Red Star Football Club (), known as Red Star FC or simply Red Star, is a French professional

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 founded in

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 ...

in 1897, and is the fourth oldest French football club, after Standard AC of Paris, Le Havre AC and

Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It competes in the Championnat National 2 ...

. As of the 2024–25 season, Red Star competes in the

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 ...

, the French second tier, after being promoted from

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

at the end of the 2023–24 season. The club plays its home matches at Stade Bauer. Despite the club's long spell under a semi-pro status, Red Star has a rich history. The club was founded in 1897 under the name ''Red Star Club Français'' by French football legend

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the pres ...

. Rimet later went on to serve as president of both the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF and 3F; or Triple F; , ) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspec ...

and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. The original FIFA World Cup Trophy was named in his honour. Red Star was one of the founding member clubs 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 ...

and has spent 19 seasons in the first division; the club's last top tier stint being in 1974–75. In cup competitions, the club has won 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, which is tied for fifth-best among all French clubs. While the club have enjoyed only modest success on the field, the club is widely recognised for its distinctive social culture. Red Star supporters are strongly identified with their support of

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

, social activism and a party atmosphere they create at the club's matches. The club was purchased by US-based private investment firm 777 Partners in May 2022, a move which saw demonstrations from fans leading to the postponement of a Championnat National match in April 2022.

History

Early history

Red Star Football Club was founded on 21 February 1897 in a Parisian café by

and Ernest Weber under the name ''Red Star Club Français''. The derivation of the name is uncertain; it is possibly taken from the

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age ...

or possibly in reference to Miss Jenny, a British

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

based in Paris who was adopted as the godmother of the club, who recommended the club be named after the historic shipping line, the Red Star Line. Upon its creation, Rimet installed Jean de Piessac as club president and one of his younger brothers as club secretary. The club was officially inaugurated on 12 March 1897 after Rimet signed the club's statutes and sent them to the

USFSA U.S. Figure Skating is the national Sports governing body, governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) under the Amateur Sports Act of 1 ...

, which, during this time, served as the head of French football. Members of the club were required to pay ₣100 a month to help the club meet its daily quota. Red Star officially joined the USFSA in 1898 and was inserted into the third-tier of the association's football league system. In the club's infancy, the team played in navy blue and white at the

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

. However, soon after, Red Star moved to

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

playing on a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

overlooking the Seine Valley. Midway through the year, de Piessac left his post as club president. Rimet quickly succeeded him and, by 1904, Red Star were playing in the first division of the USFSA league. In 1907, Red Star changed its name to ''Red Star Amical Club'' after merging with Amical Football Club. Due to the merger, the club departed Meudon and moved to Grenelle. After three years in Grenelle, the club moved to Saint-Ouen in Seine-Saint-Denis to play in the newly built Stade de Paris. On 25 October 1909, the stadium was inaugurated following a match between Red Star and English club

Old Westminsters The following people were educated at Westminster School in London, and are sometimes listed with OW (Old Westminster) after their name (collectively, OWW). There are over 900 Old Westminsters listed in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biogra ...

. The stadium was later renamed to its present name today. With the USFSA becoming disorganised in the early 1900s, Red Star joined the newly created Ligue de Football Association (LFA) in 1910. In 1912, the club earned its first honour after winning the association's ''Ligue Nationale''. In the same year, the club also finished runner-up to Étoile des Deux Lacs in the Trophée de France.

1919–1975

In 1919, the

was created and months later, the

. From 1920–34, Red Star embarked on a remarkable uprising in which the club won four Coupe de France titles, achieved professional status, and were founding members of the

French Division 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 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 Football Professio ...

. The club's first Coupe de France victory came in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, when the club, led by French internationals Pierre Chayriguès,

Paul Nicolas Paul Nicolas (4 November 1899 – 3 March 1959) was a French Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was part of the France national football teams at the 1920 Summer Olympics, 1920, ...

, Juste Brouzes, Lucien Gamblin and Maurice Meyer, defeated

Olympique de Paris Olympique de Paris was a French association football team based in Paris which existed from 1908 to 1926. Founded with the name Olympique de Pantin, it won the Coupe de France in 1918 and played in the finals in 1919 and 1921. It merged with Red S ...

