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RC Strasbourg Alsace

Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (Alsatian: Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri), commonly known as RC Strasbourg or Racing Straßburg, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906, based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It has possessed professional status since 1933 and is currently playing in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, ever since winning the 2016–17 Ligue 2 championship. This comes after the club was demoted to the fifth tier of French football at the conclusion of the 2010–11 Championnat National season after going into financial liquidation. Renamed RC Strasbourg Alsace, they won the CFA championship in 2012–13, and eventually became Championnat National champions in 2015–16. The club's home stadium, since 1914, is the Stade de la Meinau.

The club is one of six clubs to have won all three major French trophies: the Championship in 1979, the Coupe de France in 1951, 1966 and 2001 and the Coupe de la Ligue in 1964, 1997, 2005 and 2019. Strasbourg is also among the six teams to have played more than 2,000 games in France's top flight (spanning 56 seasons) and has taken part in 52 European games since 1961. Despite these accomplishments, the club has never really managed to establish itself as one of France's leading clubs, experiencing relegation at least once a decade since the early 1950s. Racing has changed its manager 52 times in 75 years of professional play, often under pressure from the fans.

The destiny of the club has always been wedded to the history of Alsace. Like the region, Racing has changed nationality three times and has a troubled history. Founded in what was then a part of the German Empire, the club from the beginning insisted on its Alsatian and popular roots, in opposition to the first Strasbourg-based clubs which came from the German-born bourgeoisie. When Alsace was returned to France in 1919, the club changed its name from "1. FC Neudorf" to the current "Racing Club de Strasbourg" in imitation of Pierre de Coubertin's Racing Club de France, a clear gesture of francophilia. Racing players lived through World War II as most Alsatians did: evacuated in 1939, annexed in 1940 and striving to avoid nazification and incorporation in the Wehrmacht between 1942 and 1944. When Alsace was definitively returned to France, Racing's identity switched towards Jacobinism with, for example, emotional wins in the cup in 1951 and 1966 amidst Franco-Alsatian controversies. More recently, the club has been eager to promote its European vocation along with its strong local ties.

Foundation and early years (1906–1945)
The club was founded in 1906 by a group of youngsters in the Neudorf neighbourhood of what was then Straßburg, Elsaß-Lothringen, in the German Empire, but is today Strasbourg, Alsace, in France. With the help of their primary-school teacher, they formed a team called "Erster Fußball Club Neudorf", commonly named "FC Neudorf". At that time, the new 1. FCN was a minor club in a then-remote southern part of the Strasbourg area. Local football had been dominated since the 1890s by the more central and elitist Straßburger Fußball Verein. According to club historian Pierre Perny, the official establishment of the FC Neudorf in 1907 may well have been accelerated by the planned move of FC Frankonia to the Haemmerle Garten, a large park in southern Strasbourg close to the Neudorf. As its name told, FC Frankonia was mainly composed of German-born immigrants from the Franconia region of southwest Germany – some of them soldiers – living in central and northern Strasbourg, while FC Neudorf had clearly Alsatian, popular roots. FC Neudorf joined the southern German league in 1909, starting at its lowest level, Division C. They captured the Division C championship three years later, earning promotion to Division B. In 1914, FC Neudorf was able to evict rivals Frankonia from the Haemmerle Garten for a rent of 300 marks a year. This location would later become the site of the Stade de la Meinau, where the club still plays today. In the aftermath of World War I, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine came back to France and, on 11 January 1919, the club adopted the name "Racing-Club Strasbourg-Neudorf" until becoming simply "Racing Club de Strasbourg" later in the year. The use of the word "Racing" does not denote any association with horse- or car-racing; instead, it is an anglicism that was common in France at the time, as exemplified by the case of the then-famous Racing Club de France, which was a symbolical inspiration for Strasbourg's Racing as Alsace was reintegrated within France. The word is usually pronounced in French ("Le Racing") or in Alsatian ("D'Racing") without any English accentuation. Racing quickly joined French competitions and won the Alsace championship in 1923, 1924 and 1927. They also took part in the Coupe de France, the only national competition at that time. In 1925, they reached the last sixteen, where they fell to Lille after eliminating the then-dominant Red Star Paris.

On 10 June 1933, at the "Restaurant de la Bourse", the club made the jump to the professional ranks and, thus, joined the national championship established just a year before. RCS started competition in Ligue 2 but immediately earned promotion to the top flight at the end of the 1933–34 season, going through a pair of two-legged playoff matches, first against Mulhouse (0–0 and 3–1), and then against Saint-Etienne (2–0 and 4–4). In the mid-1930s, Racing managed a second-place finish in 1934–35 and a third-place finish the next season. In 1937, the club reached for the first time the final of the Coupe de France, losing to rivals Sochaux (1–2). This successful RCS team of the 1930s included two French internationals – Fritz Keller and Oscar Heisserer – as well as German striker Oskar Rohr who still holds the club's goalscoring record.

With the outbreak of World War II, professional sport was suspended and Alsatians were evacuated to south-west France, especially in the Dordogne. During the Phoney War, a group of youngsters kept the club existing in Périgueux, where they won the Dordogne championship in 1940. After the French defeat, Alsace was de facto annexed by the Third Reich and, in August 1940, the team took up play as Rasensportclub Straßburg in the Gauliga Elsaß, a top-flight amateur division in German football. RCS captured their group in 1941 and participated in the regional finals, where they were put out by FC Mülhausen. The team earned second-place results in each of the following two seasons and made an appearance in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal in 1942. Starting in 1942, Alsatians were forcibly conscripted in the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS and several club players – including Oscar Heisserer – fled or had their teammates deliberately wound them to avoid incorporation. Oskar Rohr also had been imprisoned since 1940 after serving in the French Foreign Legion at the outbreak of the war. During a game against SS side "SG SS Straßburg", Rasensportclub players wore a uniform consisting of a blue jersey, white shorts and red socks as a clear display of French patriotism.

