Olympique Lyonnais
| Full name | Olympique Lyonnais | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Gones (The Kids)[1] | |||
| Short name | Lyon OL | |||
| Founded | 3 August 1950 | |||
| Ground | Parc Olympique Lyonnais | |||
| Capacity | 59,186 | |||
| Owner | Eagle Football Group | |||
| President | Michele Kang | |||
| Head coach | Paulo Fonseca / Jorge Maciel (caretaker) | |||
| League | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1, 6th of 18 | |||
| Website | ol.fr | |||
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| Active departments of Olympique Lyonnais | |||
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Olympique Lyonnais (French: Olympique lyonnais; French pronunciation: [ɔlɛ̃pik ljɔnɛ]), commonly referred to as simply Lyon (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃]) or OL, is a men's French professional football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950.[2]
The club currently competes in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. They play their home matches at the 59,186-capacity Parc Olympique Lyonnais, commercially known as the Groupama Stadium, in Décines-Charpieu, a suburb in the Metropolis of Lyon. The club's home colors are white, red and blue. Lyon was a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs and are founder members of its successor, the European Club Association.
The club won its first Ligue 1 championship in 2002, beginning a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles. Lyon has also won eight Trophées des Champions, five Coupes de France, and three Ligue 2 titles. On a European level, the team has participated in the UEFA Champions League seventeen times, reaching the semi-final of the competition during the 2009–10 season and the 2019–20 season, and have made it to the quarterfinals in three other occasions. They have also qualified for the Europa League numerous times, making it as far as the semi-final during the 2016–17 season.[3]
The club's nickname, Les Gones, translates to "The Kids" in Lyon's regional dialect of Franco-Provençal.[1] They have a long-standing rivalry with nearby team Saint-Étienne, against whom they contest the Le Derby. French businessman Jean-Michel Aulas purchased Lyon in June 1987 until it was purchased by American businessman John Textor in December 2022.[4] Michele Kang was eventually announced president of the club in June 2025 following Textor's resignation from his leadership position due to the poor financial state of Lyon.
- ^ a b "#2 – Olympique Lyonnais : Gones" (in French). Footnickname. 26 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Histoire de l'OL dates clés". OL.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "History: Lyon 3-1 Ajax". UEFA. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
- ^ "Olympique Lyonnais Price Tag For John Textor: $846 Million". Forbes. 21 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.