2–1, courtesy of goals from Marcel Naudin and Robert Clavel. In the ensuing two seasons, Red Star won back-to-back Coupe de France titles. In

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, the club defeated Stade Rennais UC 2–0 and, in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

, Red Star beat Cette 4–2 to complete the hat trick. In 1926, Red Star completed a second merger, this time with its local rivals Olympique de Paris whom it had defeated just five years ago in a Coupe de France final. Due to the merger, Red Star changed its name to ''Red Star Olympique'' and dropped its navy blue and white combination for a simple white blouse. In 1928, Red Star won its fourth Coupe de France title of the decade defeating CA Paris 3–1 at the

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track, and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fra ...

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. ...

. In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. Red Star were among the first clubs to adopt the new statute and, subsequently, became professional and were founding members of the new league. In the league's inaugural season, Red Star were relegated after finishing in the bottom three of its group. As a result, the club played the following season in the inaugural season of the Division 2. Red Star won the league and returned to the first division for the 1934–35 season. Following the club's return to Division 1, Red Star switched its colours from white to the green and white that exists today. In 1967, they merged with

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

(not the current club) out of the latter club's financial reasons and bought Toulouse's place in the top division. The merged club last played in first division in the 1974–75 season.

Recent history

Red Star were relegated from

in 1999. In 1999–2000 they reached the semi-finals of the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

, losing to eventual champions Gueugnon. They were relegated to the fourth tier in 2001, thereby losing their professional status. A year later, the FFF sent them down another tier due to €1.5 million debts. From 2003 to 2005, Red Star played in the sixth-tier Division d'Honneur. After a long spell in the lower leagues, following a successful 2014–15 campaign, the team won promotion to Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. In their first season back in Ligue 2, Red Star finished 5th on the table missing promotion to

by a single point. In the 2016–17 Ligue 2 season, Red Star finished 19th and were relegated back to the third division of French football. Due to safety regulation issues with Stade Bauer, Red Star has been forced to play at different stadiums the past few seasons when in Ligue 2. They have employed Stade Jean-Bouin in the past and then used Stade Pierre Brisson located in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

. Since returning to the third tier in 2019, the club has returned to playing home matches at Stade Bauer. In 2018, Red Star were promoted back to Ligue 2 as champions of the

. They were relegated again the following season, finishing bottom of Ligue 2. Their relegation was confirmed on 27 April 2019 after losing 2–1 to champions

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

Divisional movements of Red Star

(''Italics'' indicates winning seasons) * Ligue 1: 1932–33, 1934–38, 1939–50, 1965–66, 1967–73, 1974–75 * Ligue 2: 1933–34, 1938–39, 1952–60, 1961–65, 1966–67, 1973–74, 1975–78, 1982–87, 1989–99, 2015–17, 2018–19, 2024- * Third Level: 1950–52, 1960–61, 1981–82, 1987–89, 1999–01, 2011–15, 2017–18, 2019–2024 * Fourth Level: 1980–81, 2001–02, 2006–11 * Fifth Level: 1978–80, 2002–03, 2005–06 * Sixth Level: 2003–05

Name changes

* Red Star Club Français (1897–04) * Red Star Amical Club (1904–25) * Red Star Olympique (1925–44) * Red Star Olympique Audonien (1944–46) * Stade Français-Red Star (1946–48) * Red Star Olympique Audonien (1948–55) * Red Star Football Club (1955–66) * AS Red Star (1976–82) * AS Red Star 93 (1982–01) * Red Star Football Club 93 (2001–10) * Red Star Football Club (2010–)

Supporters

The club has relatively modest but loyal support, mostly centered around Saint-Ouen and the northern suburbs of

. Overtly

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

, most of the fans are

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

, and the club identifies itself as a

banlieue In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

club. Average attendances in recent years have been consistently above 3000 spectators per match with many home games sold out. The club has several

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

groups; "Red Star Fans", "''Gang Green''", "''Perry Boys''" and the smaller "'' Splif Brothers''". The fans have a long-standing friendship with "''Red Kaos''" of

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

. Red Star have rivalries with fellow Parisian derby rivals; with US Créteil and a fierce rivalry with

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

Youth system

Red Star unearthed several talented players during its early existence, most notably

, who spent nine years at the club, Nicolas later became a catalyst towards the development of professional football in France and was partly responsible for the creation of the

Ligue de Football Professionnel The (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France and Monaco. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Footba ...

. Football manager Roger Lemerre started his managerial career with the club before leading

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to titles at

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

and the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...