First national successes and failures (1945–1976)
Allied armies retook Alsace in 1944 and the club quickly resumed play as "Racing Club de Strasbourg" in France's top flight. The team was then built around Oscar Heisserer—who became in April 1945 the first Alsatian to captain the national team—and Spanish defender Paco Mateo. In 1947, the Strasbourgeois reached for the second time the final of the cup at Colombes, this time losing to Lille OSC 0–2. They remained in first-division competition until, at the end of the 1948–49 season, it appeared the side would be relegated. However, neighbouring club Colmar liquidated their professional team, leaving room for Strasbourg to stay up. In 1951, the Bleus won their first major trophy, defeating Valenciennes 3–0 to finally bring the Coupe de France home. The significance of this victory went far beyond the sporting realm as Alsace was then shaken by the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre investigation. Fourteen Alsatians, most of them forcibly incorporated in the Das Reich division, had been charged with war crimes, a move that aroused considerable resentment in the region. Immediately after their return in Strasbourg, the players held a symbolical and emotional ceremony at the city's monument to the deaths.

Only one year later, Strasbourg was relegated following the worst ever season in the club's history. They were however back in the top flight after only one season in Division 2. In 1954–55, thanks to the arrival of Austrian star Ernst Stojaspal, Strasbourg had one of its best championship seasons in the post-war era, eventually ending with the 4th place. The club, however, was unable to build on this success and was relegated to Division 2 in 1957 and 1960, each time gaining immediate promotion back to the top flight. During the 1960s, the club was able to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup thanks to the city's Foire européenne. In 1964–65 under Paul Frantz's guidance, Racing ousted giants Milan and Barcelona before falling in the quarter-finals against Manchester United. A year later, they repeated as cup winners beating champions Nantes in final by the score of 1–0. On this occasion, captain René Hauss accomplished the remarkable feat of winning two cups with the same club with a 15 years-interval. Other key team members during this era included Raymond Kaelbel and young talents Gilbert Gress and Gérard Hausser. Again, Racing's triumph in the cup was not without controversy, reporter Thierry Roland said on live TV that "the cup [was] leaving France", a comment that was deemed offensive by many in Alsace.

In 1968, Racing started a process that would eventually lead to a merger with two other clubs, the "Association Sportive Culturelle de la Meinau" and, most importantly, the CS des Pierrots 1922 Strasbourg. The merger was effective in 1970 and the new entity was named "Le Racing Pierrots Strasbourg Meinau", or RPSM. The Pierrots were then a very successful amateur team – they won the national amateur championship in 1969 and 1970—but lacked sufficient structures to jump to professional play while Racing was more wealthy but in search for talent. The merger thus appeared as an excellent opportunity to build a powerful football club in Strasbourg and was favoured by business and political circles. However, the wedding was a difficult one with many internal struggles that were evidenced when some of the former Pierrots left the new entity as soon as 1971 to re-found their former club. That same year, the RPSM was relegated despite the arrival at the end of the season of Yugoslavian star Ivica Osim. As usual, Strasbourg then won immediate promotion with Osim and two French internationals in its ranks: Jean-Noël Huck and Marc Molitor. Back in division 1 in 1972, the club made one of the biggest transfer blunders in its history: Osim was sent to Sedan to leave a foreign player spot for Reinhard Libuda. The Yugoslavian left Strasbourg in tears but helped Sedan to decent results while Libuda was quickly suspended due to a match fixing scandal in Germany and eventually released in March 1973. In 1976, the club was again relegated and went back to its old identity as Racing Club de Strasbourg, reflecting the final failure of the RPSM merger.

Glorious years (1976–1980)
In 1976, the future seemed somewhat dark for Racing: the club had been relegated for the second time in only four years, was torn apart by internal struggles following the failure of the merger and was desperately seeking municipal subventions to reach a balanced budget. Financial difficulties meant that Racing was unable to retain or replace its best players (Huck, Molitor, Gress, Hausser, Spiegel) who left for other clubs or retired. This impossibility to buy on the transfer market meant that, for the first time, Strasbourg had to rely essentially on players out of its youth academy and local amateur clubs. Fortunately for the club, the mid-1970s saw the emergence of a very talented generation of youngsters consisting mainly of Léonard Specht, Jean-Jacques Marx, René Deutschmann, Yves Ehrlacher, Albert Gemmrich, Roland Wagner and Joël Tanter. Along with goalkeeper Dominique Dropsy and captain Jacky Duguépéroux, these players formed the backbone of the team for the superb 1976–1980 period. During these four years, Racing won two championships (D2 in 1977 and D1 in 1979), reached very honourable league rankings the two other years (third in 1978, fifth in 1980) and had its best results ever in European play (UEFA Cup round of sixteen in 1979, European Cup quarter finals in 1980).

The start of the 1976–77 season was nevertheless difficult. In November, after a defeat at Amiens, Racing called Elek Schwartz out of retirement to help and supervise the work of player-manager Heinz Schilcher. Schwartz was an important player of the 1930s team and had a renowned international coaching career behind him, especially with spells at the Netherlands national team and Benfica. Under his guidance, the team quickly improved, earning promotion to Division 1 and defeating Monaco for the Division 2 championship title, the first one in the club's history. After accomplishing his mission, Schwartz definitely retired and was replaced by Gilbert Gress. As a player, Gress had achieved iconic status with Racing supporters. A child of the Neudorf, he was a genial player with a strong personality, the first Frenchman to shine in the neighbouring Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart. His second return to Strasbourg, after a first comeback as a player, was greeted with enthusiasm and his charisma aroused a strong public interest for the team's performances, with attendance rates at an all-time high.

