US Tourcoing

Union Sportive Tourquennoise, commonly shortened to US Tourcoing, is a French football club founded in 1902 and based in Tourcoing. The club played in the Championnat National 3 (and its previous incarnation at the fifth level) for five seasons since 2014–2015 after finishing first in the Division Honneur of Nord-Pas-de-Calais during the 2013–2014 season, but were relegated back to the sixth level in 2019.

History

Founded on 12 May 1898, as US Tourcoing, the club played football from 1902 under the leadership of the supervisor of the Lycée Gambetta: Albert Fromentin. The colours were black and white. Champions of the USFSA du Nord in 1900, 1909, 1910 and 1912, US Tourcoing reached three times the semifinals of the Championnat de France (1900, 1909 and 1912) and won it in 1910 . In the final, they beat Stade Helvétique de Marseille 7-2 on 1 May 1910 at the Parc des Princes. The club was at its peak and many players need to be mentioned here, in particular Adrien Filez (the only provincial player to be selected in 1904 for the first game of the France national football team), Gabriel Hanot, Victor Denis and Jules Dubly.

North champions in 1920 and 1928, the ''Ustiens'' got to the semifinals of the Coupe de France in 1921. They were against the formidable Olympique de Paris and lost in the 114th minute. Always present in the Coupe de France (quarter-finalist in 1922 and 1926) or in the Championnat (Championnat du Nord in 1933), the club still provided players for the national team ( Maurice Depaepe, Victor Farvacques and Jean Sécember) the club chose to have professional status in 1933. Admitted into Division 2 in the year of its creation, US Tourcoing struggled and abandoned its professional status in June 1938.

After World War II, the club was actively involved in the creation of CO Roubaix-Tourcoing. UST regained its independence in 1957. A year later, Charles Van Veegaete, co-founder of the sports club in 1898, died. The stadium was renamed the Stade Charles Van Veegaete from the Stade Albert Fromentin.

Since then, the club played simply in amateur competitions (Division 4). On 30 June 1990 the club merged with AS-Jean Mace Tourcoing (one of the best UFOLEP clubs in the region and playing in DH in 1990), to become the Tourcoing FC (TFC), playing in yellow, white and black. The founding presidents were Albert Vandenabaele (of UST) and Roger Vandepeutte (of ASJMT). The club played in the CFA2 until 2002, then experienced four consecutive relegations, finding itself playing in the regional league in 2005.

The Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba played in the youth teams of TFC, likewise with French international Yohan Cabaye, when they were ten years old. The club was renamed Union Sports Tourcoing Football Club (USTFC) in 2010. The official colours were changed back to the original ones, black and white. The current president since 2009 is Fabien Desmet. In 2014, the club returned to the CFA 2 after more than 10 years in the regional leagues.

Players

Current squad

Professional footballers who have played for TFC or UST

*Yohan Cabaye
* Christophe Delmotte
* Didier Drogba
*Michael Klukowski
* J. C. Mack
* Larsen Touré
* Malik Boumendjel

Achievements and honours

* Challenge International du Nord:
**Winners: 1911, 1913
**Finalists: 1906, 1912

*Championnat de France de l'USFSA:
**Champions: 1910

*Coupe de France:
**Semi-finals: 1921

*Championnat du Nord-Pas-de-Calais:
**Champions: 1920, 1928, 1932, 1965, 1992, 1996, 2014

*Championnat du Nord de l'USFSA:
**Champions: 1900, 1909, 1910, 1912

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourcoing
Football clubs in France
US Tourcoing
Association football clubs established in 1902
1902 establishments in France
Sport in Nord (French department)
Football clubs in Hauts-de-France