Kochi United

Merger into current club

On 1 February 2016, two established Shikoku League clubs; Igosso Kochi FC (アイゴッソ高知FC) and Kochi U Torastar FC (高知UトラスターFC) merged to form one club, whose aim was to be the first team from Kōchi Prefecture to play in the J.League.

After officially changing the management company's name to Kōchi United Sports Club Ltd., Kochi United SC took Igosso Kōchi FC's place in the Shikoku League. For the many players at Kōchi U Torastar FC unable to join Kochi United SC, and wanting to continue playing as amateurs in the Shikoku League, Kochi Sports Club Ltd. and Kochi University established KUFC Nangoku on March 1, 2016, and this new club took Kōchi U Torastar FC's place in the Shikoku League.

The club badge depicts the ceremonial Keshō-mawashi (化粧廻し) of a Tosa Fighting Dog on the outside, with the dark red colors of Igosso Kochi FC and the green of Kōchi U Torastar inside it and an image of a leaping bonito or skipjack tuna drawn in the center (a popular fish in Kochi prefecture). The club's home shirt also reflects the colors of the amalgamated teams from which Kochi United SC was formed.

Shikoku League (2016–2019)

They played in the Shikoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues from 2016 to 2019, winning it three times in a row from 2017 to 2019.

In 2019, they finished 2nd in the Japanese Regional Football League Competition, earning promotion to the Japan Football League for the first time in their history from the 2020 season.

JFL (2020–2024)

In their first season in the JFL, Kochi United finished in 14th place.

On 24 September 2024, Kochi United announced they had been officially granted a J3 License after approval from the J. League Board of Directors.

On 7 December 2024, Kochi United secured promotion to J3 League for the first time in their history from the 2025 season after defeating YSCC Yokohama 0-2 in the 2nd leg of the J3/JFL play-offs thus winning 1-3 on aggregate, so ending five years in the fourth tier.

J. League (2025–)

Kochi United officially played their first J3 League game away against newly relegated, Tochigi SC on 16 February 2025 which they lost 1-0. Their first home game was against Gainare Tottori on 23 February 2025, which ended in a 0-0 draw. In their 3rd match at home to FC Osaka, Kokoro Kobayashi scored their first ever J-League goal in a 1-2 loss. On March 9, 2025, Kochi United secured their first ever win in the J-League with a 2-1 away victory against Zweigen Kanazawa. It would take until August however for Kochi to record their first home win in J3, with a 3-2 victory over Nara Club.

In a tumultuous first season, including claims of "power harassment" (resulting in both head-coach Akita Yutaka and CEO leaving the club), losing their star player Kokoro Kobayashi to Vegalta Sendai on a free transfer mid-season, and a terrible run of only 2 wins in 16 games, Kochi ended up 3rd from bottom of the league with 10 wins 8 draws and 20 defeats, thus surviving their first season in the J-League.