The 1977–78 season saw the peculiar dominance of the two promoted sides with Monaco going on to win the championship and Strasbourg reaching an unexpected third place, the best ranking since 1936. Gress printed his mark on the team right away, insisting on the recruitment of experienced, hard-working players (Jacky Novi, Raymond Domenech, Francis Piasecki) instead of foreign stars and putting into practice innovative tactical ideas. A self-proclaimed admirer of Ajax's Total Football, Gress wanted all his players to both defend and attack and asked for great versatility. This was rather unusual in French football at that time. In most French clubs, defenders were told not to cross the midfield line and strikers had almost no defensive duties. To the contrary, Gress instructed his forwards to exert immediate pressure on the other's side defenders and encouraged offensive initiatives by his own backs. A sign of versatility was that the side's top-scorer during that era, Albert Gemmrich, played on the left wing despite being right-footed. Gemmrich developed an ability to score with both feet after an injury that forced him to train using only his left foot and Gress used his peculiar profile to puzzle defences, with great success.

For the 1978–79 season, Racing kept essentially the same team that had won promotion in 1977 and a third place in 1978. The only exceptions were the addition of midfielder Roger Jouve and the exchange between striker Jacques Vergnes and Chadian player Nabatingue Toko. A French international, Vergnes clashed with Gress due to his unwillingness to assume defensive duties and his vocal frustration after being regularly sidelined. He was quickly sent to Bordeaux six games after the start the season. His replacement, Tonko, was the only foreign player on the squad that year, a fact that again was unusual since French club football was at that time still very dependent on the qualities of players from abroad. Strasbourg took the lead early in the season and did not give it back until the end in spite of widespread scepticism from national followers. The absence of big names in the team was considered by many to be a crippling handicap against established teams like Saint-Étienne or Nantes which had internationally renowned players. For his part, Gress used the critical review of the press to boost his player's motivation and insisted that "the star is the team". Racing finished atop the championship on 56 points with an undefeated home record. The return from Lyon, where the title game was played, was triumphant with huge crowds greeting the team at every railway station in Alsace before the arrival of the train at Strasbourg.

The club saw same movement during the 1979 inter-season. Chairman Alain Léopold was replaced by the influential André Bord, Duguépéroux ended his pro career and Gemmrich left for Bordeaux. To replace him, Bord imposed the recruitment of Carlos Bianchi to Gress. Bianchi was a prolific goalscorer but he was also a very traditional striker with no intention to commit to defence and teamplay, to Gress' despair. The season was marked by the return of internal struggles, especially with the increasingly confrontational relationship between Gress and Bord, but the team nevertheless achieved a fifth-place finish and advanced to the quarter-finals of the European Cup, where it was eliminated by Ajax.

Chronic instability (since 1980)
The Bleus did not enjoy their success for long. In September 1980, Gress was controversially sacked and, after several seasons of middling results, Racing was returned to second-tier play in 1986. For the first time, Strasbourg failed to win immediate promotion back to the first tier, eventually ending 9th place in its group, the worst ranking ever for the club. Success however came back with the 1987–88 season as new manager Henryk Kasperczak led Racing to its second Division 2 title with players like Juan Simón, Peter Reichert and the returning Léonard Specht. Strasbourg, however, was unable to preserve its spot in the top-flight and was back in Division 2 in 1989. With Specht now a manager, Racing failed to secure promotion for the next two seasons, each time falling in the playoffs, first against Nice and then again Lens. In 1991–92, Gress came back to his hometown as manager and, after defeating Rennes (0–0; 4–1) in the final promotion playoff match, Strasbourg made a lasting return to the top flight. The 1992–93 season saw the club finish in eighth place, a ranking that has not been equalled since, allowing the likes of José Cobos, Frank Leboeuf and Marc Keller to shine in the top flight. At the end of the 1993–94 season, Gress left Racing due to personal disagreements with the club's direction. He was replaced by Daniel Jeandupeux who was himself fired after eight months. Jacky Duguépéroux then took over the club and led it to its most brilliant period since the 1979 title. During the 1990s, there was a mounting interest for football in France with the rise of the national team and, like other clubs, Racing benefited from this context. The club was then able to attract French major players like Franck Sauzée and foreign stars like Aleksandr Mostovoi. With this mix of established players and rising prospects, the team reached the final of the cup in 1995, losing to Paris Saint-Germain (0–1). In April that same year, Strasbourg became the only team to defeat champions Nantes, 2–0 at la Meinau. After successfully going through the 1995 Intertoto Cup during the summer, Racing was able to participate in the UEFA Cup where they reached the second round, losing to Italian giants AC Milan.

In 1996, the Bosman ruling entered into force and made it difficult for French clubs to retain their best players. Strasbourg was no exception. During the summer, the team lost Mostovoi and its two French internationals, Marc Keller and Frank Leboeuf. Despite these departures, Racing fared well in the league, staying most of the season in the top 5 before ultimately settling for a 9th-place finish. That same year, the IMG–McCormack Group was chosen by the municipality to take control of the club. The players, still trained by Jacky Duguépéroux, went on to capture the Coupe de la Ligue – the first national trophy in 18 years – by defeating Bordeaux in a penalty shootout. A good UEFA Cup run followed that victory, allowing young players formed at the club like Olivier Dacourt or Valérien Ismaël to shine in continental play. After a successful qualification round against Rangers and Liverpool, Strasbourg defeated Inter Milan 2–0 at la Meinau, but fell 0–3 in the away leg.

In the meantime, IMG had taken over the club in the summer of 1997 and Patrick Proisy, former tennis player and head of the French branch, became president. He was joined a year later by his friend Claude Le Roy as manager. The Proisy–Le Roy period at Racing was a troubled one with poor results, several scandals and a general disillusionment of the fans towards the club's management. Several suspicious transfers during that period have led Strasbourg's prosecutor to indict Proisy and Le Roy of misuse of company assets and forgery in 2006. During their reign, the club sold all of its best prospects and essentially replaced them with disappointing, expensive foreign players such as Diego Hector Garay, Gonzalo Belloso and Mario Haas. In 2000–01, the club accomplished the paradoxical feat of being relegated after spending the whole season in the bottom three while winning the French cup with a victory on penalties against Amiens. On that occasion, Paraguayan star José Luis Chilavert scored the winning penalty for Strasbourg at the Stade de France.

