Lyon, Olympique Lyonnais, was officially founded on 3 August 1950. On 3 August 2027 the club turns 77. It is the team that won seven French titles in a row, a record nobody had achieved before.

A divorce from rugby

Football in Lyon had a home from 1899, in the section of the multi-sport Lyon Olympique Universitaire (LOU). But LOU's directors gave priority to rugby, and the footballers felt neglected. Disputes over amateurs and professionals led to the split.

In May 1950 the first meetings for the new club took place, with the doctor Albert Trillat as a central figure. Sources disagree on the exact founding date, but the club and the local press celebrate the birthday on 3 August. In late August the team played its first official match, beating CA Paris-Charenton 3-0.

White with red and blue

The colours, red and blue, were agreed at the founding meetings in 1950. But white remained dominant, and it is still the base of the shirt today.

In 1955 a red and blue chevron was added to the white shirt. In 1961 the bands became horizontal and later moved vertically to the left side. In 1976 Lyon even tried an all-red kit.

In 1995 the stripes moved to the centre of the chest, and in 2009-10 the horizontal bands briefly returned. The new adidas shirt for 2026-27 is loosely inspired by the 1996-97 one: white, with a large vertical band, red on the left and blue on the right, and the outline of the city's coat of arms around the sponsor.

The "kids" of Gerland

Fans call the players "Les Gones", "the kids" in the local Lyon dialect. For 65 years their home was the Stade de Gerland, from 1950 to 2015.

The great star of the early decades was Fleury Di Nallo, "the little prince of Gerland". With 222 goals he is still the all-time top scorer. Alongside him played Néstor Combin, Jacques Fatton and Jean Djorkaeff.

The Aulas era and seven in a row

In June 1987 the club was bought by Jean-Michel Aulas, with a plan to bring Lyon back to the top and into Europe. He stayed president for 36 years, until 2023.

In 2002 came the first league title, and with it a run of seven titles up to 2008, a French record. Bordeaux ended the run in 2009.

The Brazilian Juninho stood out in that team. The academy produced Karim Benzema and Alexandre Lacazette. In all, Lyon count seven league titles, five French Cups and one League Cup.

In 2016 the team moved to the new Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, with about 59,000 seats.

From the brink to Europe

The summer of 2025 was full of anxiety for Lyon. On 24 June the DNCG relegated the club administratively for financial reasons, but on 9 July the decision was overturned on appeal. Michele Kang became president.

The answer came on the pitch. In 2025-26 Lyon finished 4th in Ligue 1 with 60 points and earned a place in Champions League qualifying.

Celebrate with us

From a divorce with rugby to seven straight titles, the white shirt with red and blue has written its own story.

Happy birthday, Lyon! May the "kids" keep dreaming big.

See our Olympique Lyonnais jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The Stade de Gerland, Lyon's historic home – David.Monniaux, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.