 | This articleneeds attention from an expert in Luxembourg. The specific problem is:inadequate content on the historical and cultural aspects of the subject.WikiProject Luxembourg may be able to help recruit an expert.(September 2018) |
| Football in Luxembourg | |
|---|---|
| Country | Luxembourg |
| Governing body | Luxembourg Football Federation |
| National teams | Men (U21,U19,U17) Women (U19,U17) |
| National competitions | |
Men's competition Women's competition | |
| Club competitions | |
Men's cups Women's leagues Women's cups | |
| International competitions | |
Football in Luxembourg is governed by theLuxembourg Football Federation (FLF), which is a member ofFIFA andUEFA.[1] The FLF organises themen's,women's andfutsal national teams, in addition to the main domestic competitions, theNational Division and theLuxembourg Cup. Association football is the most popular sport in Luxembourg.[2]
Despite football being so popular in Luxembourg, the country has rarely had a club pass the second round of qualifying for the Champions League. However, in the2018-19 Europa League,F91 Dudelange became the first team fromLuxembourg to qualify to the group stage of a major European Competition when they beatCFR Cluj ofRomania in thePlay-Offs 5–2 on aggregate.
The first match of the national team was played on 29 October 1911 (defeat 1–4 against France[3]), while the first women's game was a 0–4 defeat toSlovakia on 18 November 2006.[4]
The oldest football club in Luxembourg isFola Esch, founded as the "Football and Lawntennis Club" on 9 December 1906 by English language teacher Jean Roeder.[5] Being the oldest club in the country, they are also part of theClub of Pioneers, a group set up bySheffield FC to join the oldest clubs in each country.
It wasn't until 1908 that enough clubs had been created to form theLuxembourg Football Federation (FLF).[6] The following year, in 1909, the FLF organised thefirst National Division league, which was won byRacing Club Luxembourg.[7] Racing were also the first team to win theinaugural Luxembourg Cup 12 years later.[8] Thewomen's league started in the 1971–73 season and was won by theAtert Bissen women's team.[9] Awomen's cup competition started in 2001–02, where theProgrès Niederkorn women's team won the trophy.[10]
Luxembourg, as a nation, was affiliated withFIFA in 1910, and then withUEFA in 1954. The first match of thenational team was a 1–4 defeat at home to France on 29 October 1910.[11] It was only in 2006 that thenational women's team played their first game, a 0–4 defeat to Slovakia at home in the2009 UEFA Euro Qualifying stage.[12] The country hosted their first, and so far only, national tournament in 2006 when they hosted theEuro Under-17 Euro tournament,[13] where they failed to progress beyond the group stage. Until 2017, Luxembourg were consistently ranked outside the top 100 teams by FIFA,[14] but after some good results, namely in theUEFA Nations League, they are now ranked 84th.
The national stadium, theStade de Luxembourg was opened in September 2021, replacing the outdatedStade Josy Barthel, first inaugurated in 1931, as the home of the country's national team.[15]
Since the turn of the century, the domestic league has been dominated by F91 Dudelange, having won 14 league titles as well as 7 Luxembourg Cup titles. This is still some way behind the most successful team in the country,Jeunesse Esch, with 28 league titles, however Dudelange was only founded as recently as 1991. They added to this success by becoming the first Luxembourgish team to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League in 2018–19, after dropping out of the Champions League Qualification Stage.[16]
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 |  1 |  Tajikistan | 1224.93 |
| 102 |  1 |  Mozambique | 1223.48 |
| 103 | 6 |  Luxembourg | 1218.91 |
| 104 | 1 |  Kyrgyzstan | 1201.22 |
| 105 | 1 |  Madagascar | 1198.87 |
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 2 |  Lithuania | 6.75 |
| 42 | 2 |  Latvia | 5.625 |
| 43 | 5 | Luxembourg | 5.25 |
| 44 | 2 |  Armenia | 5.25 |
| 45 | 2 |  Malta | 5.125 |
| Level | League | Promotion/Relegation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Division 16 clubs | 2–4 clubs | |
| 2 | Division of Honour 16 clubs | 2-4 clubs 2–4 clubs | |
| 3 | 1. Division Serie 1 16 clubs | 1. Division Serie 2 16 clubs | 2-4 clubs 4–8 clubs |
| 4 | 2. Division Serie 1 14 clubs | 2. Division Serie 2 14 clubs | 4-8 clubs 2–4 clubs |
| 5 | 3. Division 8 clubs | 2–4 clubs | |
Source:[19]
TheNational Division started with the 1909–10 season, which was won byRacing Club Luxembourg. TheLuxembourg Cup was started twelve seasons later, with the 1921–22 edition being won by Racing Club Luxembourg. During the 1912–13 and 1940–41 to 1943–44 there were no competitive competitions held in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg football clubs have participated in European football competitions sinceSpora Luxembourg first took part in the1956–57 European Cup. In total, 23 different clubs have since represented Luxembourg in European competition. Of these, 14 are still in existence while the remaining 9 were merged into a new or existing team.
In the2018–19 UEFA Europa League,F91 Dudelange became the first Luxembourgish club to compete in the group stage of a modern European competition.
The national team has had limited international success and has never qualified for aEuropean Championship orWorld Cup.[20][21][22] According to theFIFA World Ranking, the national team is currently ranked 91st (May 2025).[23][24]
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