In 2001–02, the club, led by manager Ivan Hašek, immediately re-took its place among the country's football elite by finishing runners-up in Ligue 2. The year 2003 saw the departure of IMG and Proisy. The club was taken over by a pool of local investors with former player Marc Keller staying as director-general. The new ownership focused on cleaning up the club's finances. In 2005, Racing won their second domestic trophy in four years when they beat Caen 2–1 in the final of the League Cup, a feat which provided them with a passport to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, in which they reached the last sixteen and were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate by Basel of Switzerland.

In 2006, Strasbourg was again relegated. The club was taken over by real estate investor Philippe Ginestet and celebrated its centennial in the autumn of 2006 with various events, including an exhibition and a friendly match against Marseille. Ginestet hired French legend Jean-Pierre Papin as the new manager and the club again won immediate promotion to the top flight in 2007, finishing at third place. In spite of this, Papin resigned as manager, citing internal relationship problems, and was succeeded by Jean-Marc Furlan. Under Furlan, RCS was unable to preserve its spot in Ligue 1, mainly due to eleven consecutive defeats at the end of the 2007–08 season, a record for post-World War II football in France. Furlan was nevertheless confirmed as manager for the following Ligue 2 season, but failed in his mission to bring the club back in the top-tier, as Racing ended in fourth place, with a huge defeat at Montpellier. Furlan's contract was subsequently terminated and Phillipe Ginestet stepped down from his position as chairman while remaining the major shareholder. He was succeeded by Léonard Specht, who picked Gilbert Gress as manager. However, Gress quickly entered in conflict with many members of the club, including Ginestet, whom he violently attacked just after his side's defeat to Châteauroux in the inaugural league game. Ginestet then convened an extraordinary meeting of the board to sack Gress, prompting Léonard Specht's resignation. Gress was replaced by assistant manager Pascal Janin, first as a caretaker and then as permanent manager, when Ginestet re-took the club's presidency at the end of August 2009. In the 2009–10 season, a final-day away defeat relegated Strasbourg to the Championnat National as they suffered their second relegation in three seasons. The 2010–11 season saw them narrowly miss out on promotion back to Ligue 2 as they finished fourth behind Guingamp.

On 17 July 2011, Racing Club de Strasbourg entered total liquidation and were removed from the National in favour of AS Cherbourg. On 25 August 2011, after lengthy negotiations with the FFF, Strasbourg were eventually reinstated into the fifth tier of the French football system, the CFA 2, Group C. Strasbourg finished with 100 points to win promotion to the CFA, the fourth tier, during their first attempt in the 2011–12 season.

In 2012, the club was renamed RC Strasbourg Alsace with a corresponding new badge. Strasbourg finished as champions of the CFA at the end of the 2012–13 season and returned to the National. In 2014, Jacky Duguépéroux was given the role of manager for the third time. He replaced François Keller, who, with three years of service, was their longest-serving manager since Gilbert Gress in the early-to-mid-1990s.

Return to the professional leagues

On 27 May 2016, Strasbourg drew 0–0 at Belfort to become champions of the National and clinch promotion to Ligue 2, marking their return to the professional level of the French football pyramid after a six-year absence. Duguéperoux was however dismissed and replaced by Thierry Laurey, who had just been relegated from Ligue 1 with Ajaccio.

On 19 May 2017, Strasbourg sealed its return to Ligue 1 after a nine-year absence from the French top tier following a 2–1 home victory over Bourg-Péronnas to claim the 2016-17 Ligue 2 championship. On 2 December 2017, Strasbourg won 2–1 against Paris Saint-Germain, a first defeat for PSG of the season in Ligue 1 or the Champions League. At the end of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Strasbourg finished 15th.

On 30 March 2019, Strasbourg won their fourth Coupe de la Ligue title by beating Guingamp 4–1 on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time. The final was played at Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy, and Strasbourg's goalkeeper Bingourou Kamara was named the Man of the Match.

In the 2020–21 Ligue 1 season, Strasbourg struggled for most of the campaign, but managed to finish 15th on the table. The following summer, Strasbourg chose not to renew Laurey's contract and instead hired Julien Stéphan, who had led Rennes to their first major trophy in decades. During Stephan's first season in charge, Strasbourg contested for European qualification spots and finished sixth at the end of the year. In April 2021, the club partnered up with French Esport organization Team Vitality for the FIFA eLigui 1, marking their first step into competitive Esports.

Stéphan was dismissed in January 2023 with the team in 19th place; his successor Frédéric Antonetti led them to survival, but left by mutual accord with new owners BlueCo, who had previously purchased Chelsea. Former France international Patrick Vieira was subsequently hired on a three-year deal.

Colours and crest
While the colours of the town are red and white, Racing has always played in a combination of blue and white. The exact origin of this choice of colours is unknown. Over the years, the most common uniform has been composed of a medium blue jersey, white shorts and medium blue socks. During the last ten years, however, the team has regularly switched between medium blue, dark blue, sky blue and white as the main colour of its home jersey. Since 2007, the Flag of Alsace is featured on the back of the club's shirt. Hummel is the current kit designer. Previously (1973–2000; 2004–2007), Racing was equipped by Adidas, which has its French seat in Landersheim, between Strasbourg and Saverne. ASICS also supplied the club (2000–03).

The current team crest has been in use – with interruptions – since 1976 and is generally considered as the most legitimate one. It includes a stylised stork (symbol of Alsace), a red diagonal stripe from the city's coat of arms and a depiction of the Cathedral along with the club's initials: RCS. Between 1997 and 2006, the club used another logo, introduced by Patrick Proisy. This crest was then considered to be more "modern" and was supposed to depict at the same time the cathedral and a stork. The resemblance, however, was far from being obvious to everyone and the design was quickly derogatively nicknamed "Pac-Man" due to some common traits with the famous video game. In 2006, the new management of the club, acceding to a supporter demand, re-installed the 1976 crest.

