Olympique Lyonnais was founded on 3 August 1950, born from the football section of Lyon Olympique Universitaire splitting off into a standalone professional club. OL play at the Groupame Stadium (formerly Parc Olympique Lyonnais), opened in 2016 with a capacity of 59,186, replacing the historic Stade de Gerland. The club wears red and blue, the colours of the City of Lyon.
Lyon were a moderate club for decades — winning the 1963-64 Coupe de France as their highest pre-2000 honour — until the Jean-Michel Aulas presidency (1987-2023) transformed them into French football's dominant force. Under Aulas's stewardship and a series of strong managers (Paul Le Guen, Gérard Houllier, Alain Perrin, Claude Puel), Lyon won an unprecedented seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles from 2001-02 to 2007-08 — a French league record never matched. The 2003-04 squad — Sidney Govou, Florent Malouda, Sonny Anderson, Juninho Pernambucano (the free-kick legend), Mahamadou Diarra and Cris — represented Lyon's modern peak.
Lyon's reputation as France's premier development club continues. The Tola Vologe academy has produced Karim Benzema (2022 Ballon d'Or winner), Hatem Ben Arfa, Nabil Fekir, Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Corentin Tolisso, Houssem Aouar, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki — among modern football's most accomplished youth-system outputs. Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, the club's women's section, has dominated European women's football with eight UEFA Women's Champions Leagues since 2010 — a record. After Aulas's exit and John Textor's Eagle Football Group taking over in 2022, the men's club has navigated turbulent ownership transitions while attempting to rebuild competitive ambition.