Gazélec Football Club Ajaccio ( co, Gazélec Football Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as GFC Ajaccio, GFCA, Gazélec Ajaccio or simply Gazélec (), is a French football club from

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. Founded in 1960, Gazélec 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 tier of football in France.

History

The club was founded in 1960 as result of the merger of two small Ajaccio clubs, Football Club Ajaccien (commonly known as FC Ajaccio), founded in 1930 and Gazélec Corse Club, founded in 1910. Gazélec reached the semi-finals of the

2011–12 Coupe de France The 2011–12 Coupe de France was the 95th season of France's most prestigious cup competition. The competition was organized by the French Football Federation (FFF) and open to all clubs in French football, including clubs from the overseas d ...

, while playing in the third-tier

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, t ...

. They hosted home games in the later rounds at the larger Stade François Coty, home of

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...

. On 15 May 2015, Gazélec were promoted to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

for the first time in the club's history, following a 3–2 win over

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...

with two goals by

John Tshibumbu John Lungeny Tshibumbu (born 6 January 1989) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He made one appearance for the DR Congo national team. Career Tshibumbu began his career in Cameroon for Pari Mutuel Urbain Ca ...

. It was their second consecutive promotion and fourth in five years. Gazelec Ajaccio started off the 2015–16

season as one of the smallest teams to compete in the division's history. They were instantly relegated, in 19th place. In June 2019, the club reverted to the third tier after a play-off loss to

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. They were relegated again at the end of the truncated 2019–20 Championnat National season, after being in the relegation places when the season was halted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021, they suffered administrative relegation to

for financial reasons.

Honours

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

** ''Runners-up:'' 2014–15 * Championnat de France Amateurs ** Champions: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 2002–03, 2010–11 * Corsican Championship ** Champions: 1937, 1938, 1956, 1957, 1961

Rivalries

The club has rivalries with the other two Corsican professional clubs:

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football ...

and

, the latter one playing the Ajaccio Derby with Gazélec. For many years, Gazélec played in a lower division than their city rivals. The side also has rivalry with another smaller club on the island,

FC Bastia-Borgo Football Club Borgo is a French football club based in Borgo, Haute-Corse on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in July 2017 by the merger of CA Bastia and Borgo FC. As of the 2022–23 season, it competes in the Championnat Nationa ...

Players

Current squad

Coaches

References

Gazélec Ajaccio Association football clubs established in 1960 Football clubs in Corsica 1960 establishments in France Football clubs in France Ajaccio Sport in Corse-du-Sud Ligue 1 clubs {{France-footyclub-stub