Racing Club de France Football, commonly known as Racing Club de France (), is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

suburb of

Colombes Colombes () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 53rd largest city in France. ...

. The club was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

, and is one of the oldest clubs in French football history. The club's football section was not founded until 1896. The team plays in the

Championnat National 3 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

, the fifth level of French football. Racing Club de France, founded in 1882, was a founding member of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. The club has won one Ligue 1 title (in 1935–36) and five

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

titles (currently the joint fourth-highest total). Racing also played in the

Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques The Union of French Athletic Sports Societies () was a sports governing body in France. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet, and swimming. However it is perh ...

-sanctioned league, France's first championship league. The club debuted in the league in 1899 and won the championship in 1907 after finishing second in 1902 and 1903. The club holds the Ligue 1 record for most goals scored during a 38-match season with 118 goals in 1959–60. Notable players of the club include Roger Marche, Oscar Heisserer,

Thadée Cisowski Thadée Cisowski (16 February 1927 – 24 February 2005), originally Tadeusz Cisowski, was a French association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Born in Poland, he was regarded one of the best goalsco ...

, Raoul Diagne, Luis Fernández,

Maxime Bossis Maxime Jean Marcel Bossis (; born 26 June 1955) is a French retired professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Bossis spent most of his career playing for FC Nantes, Nantes, a club h ...

, David Ginola, Luís Sobrinho,

Pierre Littbarski Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder ...

, Enzo Francescoli,

Alfred Bloch Alfred Bloch (22 February 1878 – 20 June 1902), also known as Jean Bloch and sometimes written Block, was a Belgian-born French footballer who played as a defender and who competed in the football tournament at the 1900 Olympic Games in Pari ...

, and Rubén Paz. Diagne spent a decade with the club (1930–1940) and, in 1931, was the first black player on the France national team. He played in the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...

with Abdelkader Ben Bouali, his Racing teammate who was one of the first

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n players on the national team. From 2009 to 2012, the club moved to nearby

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

after reaching a financial agreement with the commune.

History

During the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

, Racing Club de France hosted the athletics events at Croix-Catelan Stadium (the club's previous home). Racing's zenith was the 1930s and 1940s, when the club won

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and the

in 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945 and 1949. The club was also successful in the early 1960s, finishing second in the first division in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. However, Racing was a focal point of the financial crisis affecting French football during the mid-1960s. The club's financial struggles resulted in its relegation to the lower divisions. In 1982, businessman

Jean-Luc Lagardère Jean-Luc Lagardère (; 10 February 1928 – 14 March 2003) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates. Career Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supélec'' engineer. He began his career in ...

wanted to build a team of stars and invested in the club as a second major club in Paris (with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

). Although he considered a merger of Paris FC and Racing, the Racing management refused due to a lack of detailed information on PFC finances. Lagardère bought the Paris FC (incurring a debt of more than four million francs) and renamed it "Paris Racing 1". Lagardère invested in experienced players in 1982 and 1983. Lagardère, determined to lead his club to the European Cup draws in 1987, hired Portuguese coach Artur Jorge after Jorge's victory in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

with

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

. He completed the team with Gérard Buscher and Pascal Olmeta. However, the club fell on hard times and attendance declined. During the late 1980s, Racing lost 300 million francs. The club, relegated to the amateur levels, sought firmer financial footing. In December 2008, Georgios Kintis tried unsuccessfully to buy the club. Before the 2009–10 season, Racing reached a financial agreement with the city of Levallois. The club's association and support from the commune resulted in a name change to ''Racing Club de France Levallois 92''. Despite assistance from Levallois, Racing was relegated to the Championnat de France amateur 2 by the DNCG in July 2010 after it was determined that the club had a €500,000 debt. On 21 November 2010, Racing Levallois and UJA Alfortville announced plans to merge for the following season. In 2012, the club returned to

as Racing Club de France Colombes 92. The club achieved promotion in the 2021–22 Championnat National 3 season to reach

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...

where they currently compete in Group A.

Name changes

* Racing Club de France: (1896–1932, 1966–1981, 2005–2007) * Racing Club de Paris: (1932–1966, 1981–1987, 1999–2005) *

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

Racing: (1987–1989) * Racing Paris 1: (1989–1991) * Racing 92: (1991–1995) * Racing Club de France 92: (1995–1999) * Racing Club de France football 92: (2007–2009) * Racing Club de France Levallois 92: (2009–2012) * Racing Club de France Colombes 92: (2012–2018) * Racing Club de France Football: (2018–present)

Players

Current squad

As of 18 August 2022

Past players

The following players have represented Racing in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1882. They have played in at least 100 official matches for the club, or achieved prominence elsewhere. For a complete list of RCF Paris players, see :Racing Club de France football Colombes 92 players. * Pierre Allemane * Manuel Anatol * Henri Bard *

* Luis Fernández *

* Edmond Delfour * Raoul Diagne * David Ginola * Youssef Darbaki * Oscar Heisserer * François Heutte * Auguste Jordan * Jean-Jacques Marcel * Roger Marche *

Sonny Silooy Jan Jacobus "Sonny" Silooy (born 31 August 1963) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer and football manager. He is currently the assistant coach with AFC Ajax (women), AFC Ajax. His last managing post was for the under- ...

* Pascal Olmeta * Roger Quenolle * Ernest Vaast * Guy Van Sam * Émile Veinante * René Vignal * Halim Benmabrouk * Rabah Madjer * Arne Larsen Økland * Eugène Ekéké * Rodolphe Hiden * Joseph Ujlaki *

* Abderrahman Mahjoub * Vahap Özaltay * Enzo Francescoli * Miloš Milutinović * Albert Guðmundsson *

Walid Regragui Walid Regragui (; born 23 September 1975), sometimes known as Hoalid or Oualid Regragui, is a professional football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He is the head coach of the Morocco national team. He made history when h ...

Officials

*''President'' : Patrick Norbert *''Vice-president'' : Guillaume Norbert *''General secretary'' : – *''Manager'' : Guillaume Norbert *''Assistant manager'' : Serge Gnonsoro

Managers

Honours

*''

champions'': 1935–36 **''Runners-up'': 1960–61, 1961–62 *''

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

champions'': 1985–86 *

: 2003–04 (Group D) *

: 2006–07 (Group F), 2022 (Group L) *''Division d'Honneur (Paris Île-de-France) championship'': 1973 *''

champions'': 1935–36, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1944–45, 1948–49 **''Runners-up'': 1929–30, 1949–50, 1989–90 *''

Championship'': 1907 *''USFSA Paris Championship'': 1902, 1903, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1919 *''FFFA Ligue de Paris champions'': 1931, 1932 *''Coupe Dewar champions'': 1905, 1906, 1907, 1912 **''Runners-up'': 1901

References

External links

*
Official Facebook
{{Original Ligue 1 Clubs 1882 establishments in France Association football clubs established in 1882 Football clubs in Paris Racing Club de France Sport in Hauts-de-Seine Ligue 1 clubs