanza old logo

## League record

| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 2008 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 4th | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 2009 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 3rd | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| 2010 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| 2011 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 2nd | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| 2012 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 6th | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| 2013 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 1st | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 2014 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 1st | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 27 |
| 2015 | Hokushinetsu Football League (Div. 2) | 4th | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| 2016 | Hokushinetsu Football League (Div. 2) | 3rd | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 25 |
| 2017 | Hokushinetsu Football League (Div. 2) | 4th | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
| 2018 | Hokushinetsu Football League (Div. 2) | 7th | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| 2019 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 2nd | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| 2020 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 2021 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 5th | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 2022 | Nagano Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 15 |

## Current squad

    As of 8 October 2022.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | JPN | Kairu Yamazaki |
| 2 | DF | JPN | Yuki Tatuno |
| 4 | DF | JPN | Takahiro Ato |
| 5 | DF | JPN | Takuya Tanaka |
| 6 | DF | JPN | Masaaki Yamagishi |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Hiroki Kabaya |
| 8 | MF | JPN | Tsukasa Maruyama |
| 9 | FW | JPN | Daiki Sato |
| 10 | FW | JPN | Takuya Tokutake |
| 11 | MF | JPN | Takuma Wada |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | FW | JPN | Natsuki Takekoshi |
| 16 | MF | JPN | Yasutaka Yoshiura |
| 18 | GK | JPN | Kei Takizawa |
| 19 | MF | JPN | Ryo Ito |
| 20 | DF | JPN | Yukimi Kishida |
| 21 | DF | JPN | Masaki Kohara |
| 22 | FW | JPN | Yuki Tondokoro |
| 23 | GK | JPN | Shinji Hirose |
| 24 | DF | JPN | Yuki Takahashi (captain) |
| 26 | FW | JPN | Kaito Azegami |