# FC Lausanne-Sport

Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League Season.
They play their home games at the 12,544-capacity Stade de la Tuilière. Previously Lausanne Sport had played at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, a 15,850 all-seater stadium used for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They played in Swiss First Division between 1906-1931, 1932–2002, 2011–2014, 2016–2018, 2020–2022 and 2023–present. The team has won seven league titles and the Swiss Cup nine times.

## History
### 19th century

The club was founded in 1896 under the name of Montriond Lausanne. However, the Lausanne Football and Cricket Club was established in 1860, believed to be the oldest football club on the European continent by some historians.

### 20th century

The club took the name Lausanne-Sports FC in 1920 after the football section merged with the Club Hygiénique de Lausanne, a physical education club. The end of the 1950s and the whole of the 1960s were among the club's finest times. LS won the Swiss Cup twice (1962 and 1964), lost an additional Swiss Cup final to Basel by forfeit, won the Swiss championship (1965) and was runner-up four times (1961, 1962, 1963), as well as in 1969. The year 1965 was the year of the 7th and last Swiss championship title. It was probably the most successful, earning its protagonists the nickname of "Lords of the Night", a reference to some enchanting evenings. Since the advent of the floodlights in the new stadium, the matches have mainly taken place in the evenings which was at the time a unique feature.

### 21st century

After the 2001–02 season, Lausanne-Sports were relegated because the club did not obtain a first level license for the 2002–03 season. Following the 2002–03 season in the second division, Lausanne-Sports FC were again relegated due to bankruptcy. They were reformed as FC Lausanne-Sport for the 2003–04 season and had to begin play at the fourth tier. The team was promoted in consecutive seasons from the fourth division after the 2003–04 season and the third division after the 2004–05 season. After an additional six years in the second tier of Swiss football, the club was promoted to the Super League for the 2011–12 season for a three-season stay before being relegated in 2014. After two seasons in the second tier the team was promoted for a two-season stay in the top division in 2016 and survived relegation in their first season before being relegated back to the second tier again in 2018. Now somewhat of a yo-yo club the team were promoted to the top tier again in 2020.
Lausanne-Sport qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League after they reached the 2010 Swiss Cup final against Champions League-qualified Basel. In the 2010–11 Europa League, while still playing in the second tier Challenge League, they performed a shock getting to the group stages beating favourites Lokomotiv Moscow on the way.
Lausanne-Sport were relegated to the Swiss Challenge League at the end of the 2013–14 Swiss Super League season. Two years later, they finished first in the 2015–16 Swiss Challenge League, which promoted them back to the top tier of Swiss football for the 2016–17 season.
On 13 November 2017, the club was acquired by Ineos, a Swiss-based British petrochemicals company owned by Jim Ratcliffe, the nation's wealthiest person. The first transfer under the new ownership was that of Enzo Fernández, son of Zinedine Zidane. However, the season ended with relegation. Ratcliffe's brother Bob became club president in March 2019. The club won promotion back to the top flight as champions of the 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League. On 27 May 2023, Lausanne-Sport secure promotion to Super League from 2023 to 2024 after draw 2–2 against FC Aarau, finished in runner-up and return to top tier after one-year absence. They currently sit 10th place in the Swiss Super League after recently losing out 1-0 to Servette.

## Stadium

Lausanne Sport play in new stadium at Stade de la Tuiliere previously stadium Stade Olympique Pontaise.

## Honours
### League

* Ligue Nationale A/Super League
** Winners (7): 1912–13, 1931–32, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1943–44, 1950–51, 1964–65
** Runners-up (8): 1946–47, 1954–55, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1989–90, 1999–2000
* Ligue Nationale B/Challenge League
** Winners (4): 1931–32, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2019–20
** Runners-up (1): 2022–23
* 1. Liga Promotion
** Winners: 2004–05
* 1. Liga Classic
** Winners: 2003–04

### Cups

* Swiss Cup
** Winners (9): 1934–35, 1938–39, 1943–44, 1949–50, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1980–81, 1997–98, 1998–99
** Runners-up (8): 1936–37, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1956–57, 1966–67, 1983–84, 1999–2000, 2009–10
* Swiss League Cup
** Runners-up: 1980–81

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 17 February 2025
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 | SUI | Thomas Castella (vice-captain) |
| 5 | MF | FRA | Koba Koindredi (on loan from Sporting CP) |
| 6 | DF | BEL | Noë Dussenne |
| 7 | FW | KOS | Alban Ajdini |
| 8 | MF | SWE | Jamie Roche |
| 9 | FW | SEN | Mamadou Kaly Sène |
| 10 | MF | SUI | Olivier Custodio (captain) |
| 11 | FW | MLI | Fousseni Diabaté |
| 14 | DF | FRA | Kévin Mouanga |
| 18 | DF | CGO | Morgan Poaty |
| 19 | DF | FRA | Marvin Senaya (on loan from Strasbourg) |
| 23 | FW | USA | Konrad de la Fuente |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | GK | CRO | Karlo Letica |
| 27 | MF | MTN | Beyatt Lekweiry |
| 34 | DF | SUI | Raoul Giger |
| 39 | FW | ARG | Fabricio Oviedo (on loan from Rosario Central) |
| 43 | MF | AUT | Manuel Polster |
| 44 | DF | SUI | Dircssi Ngonzo |
| 70 | FW | GUI | Aliou Baldé (on loan from Nice) |
| 71 | DF | SUI | Karim Sow |
| 80 | MF | SUI | Alvyn Sanches |
| 92 | FW | FRA | Teddy Okou (on loan from Luzern) |
| 93 | DF | FRA | Sekou Fofana |
| 94 | GK | SUI | Tim Hottiger |

