FC Lausanne-Sport


FC Lausanne–Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, it plays in the Swiss Super League, the second highest league in the country, and hosts games at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise. The team has won seven league titles and the Swiss Cup nine times.

History

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. 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 club plays 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 and 1931 and 1932–2002.
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.
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.

Honours

League

As of 17 February 2020

Out on loan

Former coaches

Recent season-by-season performance of the club:
SeasonDivisionTierPosition
2005–06Challenge LeagueII3rd
2006–07Challenge LeagueII13th
2007–08Challenge LeagueII13th
2008–09Challenge LeagueII7th
2009–10Challenge LeagueII10th
2010–11Challenge LeagueII1st ↑
2011–12Super LeagueI7th
2012–13Super LeagueI9th
2013–14Super LeagueI10th ↓
2014–15Challenge LeagueII5th
2015–16Challenge LeagueII1st ↑
2016–17Super LeagueI9th
2017–18Super LeagueI10th ↓
2018–19Challenge LeagueII3rd

;Key
↑ Promoted↓ Relegated

Lausanne-Sports Rowing

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