. Red Star's youth academy was once very productive. The likes of Alex Song,

Moussa Sissoko Moussa Sissoko (born 16 August 1989) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captain (association football), captains club Watford F.C., Watford. He is a Midfielder#Box-to-box midfielder, bo ...

and Abou Diaby, all renowned players in English football, came through the club's youth system. As a matter of fact, no less than five players at the 2014 World Cup had played in the club's youth teams. Nevertheless, during the years spent in lower amateur divisions, the loss of professional status led to the dismantling of the youth academy setup, and although a project to rebuild it has been in the air for a few years, it has yet to be done despite the club's return to professional football.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Red Star in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1897. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club or have played for his country's team. ''For a complete list of Red Star players, see :Red Star FC players''. * Alfred Aston * David Bellion * Philippe Bonnardel * Jean-Claude Bras * Juste Brouzes * Augustin Chantrel * Pierre Chayriguès * Émilien Devic * Marcel Domergue * Lucien Gamblin * Alfred Gindrat * Jean-Luc Girard * François Hugues * Eugène Langenove * Nasser Bouiche * Christian Laudu * Eugène Maës * Steve Marlet * Guilherme Mauricio * Georges Meuris * Maurice Meyer * Pol Morel *

* Marcel Pinel * Julien Du Rhéart * Jacky Simon * André Simonyi * Georges Stuttler * Peppe Moncef Chahboune * Alexis Thépot * Julien Verbrugge * Lotfi Guellati * Nestor Combin * Guillermo Stábile *

Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentina, Argentine and naturalised France, French association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He is best remembered for his success ...

* Yves Desmarets * Stéphan Raheriharimanana *

Bror Mellberg Bror Lars Astley Mellberg (9 December 1923 − 8 September 2004) was a Swedish footballer who played as a forward. He played for the Sweden national team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and 1958 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third and seco ...

* Hugo Pérez * Aleksandr Bubnov * Fyodor Cherenkov *

Safet Sušić Safet "Pape" Sušić (; born 13 April 1955) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He was a gifted midfielder known for his dribbling skills and technical ability, and is strongly reputed to have been one of the finest Eur ...

Management and staff

*Owner and President: Patrice Haddad *Sporting Director: Reda Hammache *Global Sports Director: Johannes Spors *Head Coach: Grégory Poirier *Assistant Head coach: Sylvain Groseil, Pierre-Emmanuel Bourdeau *Goalkeeper Coach: Faouzi Amzal *Fitness Coach: Rodolphe Rothe-Boll *Athletic Coach: Randy Fondelot *Match Analyst: Brahim Merad *Club Doctor: Alain Frey *Osteopath: Quentin Janicot *Medical department: Mohamed Kadi, Isabelle Meissner *Masseur: Philippe Donin, Alexis Rebour, Thibaut Lacaze *Head of Education: Vincent Doukantie *Kit Manager: Christian Dubo, Osman Davison, Alain Giry, Nordine Guellai, Boualem Zeboudji * Team Manager: Valentin Ries

Coaching history

Honours

Domestic

**''Champions'' (2): 1933–34, 1938–39 *

**''Champions'' (3): 2014–15, 2017–18, 2023–24 * Championnat de France amateur 2 **''Champions'' (1): 2005–06 (Group A) *Division d'Honneur (Paris Île-de-France) **''Champions'' (4): 1919–20, 1921–22, 1923–24, 2004–05 *

**''Champions'' (5): 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1927–28, 1941–42 **''Runners-up'' (1): 1945–46

Other

* Coupe Manier **''Champions'' (1): 1908 *Ligue de Football Association (LFA) Championship **''Champions'' (1): 1912 *Challenge de la Renommée **''Champions'' (1): 1919 *Trophée de France **''Runners-up'' (1): 1912

International

*Tournoi du Nouvel An **''Winners'' (2): 1921 (shared), 1923, 1924 (shared) *Tournoi de Pâques **''Winners'' (1): 1923 **''Runners-up'' (2): 1922, 1929 *Tournoi Pascal **''Winners'' (2): 1913, 1924 *Challenge International de Paris **''Winners'' (1): 1913 *Tournoi de Pentecôte **''Runners-up'' (1): 1927

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Star Saint-Ouen Football clubs in Paris Association football clubs established in 1897 1897 establishments in France Sport in Seine-Saint-Denis Ligue 1 clubs 2022 mergers and acquisitions