RC Strasbourg Alsace

The club started out in 1906 as FC Neudorf, a team of local youngsters in what was then German-ruled Alsace. It took the name Racing Club de Strasbourg after the First World War and became RC Strasbourg Alsace in 2012. Cup success came first, with the Coupe de France in 1951 and again in 1966, a 1–0 final win over Nantes.

The title came in 1978–79 under Gilbert Gress. His side had the best defence in the league, conceding 28, never lost at home and finished two points clear of Nantes. Dominique Dropsy, Raymond Domenech, Albert Gemmrich and captain Jacky Duguépéroux were in that team, and a young Arsène Wenger made a brief appearance. Later cups followed: the Coupe de la Ligue in 1964, 1997, 2005 and 2019, and the Coupe de France in 2001, won on penalties against Amiens.

In 2011 Strasbourg finished fourth in the Championnat National, missed promotion and went bust. The club was liquidated and restarted in the fifth tier, CFA 2. Gates fell to around 6,500, but the climb was relentless. They won their CFA 2 group with 100 points in 2011–12 and the CFA in 2012–13, sealed with a 3–2 win over Raon-l’Étape on 2 June 2013. The National title followed in 2015–16, and a 2–1 win over Bourg-en-Bresse on the final day of 2016–17 made them Ligue 2 champions and a top-flight club again.

BlueCo, the group that owns Chelsea, agreed a majority stake on 22 June 2023, with Marc Keller staying on as president. In 2025–26 Strasbourg finished eighth and went unbeaten through the Conference League league phase, topping the table. They beat Rijeka and Mainz before losing the semi-final 2–0 on aggregate to Rayo Vallecano, the club’s best run in a major UEFA competition.

Racing have played at the Meinau since 1914. It was rebuilt for Euro 1984, and the 0–0 between West Germany and Portugal that summer set the record crowd of 44,566. A €160 million renovation, planned to run until summer 2026, has transformed the ground. The new South Stand, seating 11,000, opened on 12 September 2025, and the target capacity is around 32,000 when the project is complete.

Strasbourg are in Ligue 1 for 2026/27 without European football, after UEFA let Marseille keep the Europa League place eighth-placed Racing had hoped to inherit. Liam Rosenior left for Chelsea in January 2026, Gary O’Neil moved to Ipswich Town in the summer, and Portuguese coach Hugo Oliveira arrived from Famalicão on 12 July on a deal to 2029. Emmanuel Emegha and Mike Penders went to Chelsea and Diego Moreira to AC Milan. After a 3–1 home defeat to PSG on 17 October, with Giovanni Reyna scoring, Racing were 14th on seven points from seven games.

Racing are blue and white. The usual home kit is a medium blue shirt with white shorts and blue socks, though the shade has moved between medium blue, dark blue and sky blue over recent seasons, and some home shirts have been white.

This FanFile covers RC Strasbourg Alsace as a club rather than one particular jersey. Check the crest, sponsor, manufacturer label and product code on your own shirt to identify its specific season and edition.

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• RC Strasbourg Alsace: official club history
• RC Strasbourg Alsace: new South Stand at the Meinau
• Wikipedia: honours, liquidation and BlueCo takeover
• Game of the People: the 1979 title and the rebirth after 2011
• Ligue 1: 2026/27 season preview
• Alsa’Sports: Oliveira after the PSG defeat, October 2026

Facts checked: 21 October 2026.