Stadium
Racing have been playing at the Stade de la Meinau in southern Strasbourg since 1914. The stadium hosted the 1938 World Cup and Euro 1984. Its maximum capacity was downsized from 45,000 to 29,000 during the 1990s to meet new safety standards.

Supporters and rivalries
Historically, Racing has its roots in southern Strasbourg in the working-class Neudorf, Meinau and Polygone neighbourhoods. In the 1930s, the team was the only one in the area to jump to professional play and, with the help of good results during that decade, it built support all around the town. In Strasbourg like in the rest of France, there is only one pro football club in every city and hence no in-town rivalry, a fact that heavily contrasts with the situation in Great Britain, Italy or Spain. Nowadays, as the only professional football club in Alsace, Racing attracts a large fan base that covers both the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin départements as well as the eastern part of the Moselle. The fan-base outside of this area is essentially limited to people that, for a reason or another, have a personal link with Alsace. The club also has ties to the other side of the Rhine, especially through a supporter friendship with Karlsruher SC and regular friendly matches during the summer.

On average, the attendance in Ligue 1 has been around 20,000 for a stadium capacity of 29,000. Supporters groups include the "Ultra Boys 90", the "Kop Ciel et Blanc" and the "Club central des supporters". Most of the supporter groups and the most vocal fans in general have elected location in the Kop at the "Quart de Virage Nord-Ouest" (North-West quarter corner). Strasbourg supporters have the reputation to be faithful yet critical. Former captain Corentin Martins has once asserted that the Strasbourg public is "demanding, but fair". Racing is always an emotional topic in Alsace. It is often said that some may love it or hate it, or even both at the same time, but that it leaves no one indifferent.

Racing Strasbourg's main rival is Metz. The clubs compete is what is generally referred as the "Derby de l'Est" ("the Eastern derby") in France, a rather inappropriate term since the two cities are 150 kilometres apart. There is however a significant degree of inter-regional rivalry between Alsace and Lorraine, leading to some acrimony between the fans on both sides. The two clubs met each other in the quarter-finals of the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup in what was the first ever match between two French teams in a European competition. Strasbourg won the game 2–0. When Mulhouse was professional, the two sides also nourished a rivalry that persists as far as youth teams are concerned.

Overview
Racing's history has always been closely intertwined with local business and politics. In the 1930s, the club's jump to professionalism was sustained by car manufacturer Emile Mathis who had his factory just in front of the stade de la Meinau. RCS quickly entered a rivalry with Sochaux, a team that was backed by Mathis' competitor Peugeot. After WW2, Mathis ceased activity and the club had to find other sponsors including the Crédit Mutuel – a large banking institution that has its roots in Alsace and appeared on the club's shirt throughout most of the 1960s and 1970s – as well as the town's municipality. In 1980, André Bord, a prominent local Gaullist politician and former minister during the Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou presidencies, became chairman. Bord could boast his connections in business, political and artistic elites and vowed to make Racing a big name in French football. However, he quickly entered a confrontation with charismatic manager Gilbert Gress that culminated in September 1980 when the announcement of Gress' departure provoked crowd anger and riots scenes during a game against Nantes. The inability for the influential president and the talented manager to get along with each other and the 1980 trauma may explain why Racing was unable to perform lastingly at the top level after the 1979 title.

In 1986, Bord left the professional section and introduced fashion designer Daniel Hechter as his successor. Hechter had previously been banned from pro football following his involvement in the Paris Saint-Germain secret funds scandal but was nevertheless able to re-take a president job at Strasbourg thanks to a sentence reduction. It was the first attempt to bring an outsider to the local context at the club's head, but the experiment ended in failure in 1990 as the club neared bankruptcy. Racing was at that time salvaged by the Strasbourg municipality which took a 49% share of the club but had to relinquish it a few years later as the Pasqua legislation restricted public support to professional sport. In 1997, two projects were competing to buy the municipal share and effectively take control of the club. The first was led by then-president Roland Weller, a local businessman. The second bid was made by American IMG-McCormack Group through its French branch headed by Patrick Proisy. At that time, IMG was trying to develop its activities in European football and had failed the previous year in its effort to buy Marseille. The American group presented an ambitious project with an entirely new youth academy as well as plans for a renovated stadium, eventually winning the competition for Racing's ownership for a price of 1.5 million euros. The club became a "Société Anonyme à Objet Sportif" and then a "Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle", a status very similar to the general corporate status, albeit with restrictions like the impossibility to enter the stock market and the obligation to keep ties with the original association. Proisy became the chairman of the board with full control over the professional section but not the omni-sport structure that still possessed the club's name and its affiliation to the French Football Federation (FFF). This was evidenced in 2002 when Proisy and Bord, still a chairman of the omni-sport, entered a dispute that led to the inability for the pro players to wear the name "Racing club de Strasbourg" on their jerseys for some time.

Proisy's reign at Strasbourg was fraught with misunderstandings, frustration and poor results on the pitch. The Alsatian public especially resented Proisy's unwillingness to settle in Strasbourg, instead controlling the club's destiny from IMG's offices in Paris. Racing's troubles as well as the town's refusal to finance an extension of the stade de la Meinau to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup provoked heated debate during the 2001 municipal election and eventually became part of the elements that drove to the defeat of Catherine Trautmann. In 2003, the club was bought back by a pool of local investors including Egon Gindorf, who became chairman, Patrick Adler, Pierre Schmidt and Philippe Ginestet, who all had been club sponsors during the IMG era. The new ownership bought the club for a symbolical euro to an IMG group eager to cut its losses after the death of Mark McCormack but had to cover a 3 million euro deficit to close the 2002–03 budget. It is estimated that Racing lost 15 million euros during the IMG era, mainly due to a dubious recruitment policy.

