FC LuganoFC Lugano is the only top-flight Swiss club from the country's Italian-speaking region, and its history is best told through three homes: Campo Marzio, Cornaredo and the new stadium that opened in 2026. The club was founded on 28 July 1908 at the Birreria della Posta. Ernesto Corsini became its first president and Domenico Bernardoni its first captain. The team, known as the "bianconeri," plays in black and white.
The club's first home was Campo Marzio, a large field near the lake where the team played its home matches for almost half a century. In the 1920s Lugano gained its first promotion to the top division (1922), and in 1931 it won its first Swiss Cup. The 1930s and 1940s were the golden age: the club won the Swiss championship three times, in 1937/38, 1940/41 and 1948/49. That success prompted the city to build a new ground. Cornaredo Stadium was officially opened on 26 August 1951, and in June 1954 it staged one World Cup match, in which Italy beat Belgium 4–1.
Further trophies came in the Swiss Cup: in 1968, in 1993 (in the final against Grasshoppers) and in 2022, making four wins in total. The 1968 triumph gave the club its Cup Winners' Cup debut, where it went out in the first round in 1968/69 after a two-leg tie against FC Barcelona (4–0 on aggregate). Otto Luttrop, a German footballer, was associated with the club in that era, playing for it from 1966 to 1973 and later working there as coach (1971–1973 and 1983–1985).
The club's best-known European story was written in autumn 1995. In the first round proper of the UEFA Cup, Lugano drew Inter Milan. The first leg at Cornaredo, played in pouring rain, ended 1–1: Roberto Carlos scored for Inter and Edo Carrasco equalised. The second leg at San Siro on 26 September 1995 was decided by the same player. In the 85th minute Carrasco's free kick beat the Inter goalkeeper and sent Lugano through 2–1 on aggregate. In the next round the Swiss side was knocked out by Slavia Prague, but the tie with Inter remains one of the most remembered nights in the club's history.
After years of success the club suffered a financial collapse. Lugano went bankrupt in 2003 and was dissolved, then re-emerged in 2004 as AC Lugano. The historic name was restored in 2008. The road back ran through the second tier: the club won the Challenge League in 2014/15 and has been in the top flight since 2015. It reached the Europa League group stage in 2017 and 2019, and the record appearance holder is Jonathan Sabbatini, a Uruguayan-born midfielder who played more than 400 official matches for the club and left in June 2024.
Since 2021 the club has been owned by Joe Mansueto, who also owns Chicago Fire, and the head coach is Mattia Croci-Torti. In 2023/24 Lugano finished second in the league, earning a place in the Champions League qualifiers, and in 2025/26 it finished third. The 2025/26 season was the last played at Cornaredo. From 2026 the club plays at a newly built stadium in Lugano, opening the third chapter in its history.
