Lyon are still looking for a stadium where they will be a resident club, owner, American businesswoman Michèle Kang, and general manager Vincent Ponsot confirmed on Monday.
OL Women’s, still looking for a stadium where it will be a resident club, will relocate at least three matches this season, confirmed Monday the owner, American businesswoman Michèle Kang, and the general director, Vincent Ponsot.
These relocated French championship matches should be played in Bourg-en-Bresse on October 4 against Montpellier, but also in Bourgoin-Jallieu and Grenoble (Isère) in venues that can accommodate 7,000 to 20,000 spectators.
Ten matches at Groupama Stadium
Ten matches are also planned at the Groupama stadium (59,000 seats), whose capacity, depending on the event, can be reduced to 20,000 seats by retaining only the first ring.
Olympique Lyonnais femmes are still negotiating with the Lyon rugby club (Top 14) and the Lyon city hall to share the Gerland stadium (35,000 seats) where LOU Rugby is now a resident club since OL moved to the Groupama stadium in 2016 in Décines-Charpieu (east of Lyon).
“Discussions are still ongoing with LOU Rugby and OL to play our matches at the Groupama stadium, which also remains an option for us.”said Vincent Ponsot.
Finding a stadium that lives up to expectations
“Our supporters are not only based in Lyon but the idea is to find the most appropriate structure for our women’s team and at its level because the only thing we repeat is that the main pitch of the training center (editor’s note: 1,500 seats) is not suitable for the level of our training and does not meet the expectations of our supporters and what we want to develop in terms of attendance”added the manager who hopes to see the discussions conclude by the start of the 2025-2026 season.
“We also want to move forward with brand development and marketing while respecting the club’s heritage, and have new brand communication for our team. We are also ambitious to develop our relationships with supporters and this involves the solution provided by the stadium.”added the owner.
From a sporting perspective, the two leaders welcomed the greater competitiveness of international women’s football, “a good thing for his development”.
The OL women’s team, now coached by Australian Joe Montemurro (ex-Juventus Turin), retains for its team “the strategy that made the club’s DNA, a mix between top world players and young people from the academy”.
“OL has the ambition to win all the competitions it participates in”Vincent Ponsot recalled in particular.
