RC Lens
 |
|
| Full name | Racing Club de Lens |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sang et Or (Blood and Gold) |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Ground | Stade Bollaert-Delelis |
| Capacity | 38,223 |
| Owner | Solferino (enterprise involved in Atletico Madrid) |
| Chairman | Gervais Martel |
| Manager | Alain Casanova |
| League | Ligue 2 |
| 2015–16 | Ligue 2, 6th |
| Website | Club home page |
Racing Club de Lens (French pronunciation: [ʁasiŋ klœb də lɑ̃s]; commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or (blood and gold), comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbours Lille, with whom they contest the Derby du Nord.
The club's origins date back to 1905 in Lens and lie with students playing football on the Place Verte (the current Place de la République). The name "Racing Club de Lens" was a reference to Racing Club de Roubaix and Racing Club de France, both popular at the time.
The club's first board of directors was formed by the parents of those students under the name of Racing Club Lensois, before the club was officially registered under the name Racing Club de Lens in 1906. The club originally played in green and black to represent the founding location. They wore green to represent the name, "Verte", which means green in French, and black to represent the omnipresence of coal mines in the surrounding area.
Between 1907 and 1912, the players were forced to change sports grounds twice before settling at the actual Parc des Glissoires, between Avion and Lens.
During World War I, the club's activities were stopped, only restarting in 1919. Lens was then playing in sky blue.
It was in 1924 that the red and gold colours appeared. The legend says that Pierre Moglia, president of the club from 1923 to 1930, chose the colours of the Spanish flag after someone from the club remarked that the Saint-Léger church ruins they walked by that night were the last remains of the Spanish domination in 1648. People also say that the colours come from the coal mines: the red for the blood of the miners and the gold for the coal which was valuable at the time.
...
Wikipedia