### Other players under contract

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 | FRA | Maxen Kapo |

### Out on loan

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 |
| — | GK | FRA | Melvin Mastil (at Nyon until 30 June 2025) |
| — | DF | FRA | Hamza Abdallah (at Stade Lausanne until 30 June 2025) |
| — | MF | FRA | Antoine Bernède (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2025) |
| — | MF | POR | Diogo Carraco (at Stade Lausanne until 30 June 2025) |
| — | MF | SUI | Amin Hajoubi (at Biel-Bienne until 30 June 2025) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SUI | Joël Mandaka (at Bavois until 30 June 2025) |
| — | MF | SEN | Souleymane N'Diaye (at Nyon until 30 June 2025) |
| — | MF | SUI | Mayka Okuka (at Stade Lausanne until 30 June 2025) |
| — | FW | SUI | Malko Sartoretti (at Biel-Bienne until 30 June 2025) |
| — | FW | CIV | Seydou Traoré (at Nyon until 30 June 2025) |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Ludovic Magnin |
| Assistant Managers | Hervé Le Goff |
| First-Team Coach | Loïc Perrin |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Anthony Favre |

## Former coaches

* Billy Hunter (1922–23)
* Jimmy Hogan (1925)
* Fred Spiksley (1928)
* Robert Pache (1931–32)
* Jimmy Hogan (1933–34)
* Alwin Riemke (1934–35)
* Friedrich Kerr (1939)
* Frank Séchehaye (1942–43)
* Fritz Leonhardt and Georg Baumgartner (1943–45)
* Louis Maurer (1945–50)
* Béla Volentik (1950–51)
* Jacques Spagnoli (1951–53)
* Joseph Schaefer (1953–54)
* Bram Appel (1954–55)
* Fernand Jaccard (1955–57)
* Walter Presch (1957–60)
* Albert Châtelain (1960–61)
* Charles Marmier and Frank Séchehaye (1961–62)
* Jean Luciano (1962–64)
* Roger Reymond and Roger Bocquet (1964)
* Roger Reymond (1964–65)
* Kurt Linder (1965–66)
* Wilhelm Hahnemann (1966–67)
* Roger Vonlanthen (1967–72)
* Louis Maurer (1972–74)
* Paul Garbani (1974–76)
* Miroslav Blažević (1976–79)
* Charly Hertig (1979–82)
* Péter Pázmándy (1982–84)
* Radu Nunweiller (1984–87)
* Umberto Barberis (1 August 1987 – 20 June 1993)
* Marc Duvillard (1993–94)
* Martin Trümpler (1 July 1994 – 30 June 1995)
* Georges Bregy (1 July 1995 – 30 September 1997)
* Radu Nunweiller and Pierre-André Schürmann (1998)
* Pierre-André Schürmann (24 October 1998 – 11 December 2000)
* Victor Zvunka (1 July 2000 – 30 June 2001)
* Radu Nunweiller (1 July 2001 – 5 December 2001)
* Umberto Barberis (20 February 2002 – 8 May 2002)
* Pablo Iglesias (2002–03)
* Gabriel Calderón (1 January 2003 – 30 June 2003)
* Jochen Dries (2003–04)
* Gérard Castella (1 July 2005 – 24 May 2006)
* Alain Geiger (1 June 2006 – 21 November 2006)
* Paul Garbani and P. Isabella (interim) (24 November 2006 – 11 December 2006)
* Stéphane Hunziker and Patrick Isabella (17 February 2007 – 30 May 2007)
* Umberto Barberis (1 July 2007 – 17 December 2007)
* Thierry Cotting (15 December 2007 – 30 June 2009)
* John Dragani (1 July 2008 – 30 June 2010)
* Árpád Soós (19 March 2010 – 30 June 2010)
* Martin Rueda (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2012)
* Laurent Roussey (1 July 2012 – 21 October 2013)
* Alexandre Comisetti (22 October 2013 – 7 November 2013)
* Henri Atamaniuk (8 November 2013 – 20 June 2014)
* Francesco Gabriele (1 July 2014 – 9 October 2014)
* Marco Simone (13 October 2014 – 24 March 2015)
* Fabio Celestini (24 March 2015 – 2018)
* Giorgio Contini (2018 - 9 June 2021)
* Ilija Borenović (10 June 2021 - 4 February 2022)

## Recent seasons

Recent season-by-season performance of the club:
| Season | Division | Tier | Position |
| 2005–06 | Challenge League | II | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | Challenge League | II | 13th |
| 2007–08 | Challenge League | II | 13th |
| 2008–09 | Challenge League | II | 7th |
| 2009–10 | Challenge League | II | 10th |
| 2010–11 | Challenge League | II | 1st ↑ |
| 2011–12 | Super League | I | 7th |
| 2012–13 | Super League | I | 9th |
| 2013–14 | Super League | I | 10th ↓ |
| 2014–15 | Challenge League | II | 5th |
| 2015–16 | Challenge League | II | 1st ↑ |
| 2016–17 | Super League | I | 9th |
| 2017–18 | Super League | I | 10th ↓ |
| 2018–19 | Challenge League | II | 3rd |
| 2019–20 | Challenge League | II | 1st |
| 2020–21 | Super League | I | 6th |
| 2021–22 | Super League | I | 10th ↓ |
| 2022–23 | Challenge League | II | 2nd ↑ |
| 2023–24 | Super League | I | 10 |

### Key

| ↑ Promoted | ↓ Relegated |

## Lausanne-Sports Rowing

Lausanne-Sports Aviron is the rowing club of Lausanne-Sport.