Toulouse FC
Toulouse Football Club (Occitan: Tolosa Fotbòl Club) is a French professional football club
based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first
division of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse
located within the city.
Les Violets are the current holders of the Coupe de France, and have won the second tier
Ligue 2 on three occasions.[2] Toulouse have participated in European competition five
times, including in 2007 when they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first
time.[3] They are currently participating in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League, following their
victory in the preceding year's Coupe de France.
The president of Toulouse FC is Damien Comolli, who succeeded the French businessman
Olivier Sadran who took over the club following its bankruptcy in 2001 which resulted in it
being relegated to the Championnat National. The club has served as a springboard for
several players, most notably the World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez,
international strikers André-Pierre Gignac,[4] Martin Braithwaite and Wissam Ben Yedder.
The city was left without a big side in 1967 when Toulouse FC sold its players and place in
the French top flight to Paris outfit Red Star, but three years later a new club, Union Sportive
Toulouse, rose from the ashes. Adopting red and yellow jerseys, the club started out in Ligue
2 and in 1979 reclaimed the name Toulouse FC. Now wearing purple and white, Les
Pitchouns gained top-flight promotion in 1982. A side containing Jacques Santini and Swiss
forward Daniel Jeandupeux earned a penalty shoot-out victory against Diego Maradona's
Napoli in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup, Toulouse's maiden European campaign.
Toulouse fans celebrate qualifying for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League
After goalkeeper Fabien Barthez made his breakthrough and moved on, Toulouse were
relegated in 1994. They subsequently bounced back and forth between Ligues 1 and 2
before slipping to the third flight in 2001 after financial problems. Toulouse were back in the
top flight two seasons later, and in 2007 they finished third to earn a place in the 2007–08
UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. There, Liverpool overpowered them 5–0 on
aggregate.[3]
In 2008–09, Toulouse finished fourth in the Ligue 1 table with 64 points, and secured a spot
in the new Europa League, while André-Pierre Gignac led all scorers in Ligue 1 with 24
goals and was awarded a call-up to the French national team.[4]
In the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season, Toulouse avoided relegation to Ligue 2 in the last game of
the season. With 12 minutes to go, Toulouse were behind to Angers 2–1 and needed a win
to survive, and scored two late goals and won the match 3–2.[5] Two years later, they
finished 18th and won the promotion/relegation playoff 4–0 on aggregate against Ligue 2's
AC Ajaccio.[6]
On 6 January 2020, Toulouse dismissed manager Antoine Kombouaré following the club's
1–0 loss to Championnat National 2 side Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire in the Coupe de France.
Under Kombouaré the club had lost ten matches in a row, leading him to be dismissed and
replaced by Denis Zanko.[7] On 30 April that year, Toulouse were relegated to Ligue 2 after
the LFP elected to end the season early due to the coronavirus pandemic.[8]
On 21 July 2020, RedBird Capital Partners acquired an 85% stake in Toulouse FC.[9] The
club achieved promotion back to Ligue 1 by winning the second tier, Ligue 2, in 2022.[10] On
29 April 2023, Toulouse won its first-ever Coupe de France title, defeating Kombouaré's
Nantes in the final by a score of 5–1.[11] It was the city's second title, however, as the former
Toulouse FC had won it back in 1957.[12][13]
