Tours FC facts for kids
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| Full name | AS Docks du Centre (1919-1921) AS du Centre (1921-1942) US du centre (1942-1951) Tours FC (1951-2025) |
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| Nickname(s) | TFC |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Dissolved | 26 February 2025 |
| Ground | Stade de la Vallée du Cher |
| Capacity | 16,247 |
Tours Football Club, often called simply Tours, was a football club from Tours, France. It was started in 1919 and changed its name to Tours FC in 1951. The club stopped playing on February 26, 2025, because of money problems.
The team played its home games at the Stade de la Vallée du Cher stadium in the city.
Contents
Club History: From Start to Finish
Early Days and Name Changes
Tours Football Club began in 1919 as AS Docks du Centre. After two years, the club changed its name to AS du Centre. It kept this name for 30 years. In 1951, the club changed its name again to Tours FC. That same year, with player-coach Alfred Aston, the club did well in the Coupe de France cup competition.
Reaching the Top League
In 1980, Tours was promoted to Ligue 1, which is France's top football league. Before the season started, the club signed a great player named Delio Onnis from Monaco. Onnis made the team's attack much stronger.
Tours reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France twice, in 1982 and 1983. Both times, they were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain. Onnis left the club in 1983, and Tours was moved down to a lower league.
Moving Up and Down the Leagues
In 1984, Tours quickly returned to the first division after winning the Ligue 2 title. However, they only stayed for one season before going back down. Tours has not been able to return to Ligue 1 since then.
Over the years, Tours faced challenges and moved between different leagues. In the 2006–07 Ligue 2 season, they finished last and went down to the Championnat National, which is the third division. The club changed its manager and many players. This new plan worked, and they finished second in the 2007–08 National season. This meant they moved back up to Ligue 2.
Tours stayed in Ligue 2 for ten years. But after the 2017-2018 season, they finished last again and were moved down to Championnat National.
Recent Challenges and Club Closure
The club was moved down again after the 2018–19 Championnat National season. They were also moved down by football authorities to the fifth level, Championnat National 3, for the 2019–20 season.
In April 2020, the season was stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tours hoped to be promoted back to Championnat National 2 because they were at the top of their group. However, the football committee did not allow their promotion.
In March 2021, the club tried to get more community involvement to help manage the club. But in July 2021, the club was moved down to the sixth tier because of money problems. They finished first in their division in the 2021–22 season. However, they were again denied promotion for financial reasons. This decision was later changed, and Tours moved back up to National 3.
Sadly, on February 26, 2025, the French Football Federation confirmed that Tours Football Club was closing down. This was due to many years of financial difficulties. All of the club's teams were removed from the leagues in France.
Team Colours and Crest
The crest, or logo, of Tours FC was inspired by the city's own coat of arms. It shows three towers and a Fleur-de-lis, which is a symbol often used in France.
The club's motto, "Turonorum civitas libera," is written on the crest. This is Latin and means "Free city of Turones". The Turones were an old Celtic tribe that gave the city of Tours its name. This motto was found carved on a rock, which is now in the Beaux Arts Museum in the city. The salamander on the crest is a nod to King François I.
Notable Former Players
Here are some important players who played for Tours FC in league and international games since 1919. To be on this list, a player had to play in at least 80 official matches for the club.
For a complete list of Tours FC players, see Category:Tours FC players.
Alfred Aston- Fatih Atık
- Patrice Augustin
- Yves Bertucci
- Julien Cétout
- Olivier Giroud
- Sébastien Gondouin
- Christophe Himmer
- Laurent Koscielny
- Frédéric Laurent
- Guy Lacombe
- Christophe Mandanne
- Michel Rodriguez
- Youssouf Touré
Omar da Fonseca- Delio Onnis
Gaëtan Englebert
Jean-Marc Adjovi-Bocco
Cédric Collet- David Fleurival
Peter Jehle
Antoine Dossevi
Managers
- Alfred Aston (1951–56)
- Jules Vandooren (1961–62)
- Stanislas Dombeck (1964–67)
- Yvon Jublot (1969–76)
- Pierre Phelipon (1976–81)
- Hennie Hollink (1981–83)
- Guy Briet (1983 – March 85)
- Serge Besnard (March 1985–86)
- Yvon Jublot (1986–88)
- Jean Sérafin (1988–92)
- Raymond Kéruzoré (1992–93)
- Philippe Leroux (1993–95)
- Christian Letard (1995 – March 99)
- Albert Falette (March 1999–07)
- Philippe Bizeul (2007)
- Daniel Sanchez (2007 – 11 June)
- Peter Zeidler (June 2011 – 12 Aug)
- Bernard Blaquart (Aug 2012–13)
- Olivier Pantaloni (2013–14)
- Alexandre Dujeux (interim) (2014–15)
- Gilbert Zoonekynd (2015)
- Marco Simone (2015–16)
- Fabien Mercadal (2016–17)
- Gilbert Zoonekynd (2017)
- Jorge Costa (2017–2018)
- René Lobello (2018–2019)
- Michel Estevan (2019)
- Nourredine El Ouardani (2019–2024)
- Bryan Bergougnoux (2024–2025)
See also
In Spanish: Tours Football Club para niños
