The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF).

Coupe Gambardella
Founded1955
Region France
Number of teamsU18 French teams
Current championsMarseille (2nd title)
Most successful club(s)Auxerre (7 titles)
WebsiteCoupe Gambardella – FFF

The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their skills in a national competition. A victory in the finals of the cup is as highly sought by players trying to start their career, as by clubs wishing to demonstrate their ability to train young talents.[1]

The current champion is AS Monaco FC having defeated Clermont Foot 63 in the 2023 final by a score of 4–2. The 2019–20 and 2020–21 editions of the tournament were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

History

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The tournament is the modern day version of the Coupe nationale des juniors, which ran up until 1954. The competition was then renamed, in 1955, to honour Emmanuel Gambardella, president of the French Football Federation from 1949 to 1953, who died on 30 August 1953.

In 2019, the competition switched from being an under-19 competition to an under-18 competition.[2]

Chronology
Period Age category
-1996 Players turning 20 on or after 1 August of the year the competition ends
1996-2002 Players turning 18 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions ends[3]
2002-2019 Players turning 19 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions ends
2019- Players turning 18 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions ends

Format

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The Coupe Gambardella begins in December, of the previous year of the final, at the regional level. Home advantage is given out randomly, until the semi-final stage when games are played at neutral venues. Games which are drawn after ninety minutes, go to a penalty shootout as opposed to extra time and then a shootout. The final is always played on the same day as the Coupe de France and have traditionally taken place at the Stade de France.

List of finals

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2007–08 final between Stade Rennais and Girondins de Bordeaux in the Stade de France.
Season Winners Score Runners–up
1955 Cannes 3–0 Lille
1956 Troyes 2–1 Reims
1957 Lens 3–0 Troyes
1958 Lens (2) 2–1 Saint-Étienne
1959 RC Paris 1–0 Caen
1960 Lille 1–0 Quevilly
1961 Nîmes 2–0 CO Joinville
1962 Monaco 2–1 Metz
1963 Saint-Étienne 3–0 Stade Français
1964 Reims 4–3 Saint-Étienne
1965 Strasbourg 3–2 Aix-en-Provence
1966 Nîmes (2) 3–2 Toulon
1967 Quevilly 2–1 Stade Français
1968 Martigues 2–2* Reims
1969 Nîmes (3) 3–0 Viry-Châtillon
1970 Saint-Étienne (2)  †3–3 † Lyon
1971 Lyon 2–1 Saint-Étienne
1972 Monaco (2) 2–1 Toulouse
1973 Rennes  †1–1 † AS Brest
1974 Nantes 4–1 Nancy
1975 Nantes (2)  †1–1 † Sochaux
1976 Bordeaux 3–0 Viry-Châtillon
1977 Nîmes (4) 3–1 Reims
1978 INF Vichy 3–1 Paris Saint-Germain
1979 Marseille 2–0 Lens
1980 INF Vichy (2) 1–0 Metz
1981 Metz 1–0 Nice
1982 Auxerre 6–3 Nancy
1983 Sochaux 1–0 Lens
1984 Laval  †0–0 † Montpellier
1985 Auxerre (2) 3–0 Montpellier
1986 Auxerre (3)  †0–0 † Nantes
1987 RC Paris (2) 2–1 Grenoble
1988 INF Clairefontaine 1–0 Beauvais
1989 Le Havre  †0–0 † Paris Saint-Germain
1990 Brest 3–1 Grenoble
1991 Paris Saint-Germain  †1–1 † Auxerre
1992 Lens (3) 1–0 Lyon
1993 Auxerre (4) 1–0 Lens
1994 Lyon (2) 5–0 Caen
1995 Cannes (2) 2–0 Lens
1996 Montpellier 1–0 Nantes
1997 Lyon (3)  †1–1 † Montpellier
1998 Saint-Étienne (3)  †1–1 † Paris Saint-Germain
1999 Auxerre (5)  †0–0 † Saint-Étienne
2000 Auxerre (6) 1–0 Lille
2001 Metz (2) 2–0 Caen
2002 Nantes (3) 1–0 Nice
2003 Rennes (2) 4–1 Strasbourg
2004 Le Mans 2–0 Nîmes
2005 Toulouse 6–2 Lyon
2006 Strasbourg (2) 3–1 Lyon
2007 Sochaux (2)  †2–2 † Auxerre
2008 Rennes (3) 3–0 Bordeaux
2009 Montpellier (2) 2–0 Nantes
2010 Metz (3)  †1–1 † Sochaux
2011 Monaco (3)  †1–1 † Saint-Étienne
2012 Nice 2–1 Saint-Étienne
2013 Bordeaux (2) 1–0 Sedan
2014 Auxerre (7) 2–0 Reims
2015 Sochaux (3) 2–0 Lyon
2016 Monaco (4) 3–0 Lens
2017 Montpellier (3)  †1–1 † Marseille
2018 Troyes (2) 2–1 Tours
2019 Saint-Étienne (4) 2–0 Toulouse
2020 Cancelled
2021 Cancelled
2022 Lyon (4)  †1–1 † Caen
2023 Monaco (5) 4–2 Clermont
2024 Marseille 4–1 Nancy

Results by team

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Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

Club Wins First final won Last final won Runners-up Last final lost Total final appearances
Auxerre 7 1982 2014 2 2007 9
Monaco 5 1962 2023 0 5
Saint-Étienne 4 1963 2019 6 2012 10
Lyon 4 1971 2022 5 2015 9
Nîmes 4 1961 1977 1 2004 5
Lens 3 1957 1992 5 2016 8
Nantes 3 1974 2002 3 2009 6
Montpellier 3 1996 2017 3 1997 6
Metz 3 1981 2010 2 1980 5
Sochaux 3 1983 2015 2 2010 5
Rennes 3 1973 2008 0 3
Marseille 2 1979 2024 1 2017 3
Troyes 2 1956 2018 1 1957 3
Strasbourg 2 1965 2006 1 2003 3
Bordeaux 2 1976 2013 1 2008 3
INF Vichy 2 1978 1980 0 2
RC Paris 2 1959 1987 0 2
Cannes 2 1955 1995 0 2
Reims 1 1964 1964 4 2014 5
Paris Saint-Germain 1 1991 1991 3 1998 4
Lille 1 1960 1960 2 2000 3
Nice 1 2012 2012 2 2002 3
Quevilly 1 1967 1967 1 1960 2
Toulouse 1 2005 2005 2 2019 3
Martigues 1 1968 1968 0 1
Laval 1 1984 1984 0 1
INF Clairefontaine 1 1988 1988 0 1
Le Havre 1 1989 1989 0 1
Brest 1 1990 1990 0 1
Le Mans 1 2004 2004 0 1
Caen 0 4 2022 4
Stade Français 0 2 1967 2
Viry-Châtillon 0 2 1976 2
Nancy 0 2 1982 2
Grenoble 0 2 1990 2
CO Joinville 0 1 1961 1
Aix-en-Provence 0 1 1965 1
Toulon 0 1 1966 1
AS Brest 0 1 1973 1
Beauvais 0 1 1988 1
Sedan 0 1 2013 1
Tours 0 1 2018 1
Clermont 0 1 2023 1

References

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  1. ^ "Coupe Gambardella on FFF Website". Archived from the original on 25 January 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2008. (French)
  2. ^ "FFF". Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. ^ Foot, hebdomadaire de la FFF, 29 May 1996.