Thanks to a prudent transfer policy initiated by director Marc Keller and good attendance rates, the new management was able to redress finances but the club's economic situation has remained fragile up to now. In 2004, Gindorf experienced personal and financial difficulties and was willing to scale down his involvement at Racing. It was understood that Philippe Ginestet would become the new chairman at the end of the 2004–05 season. However, this move was opposed by Keller who, in June 2005, clearly announced that he would not work with Ginestet. Keller had in fact been acting as the club's head since 2002 but was only a minor shareholder. He nevertheless was able to mobilise his iconic status with supporters to, at first, block Ginestet's accession to chairmanship, provoking a deadlock that lasted throughout 2005 as the club was looking for an investor. In the fall of 2005, it was announced that Alain Afflelou, owner of the biggest optician in France and a former president of Bordeaux, would be the new owner, but he was eventually out-bid by Ginestet, who took control of the club midway through the 2005–06 season, forcing Keller's departure a few months later. Ginestet held a majority share during four years, which he sold in the end of 2009 for a price of €1.6 million. After some speculation, the new owner was identified as Alain Fontenla, a French investment broker based in London. In 2010, Fontenla owned 85%, along with Carousel Finance (15%) a holding named "Racing investissements", which itself owned a majority share (70%) of EuroRacing, the main shareholder (78%) of the club. The other major shareholder of the club was Lohr SA, an industrial group centred on transportation activities.

On 22 June 2023, BlueCo, the consortium which purchased Premier League club Chelsea in May 2022, acquired a majority stake in the club.

Presidential history
Below is a list of Strasbourg's 15 presidents since the start of the professional era in 1933. The president has not always been the real owner of the club. For example, between 1990 and 1997, the municipality was the major shareholder, but it chose to delegate the chairmanships to independent local entrepreneurs.

The 2009–10 season saw a record of five successive presidents. Early into the season, Léonard Specht stepped down from his position, after the sacking of Glibert Gress, whom he had appointed as manager. Philippe Ginestet then re-took the presidency, but left the club when the takeover by the new owners was completed in December. The new owners chose to name Julien Fournier as the new Chief executive but, after some turmoil, Fournier quickly entered a dispute with the new major shareholder, Alain Fontenla. Fournier's contract was terminated in February and he was replaced by Luc Dayan on an interim basis. Only a month later, former Sochaux chairman Jean-Claude Plessis came to replace Dayan.

Former players
RCS does not have an official hall of fame or an all-time XI. Various selections have been made by press and supporters but none has achieved universal respect. 21 players have been capped for France while playing for Strasbourg. The most notable one is Oscar Heisserer who played a record 18 times with the national team while at Strasbourg and was the first Alsatian and first and only RCS player to wear the armband for France. Dominique Dropsy, Léonard Specht and Gérard Hausser also earned more than 10 caps while Marc Molitor is one of the rare examples of a player being capped for the national team while playing in the Division 2. Unsurprisingly, it is during the 1978–1979 title season that Racing had the most players included in the national squad. On 7 October 1978 were a record four RCS players (Dominique Dropsy, Roger Jouve, Francis Piasecki, Albert Gemmrich) on the field for a Euro 1980 qualifying game against Luxembourg. This figure was repeated a month later for a friendly against Spain (Dropsy, Piasecki, Gemmrich and Léonard Specht). Frank Leboeuf and Marc Keller were the last RCS players to earn a cap during the 1995–1996 season. Leboeuf is one of the two former RCS in the French team that won World Cup, the other one being Youri Djorkaeff.

Players to have once played for Strasbourg to have recently played for France include Olivier Dacourt and Richard Dutruel, (both in 2004). Furthermore, current France international midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is a product of RC Strasbourg's Youth set-up, spending 14 years with the club before moving to Southampton after just five first-team appearances for Strasbourg. Schneiderlin then moved to Manchester United on 14 July 2015 before a move to Everton in January 2017.

With regional feelings still strong in Alsace, the performances of local players logically attract special attention. Seven out of the ten players with the most apparitions for Racing are from Alsace: René Hauss (who holds the record), Léonard Specht, René Deutschmann, Edmond Haan, Gérard Hausser, Jean Schuth and Raymond Kaelbel. Since 1979, there is also a peculiar tradition that every Racing team to win a trophy or reach a final featured a Breton as captain, manager or both. Jacky Duguépéroux captained the 1979 team and won the Coupe de la Ligue in 1997 and 2005 as a manager. The 2001 Coupe de France winning team for itself included Yvon Pouliquen as manager and Corentin Martins as captain. Pouliquen also was the captain for the 1995 final.

Apart from French internationals and Alsatians, there is a strong tradition to have foreign players from Central and Eastern Europe at Strasbourg. The successful Racing team of the 1930s regularly included Austrians both as players and coaches, a tradition that was continued when Ernst Stojaspal played at la Meinau in the 1950s. Other Mitteleuropa players fondly remembered include Elek Schwartz, Ivica Osim, Ivan Hašek, Alexander Vencel or Danijel Ljuboja while Russian Aleksandr Mostovoi is the last world-class star to play for Racing to this date. Also, one of the greatest goalkeepers of all times, the Paraguayan José Luis Chilavert who, known for being three times selected IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper and his free-kick abilities, won the 2001 Coupe de France with the club.

Managers
Strasbourg has had 47 managers in the professional era, with the holder of the office changing 57 times. This is a record in French football only surpassed by Marseille. Gilbert Gress holds the record for the longest-serving manager at the club, both for a single spell (39 months between. 1977–80, 152 matches) and overall (75 months in three spells, 275 matches). Paul Frantz holds the record for the most spells at Racing with four (73 months overall, 227 matches). Jacky Duguépéroux is the only manager to win two trophies with the club.

