OL Lyonnes
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| Founded | 1970 (as FC Lyon) 2004 (as Olympique Lyonnais) |
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| Capacity | 59,186 |
| OwnerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
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| President | Michele Kang |
| Manager | Jonatan Giráldez |
| League | Première Ligue |
| 2025–26 | Première Ligue, 1st of 12 (champions) |
| Website | ol.fr |
OL Lyonnes, formerly known as Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "IPA".) and still commonly known as Lyon or simply OL, is a French women's professional football club based in Lyon. The club has been the female section of Olympique Lyonnais since 2004. It is the most successful club in the history of the Première Ligue, with eighteen league titles as Olympique Lyonnais and four league titles as FC Lyon before the acquisition.
Since the 2010s, Lyon has frequently been named one of the strongest women's team in the world,[2] and has been cited as a model for the development of women's football in both economic and cultural terms.[3] The team has won eight UEFA Women's Champions League titles, including a record five successive titles from 2016 to 2020, as well as fourteen consecutive domestic league titles from 2007 to 2020. They have also won five trebles when the top-level continental competition is considered, the most for any team.
History
The club was formed as the women's section of FC Lyon in 1970. In 2004, the women's club became the women's section of Olympique Lyonnais. Since joining Lyon, the women's section has won the Division 1 Féminine fourteen times and the Coupe de France nine times. Lyon reached the semi-finals of the 2007–08 edition of the UEFA Women's Cup and, during the 2009–10 season, reached the final of the inaugural edition of the UEFA Women's Champions League, losing to German club Turbine Potsdam 7–6 on penalties.[4][5] In the following season, Lyon finally captured the UEFA Women's Champions League, defeating its nemesis Turbine Potsdam 2–0 in the 2011 final. It successfully defended its title in 2012, defeating FFC Frankfurt in the final.
From 2016 to 2020, the club won five consecutive Champions League titles, equaling the male record held by Real Madrid. Four players: Sarah Bouhaddi, Amel Majri , Wendie Renard, and Eugénie Le Sommer have all won eight Champions League trophies. They are listed by the Guinness World Records as the "Most Women’s Champions League wins by a player".[6]
Lyon's main rivalry is with Paris Saint-Germain, with matches between the two teams sometimes referred as the "Classique féminin". Paris is OL's main contender for national titles, as they finished in second place of D1 Féminine seven times. Lyon had never lost the D1 title to PSG until 2021 when PSG finished ahead of Lyon, and won five Coupe de France finals against Paris. In 2017 both teams reached the Champions League final, with Lyon beating Paris after a penalty shoot-out and winning its fourth title in the competition.[7]
Lyon hosts its matches at the Stade Gérard Houllier, a stadium of capacity 1,524 located in the Groupama OL Training Center and situated not far from the larger Parc Olympique Lyonnais (sometime called Groupama Stadium) where the male teams play. The women's team does host its "big" matches such as UEFA Women's Champions League at the 59,000-seat stadium.[8][9] Often identified as the "tallest [woman] footballer",[10][11] Wendie Renard had been a long-term captain (and also of the France women's national football team) of the team, having one of the most prolific careers, including most titles won (with Le Sommer), most final appearance and top all-time appearances in the Champions League.[12] According to the UEFA women's coefficient, Lyon was the highest-ranked club in UEFA in 2014,[13] and second in 2025, behind FC Barcelona Femení.[14]
As Michele Kang took over the club in 2024, her immediate action was to have higher-capacity home ground. Groupama OL Training Center has only 1,200 seats. In the 2024-25 season, home matches were played at different cities like Bourg-en-Bresse, Grenoble, and Bourgoin-Jallieu. She negotiated with the Lyon OU Rugby to share their home stadium, the Matmut Stadium de Gerland, having a seating capacity of 25,000.[15] However, she was able to convince the OL Groupe to allow the use of Parc Olympique Lyonnais. On 19 May 2025, Kang announced that Parc Olympique Lyonnais will be their home ground from the following season,[16] and that she had taken over the men's training centre, which she will transform into one that is "better than most men's teams's training centres."[17]
On 1 June 2025, the club announced the departure of head coach Joe Montemurro, after one year of his contract.[18] He leaves with a league title under his belt, to take up an opportunity with the Australian women's national team.[19] The following day, 2 June 2025, OL Lyonnes announced the appointment of Jonatan Giráldez as their new head coach, on a contract until June 2028.[20]
Club identity
The club's previous names (FC Lyon and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin) were direct references to the city of Lyon.[21][22] On 19 May 2025, Kang announced the new name as "OL Lyonnes"; OL referring to the parent club and lyonnes as a portmanteau of the city and lionnes, a French word for "lionnesses".[23][24] She explained that y was used in place of i to retain reference to the city,[17] and the parent club,[24] but entirely dropping féminin to designate the club as a separate management from that of the men's, as she said, "We wanted to emphasize that lionesses are different than lions."[25]
