FC Lugano

FC Lugano was founded on 28 July 1908 in Lugano, in the canton of Ticino, under president Ernesto Corsini. The club first wore white and blue and switched to black and white in 1916; its players are known as the Bianconeri. Home was the Campo Marzio until the Cornaredo Stadium opened in 1951. After bankruptcy in 2003 it restarted as AC Lugano in the fifth tier, merged with Malcantone Agno in 2004 and took back the name FC Lugano in 2008. Since 2026-27 it has played at the new AIL Arena, built next to Cornaredo.

Lugano won its first Swiss Cup in 1931 and became Swiss champions in 1937-38, 1940-41 and 1948-49. Further cups followed in 1968, 1993 and 2022, the last with a 4-1 final win over St. Gallen. In the 1993-94 Cup Winners' Cup the team beat Neman Grodno before losing to Real Madrid, and in the 1995-96 UEFA Cup it knocked out Inter Milan. Second place in 2000-01 brought a first Champions League qualifier, against Shakhtar Donetsk. After the 2003 bankruptcy, the club won the Challenge League in 2014-15 and returned to the top flight.