League

 * Ligue 1
 * Winners: 1978–79
 * Ligue 2
 * Winners: 1976–77, 1987–88, 2016–17
 * Championnat National
 * Winners: 2015–16
 * Championnat National 2
 * Winners: 2012–13
 * Alsace Champions
 * Winners: 1923, 1924, 1926
 * Dordogne Champions
 * Winners: 1940

Cups

 * Coupe de France
 * Winners: 1950–51, 1965–66, 2000–01
 * Coupe de la Ligue
 * Winners: 1963–64, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2018–19

Europe

 * UEFA Intertoto Cup
 * Winners: 1995

Records

 * Biggest victory: 10–0 (vs. Valenciennes, 1937–38)
 * Biggest defeat: 0–8 (vs. Limoges, 1959–60)
 * Biggest victory in European game: 5–0 (v. Grazer AK, 2005–06)
 * Biggest defeat in European game: 2–10 (v. MTK Budapest, 1961–62)
 * Record appearances: René Hauss (580; 421 in Ligue 1; between 1949 and 1969)
 * Most consecutive appearances for the club: Dominique Dropsy (336; between 1973 and 1982)
 * Most goals for the club: Oskar Rohr (118; between 1934 and 1939)
 * Most goals for a single championship season at the club: Oskar Rohr (30; 1936–37)
 * Oldest player: René Hauss (39 years, 351 days; vs. Nantes; 11 December 1966)
 * Youngest player: Jacques Glassmann (16 years, 95 days vs. Nantes, 25 November 1978)
 * Record attendance: 39,033, 20 November 1992, vs. Marseille
 * Highest transfer fee paid: €22 million (to Club Brugge for Abakar Sylla in 2023)
 * Highest transfer fee received: €18 million (from Al-Shabab for Habib Diallo in 2023)

title: RC Strasbourg Alsace


text:
José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta

José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta (variations José d'Anchieta, José Anchieta, José de Anchieta - b. October 9, 1832 in Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal, d. September 14, 1897 in Caconda, Portuguese Angola) was a 19th-century Portuguese explorer and naturalist who, between 1866 and 1897, travelled extensively in Portuguese Angola, Africa, collecting animals and plants. His specimens from Angola and Mozambique were sent out to Portugal, where they were later examined by several zoologists and botanists, chiefly among them J.V. Barboza du Bocage.

Life
Anchieta was born in 1832, in Lisbon, and started his studies in mathematics at the University of Coimbra. Due to his fierce independence and eccentric character, however, he did not adapt well and moved to the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa (Polytechnic School of Lisbon). In 1857, one of his closest friends moved to Portuguese Cape Verde, a Portuguese colony and a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, and Anchieta went to join him. He spent his time studying the local flora and fauna in the island of Santo Antão, and finally ended up helping the local inhabitants as an amateur physician (he had studied some medicine). A cholera epidemic killed most of the inhabitants and he almost died too, but he was able to return to Portugal after two years. Following what he thought was his vocation, he studied medicine in Lisbon, London and Paris, but could not complete the course, and returned to Africa again, this time to Angola, one of the largest West African Portuguese colonies. He was successful as an explorer of the hinterland and as a naturalist, and after studying and collecting many new animal and plant species, he returned to Portugal. Most of his collections were lost when his canoe foundered in a river, but he donated what remained to the natural history museum of the Polytechnic School. In 1865, he travelled back on his own once again to Angola. This time, he was married and his wife accompanied him. He stayed on his own in the region of Benguela, establishing a laboratory inside the ruins of a church, and exploring and collecting animals, until, in 1867, the Portuguese government hired him, ostensibly as a naturalist. But what is most probable is that Anchieta was recruited as a secret agent and informer in the Caconda region of Angola, one of the most extreme points of its territory. He stayed there, researching, exploring and sending many specimens and letters to his scientific correspondents in Lisbon. He also helped medically in the local hospital and was much appreciated by the population as a dedicated and humane care-giving person.

Little is known in the manner of documentation about this period of Anchieta's life, because most of the museum specimens disappeared, as well as his many letters to Bocage, in a catastrophic fire in the museum, in 1978.

Anchieta died while returning from a zoological expedition to Caconda, in 1897, at 66 years of age, probably of the chronic consequences of malaria, which he and his wife caught, and which had severely undermined his health for many years.

In all, according to Bocage, Anchieta's zoological output was truly prolific. He was responsible for identifying 25 new species of mammals, 46 birds, and 46 amphibians and reptiles. He didn't care much for writing scientific papers, though, but left this to his correspondents in Lisbon.

Many of the species of birds, amphibians, lizards, snakes, fishes and mammals collected by him were unknown and thus were named for Anchieta with the species designation anchietae. Some of them were:
 * Anchieta's sunbird (Anthreptes anchietae), a bird
 * Anchieta's barbet (Stactolaema anchietae), a bird
 * Anchieta's tchagra (Tchagra anchietae), a bird
 * Anchieta's ridged frog (Ptychadena anchietae)
 * Anchieta's dune lizard (Meroles anchietae)
 * Anchieta's frog (Hylambates anchietae)
 * Anchieta's tree frog (Leptopelis anchietae)
 * Anchieta's chameleon (Chamaeleo anchietae), a lizard
 * Anchieta's cobra (Naja anchietae), a venomous snake
 * Anchieta's dwarf python (Python anchietae), a non-venomous snake
 * Anchieta's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus anchietai), a bat
 * Anchieta's elephantfish (Mormyrus anchietae)
 * Anchieta's antelope (Cephalophus anchietae)
 * Anchieta's serpentiform skink (Eumecia anchietae), a lizard
 * Anchieta's spade-snouted worm lizard (Monopeltis anchietae), an amphisbaenian
 * Anchieta's agama (Agama anchietae), a lizard

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta


text:
Toulouse FC

Toulouse Football Club (Tolosa Fotbòl Club) is a French professional football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse located within the city.

Les Violets won the Coupe de France in 2023, and have won the second tier Ligue 2 on three occasions. Toulouse have participated in European competition six times, including in 2007 when they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

The president of Toulouse FC is Damien Comolli, who succeeded the French businessman Olivier Sadran who took over the club following its bankruptcy in 2001 which resulted in it being relegated to the Championnat National. The club has served as a springboard for several players, most notably the World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, international strikers André-Pierre Gignac, Martin Braithwaite and Wissam Ben Yedder.