Along with unveiling the new name, a new logo was introduced which shows the head part of a roaring red lioness with blue and gold accents, and a crest above it.[24] To make a distinction from the counterpart men's club that has a lion as an emblem, Kang explained that she was inspired by her safari to Africa where she learnt that it was the lionesses who do most of the work such as hunting and caring for the pride, saying: "I'm talking in real life, male lions sleep 22 hours out of 24 hours. So if you think about the lioness, who's really roaring; the fears, competitiveness, protecting and surviving, all those things to us, that was the spirit of the lioness."[16] The golden crest signifies the club's success in the highest-level competitions.[26] The club will also adopt a new slogan: Nouvelle Histoire, Même Légende ("New Story, Same Legend").[27]
Ownership and finances
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Lyon Féminin is part of OL Groupe, whose majority shareholder since December 2022 is Eagle Football Group, which is controlled by American businessman John Textor. Club president Jean-Michel Aulas was also OL Groupe's previous and founding owner, and remains a minority owner of OL Groupe and board director of Eagle Football Group.[1][28][29]
As of April 2023[update], Script error: No such module "Lang". reported that Lyon Féminin operated at a €12 million annual deficit.[1]
On 16 May 2023, OL Groupe and Michele Kang announced the formation of a separate entity that would be composed of Kang's Washington Spirit of the NWSL, and Olympique Lyon Féminin. OL Groupe would sell its NWSL club, OL Reign, to resolve conflicts of interest. OL Groupe would retain a 48% stake in the resulting new entity, and Kang would become the club's majority owner and CEO, pending regulatory approval.[30][31][32][33] Kang's proposed deal for the women's side reportedly valued it at $54.4 million.[34] Kang attended Lyon's victory in the Script error: No such module "Lang". finals on 13 May 2023 and raised the trophy with the team.[33][35]
In February 2024, Kang and Vincent Ponsot, the CEO of Lyon Féminin, jointly announced the completion of the ownership deal, with Kang becoming the majority owner at 52.9%.[36] In July 2024, Kang announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International, Ltd., a London-based company that would serve as the umbrella group for her multi-team sports ownership, including Lyon Féminin, Washington Spirit and London City Lionesses. The company was named after Cynisca of Sparta, the first woman to win an event in the ancient Olympic Games.[37][38] Kang simultaneously announced the launch of $50 million in seed and matching funding for the Kynisca Innovation Hub, a non-profit research initiative specialized in female sports training.[39]
Players
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Current squad
- As of 9 March 2026[40]
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Out on loan
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Notable former players
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French
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Australian Brazilian Canadian Chinese Costa Rican Danish Dutch English |
German Icelandic Japanese New-Zealander Nigerian Norwegian |
Portuguese Swedish Swiss American Welsh
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Current staff
- As of 7 August 2024.[41]
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Flagicon Jonatan Giráldez |
| Assistant coaches | Template:Flagicon Joe Palatsides Template:Flagicon Méline Gérard Template:Flagicon Patrizia Panico |
| Goalkeeping coach | Template:Flagicon Simon Pouplin |
| Director of Performance | Template:Flagicon Jack Sharkey |
| Physical trainer | Template:Flagicon Hugo Roche Template:Flagicon Rémi Pullara |
| Video analyst | Template:Flagicon Marceau Goguer |
| Doctor | Template:Flagicon Jad Dbouk |
| Physiotherapists | Template:Flagicon Shingo Kitada Template:Flagicon Anthony Martin Template:Flagicon Ganaelle Rigondaud |
| Nutritionist | Template:Flagicon Ana Martinez |
| Data Analyst | Template:Flagicon Ana Sena |
| General manager/team delegate | Template:Flagicon Julien Legrand |
| Team manager | Template:Flagicon David Morreale |
| Kit manager | Template:Flagicon Amilcar Perez |
Honours
Official
Domestic
- Division 1 Féminine (Champions of France) (level 1)
- Coupe de France Féminine
- (11, record): 2007–08, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2025–26
- Trophée des Championnes
- (3, record) 2019, 2022, 2023
- Coupe LFFP
- (1, record) 2025–26
Continental
Invitational
- International Women's Club Championship
- Winners: 2012
- Valais Cup
- Winners: 2014
- Women's International Champions Cup
- Trophée Veolia Féminin
- Winners: 2020
Others
- Guinness world record for most consecutive victories in all competitions: 41 wins (from 28 April 2012 to 18 May 2013).[42]
Record in UEFA Women's Champions League
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- As of match played 23 May 2026
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 163 | 126 | 20 | 17 | 540 | 96 | +444 |
All results (away, home and aggregate) list Lyon's goal tally first.
f First leg.
List of seasons
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Top scorers in bold were also the top scorers in the Division 1 Féminine that season.
| Champions | Runners-up | Promoted | Relegated |
References
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- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Guillemet, Hugo (12 April 2023). "L'OL féminin bientôt vendu à Michele Kang, une femme d'affaires américaine". L'Equipe. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smith, Rory (17 May 2019). "The World's Most Dominant Team Isn't Who You Think". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ingle, Sean (29 June 2019). "How Lucy Bronze was polished at Lyon, the ultimate finishing school". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lyon and Potsdam make history". UEFA. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Potsdam hold nerve to claim European crown". UEFA. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Most Women's Champions League wins by a player". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2016–17 Women's Champions League Final Report". UEFA. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harpur, Charlotte (9 February 2024). "Michele Kang's plans for Lyon: 'I don't want women's football to be a charity – our players are the best'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Anderson, Jess (27 April 2025). "Lyon 1-4 Arsenal (3-5 agg): Arsenal reach first Champions League final in 18 years". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Clarey, Christopher (17 June 2019). "For Wendie Renard and France, Another Misstep and Another Win". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Snape, Jack (9 August 2023). "Four France players who can break Australian hearts at the World Cup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.UEFA.com (25 April 2025). "UEFA Women's Champions League records". UEFA.com. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."UEFA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2014/15" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.UEFA.com. "UEFA rankings". UEFA.com. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Toufaily, Assile (7 October 2024). "Playing Home Games Outside Of Lyon: Is OL's Strategy Efficient?". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pelit, Asli (19 May 2025). "Michele Kang rebrands Lyon Feminin as OL Lyonnes: 'We're not a subset – we're a standalone force'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Garry, Tom (19 May 2025). "Lyon Women change name and get training base 'better than most men's centres'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."OL Lyonnes announces end of collaboration with coach Joe Montemurro". OL Lyonnes. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."FA finally reveals new Matildas coach after 10-month search". ABC News. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."OL Lyonnes annonce la nomination de Jonatan Giráldez comme nouvel entraîneur principal". ol.fr (in French). OL Lyonnes. 2 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rutzler, Peter (10 September 2024). "Jockeys, birds of prey and supermarket chains: The origins of French football club nicknames". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whyatt, Katie; McElwee, Molly (6 December 2019). "The inside story of Lyon's relentless winning machine". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Feuillet, Maxime (20 May 2025). "Michèle Kang change l'identité de l'OL Féminin et dévoile son projet". Lyon décideurs (in français). Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kassouf, Jeff (19 May 2025). "Kang rebrands women's club Lyon to OL Lyonnes". ESPN. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Costabile, Annie (19 May 2025). "Why World's Most Successful Women's Team Dropped 'Women'". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Olympique Lyonnais Féminin Unveils Bold New Brand and Vision". The News-Gazette. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tesson, François (19 May 2025). "C'est fini pour l'Olympique Lyonnais, c'est officiel !". Sports.fr (in français). Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Olympique Lyonnais Price Tag For John Textor: $846 Million". Forbes. 21 June 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."L'OL officiellement vendu à l'Américain John Textor". L'Équipe (in français). 20 December 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."OL Groupe and Michele Kang Form Global Multi-Team Women's Football Group" (Press release). Washington Spirit. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Caron, Emily (16 May 2023). "Spirit's Michele Kang adds Lyonnais Feminin to Women's Soccer Venture". Sportico. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hess, AJ (16 May 2023). "Spirit owner Michele Kang buys Lyon to build first international women's soccer empire". Fast Company. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Guillement, Hugo (16 May 2023). "Michele Kang, nouvelle actionnaire majoritaire de l'OL féminin : " Il n'est pas question de changer l'OL "" [Michele Kang, new majority shareholder of OL Women: "There is no question of changing OL"]. L'Équipe (in français). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Washington Spirit owner Kang to take over Lyon". Sports Business Journal. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Spirit owner Michele Kang attends Lyon women's match, hoists trophy with team amid takeover reports". The Athletic. 13 May 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Toufaily, Assile. "Michele Kang Is The New Owner Of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Axon, Rachel (21 March 2025). "Michele Kang investing in growth of women's sports". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gutierrez, Jackie (1 November 2024). "Michele Kang And Others Back $2 Million Investment With IDA Sports". Forbes. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tan, Gillian (27 July 2024). "Kang Pledges $50 Million So Female Athletes Aren't Trained as 'Small Men'". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."EFFECTIF & STAFF". Olympique Lyonnais. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE | NOUVELLE ORGANISATION AU SEIN DU STAFF DE L'ÉQUIPE FÉMININE DE L'OL". Olympique Lyonnais. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Most consecutive association football victories (all competitions)". Guinness World Records.
External links
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- Official website
- Team profile at UEFA.com (archived)
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