History
The city was left without a big side in 1967 when Toulouse FC sold its players and place in the French top flight to Paris outfit Red Star, but three years later a new club, Union Sportive Toulouse, rose from the ashes. Adopting red and yellow jerseys, the club started out in Ligue 2 and in 1979 reclaimed the name Toulouse FC. Now wearing purple and white, Les Pitchouns gained top-flight promotion in 1982. A side containing Jacques Santini and Swiss forward Daniel Jeandupeux earned a penalty shoot-out victory against Diego Maradona's Napoli in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup, Toulouse's maiden European campaign.

After goalkeeper Fabien Barthez made his breakthrough and moved on, Toulouse were relegated in 1994. They subsequently bounced back and forth between Ligues 1 and 2 before slipping to the third flight in 2001 after financial problems. Toulouse were back in the top flight two seasons later, and in 2007 they finished third to earn a place in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. There, Liverpool overpowered them 5–0 on aggregate.

In 2008–09, Toulouse finished fourth in the Ligue 1 table with 64 points, and secured a spot in the new Europa League, while André-Pierre Gignac led all scorers in Ligue 1 with 24 goals and was awarded a call-up to the France national team.

In the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season, Toulouse avoided relegation to Ligue 2 in the last game of the season. With 12 minutes to go, Toulouse were behind to Angers 2–1 and needed a win to survive, and scored two late goals and won the match 3–2. Two years later, they finished 18th and won the promotion/relegation playoff 4–0 on aggregate against Ligue 2's AC Ajaccio.

On 6 January 2020, Toulouse dismissed manager Antoine Kombouaré following the club's 1–0 loss to Championnat National 2 side Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire in the Coupe de France. Under Kombouaré the club had lost ten matches in a row, leading him to be dismissed and replaced by Denis Zanko. On 30 April that year, Toulouse were relegated to Ligue 2 after the LFP elected to end the season early due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On 21 July 2020, RedBird Capital Partners acquired an 85% stake in Toulouse FC. The club achieved promotion back to Ligue 1 by winning the second tier, Ligue 2, in 2022. On 29 April 2023, Toulouse won its first-ever Coupe de France title, defeating Kombouaré's Nantes in the final by a score of 5–1. It was the city's second title, however, as the former Toulouse FC had won it back in 1957.

Name changes

 * Union Sportive Toulouse (1970–79)
 * Toulouse Football Club (1979–current)

Stadium

Toulouse play their home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse. Built in 1937, the stadium presently has a capacity of 33,150. The stadium was used as a venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2007 Rugby Union World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.

Colours
The violet is a reference to one of two Toulouse nicknames: la Cité des violettes (the City of Violets), the second one being la Ville rose (the Pink City), which explains the colour of former alternate jerseys. The team's logo displays the gold and blood-red Occitan cross, the symbol of Occitania, of which Toulouse is a historical capital.

Derby de la Garonne
The Derby de la Garonne is a derby match between Girondins de Bordeaux and Toulouse. The derby derives from the fact that Bordeaux and Toulouse are the two major cities in south-western France, both of which are situated on the Garonne River. The consistency and competitiveness of the rivalry developed following Toulouse's return to Ligue 1 after being administratively relegated to the Championnat National in 2001.

Domestic

 * Coupe de France
 * Winners (1): 2022–23
 * Ligue 2
 * Winners (3): 1981–82, 2002–03, 2021–22

Managers

 * 🇦🇷 José Farías (1970–72)
 * 🇫🇷 Richard Boucher (1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77)
 * 🇦🇷 Ángel Marcos (1977–78)
 * 🇫🇷 Just Fontaine (1978–79)
 * 🇫🇷 Pierre Cahuzac (1979–83)
 * Daniel Jeandupeux (1 July 1983 – 30 June 1985)
 * 🇫🇷 Jacques Santini (1 July 1985 – 30 June 1989)
 * 🇫🇷 Pierre Mosca (1 July 1989 – 30 June 1991)
 * 🇫🇷 Victor Zvunka (1 July 1991 – 1 September 1992)
 * 🇫🇷 Serge Delmas (1 July 1992 – 14 January 1994)
 * 🇫🇷 Jean-Luc Ruty (14 January 1994 – 30 June 1994)
 * 🇫🇷 Rolland Courbis (1 July 1994 – 1 November 1995)
 * 🇫🇷 Alain Giresse (1 November 1995 – 30 June 1998)
 * 🇫🇷 Guy Lacombe (1 July 1998 – 25 January 1999)
 * 🇫🇷 Alain Giresse (26 January 1999 – 9 October 2000)
 * 🇫🇷 Robert Nouzaret (1 October 2000 – 30 June 2001)
 * 🇫🇷 Erick Mombaerts (1 July 2001 – 30 June 2006)
 * 🇫🇷 Elie Baup (1 July 2006 – 30 May 2008)
 * 🇫🇷 Alain Casanova (30 May 2008 – 16 March 2015)
 * 🇫🇷 Dominique Arribagé (16 March 2015 – 2 March 2016)
 * 🇫🇷 Pascal Dupraz (2 March 2016 – 22 January 2018)
 * 🇫🇷 Mickaël Debève (23 January 2018 – 14 June 2018)
 * 🇫🇷 Alain Casanova (22 June 2018 – 10 October 2019)
 * 🇳🇨 Antoine Kombouaré (14 October 2019 – 6 January 2020)
 * 🇫🇷 Denis Zanko (5 January 2020 – 22 June 2020)
 * 🇫🇷 Patrice Garande (22 June 2020 – 2 June 2021)
 * 🇫🇷 Philippe Montanier (23 June 2021 – 14 June 2023)
 * 🇪🇸 Carles Martínez Novell (15 June 2023 – present)

title: Toulouse FC


text:
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi

Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi  (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian general who was the first military head of state of Nigeria. He was appointed to head the country after the 15 January 1966 military coup.

He ruled from 16 January 1966, until his assassination on 29th July in the same year, by a group of mutinous Northern Nigerian officers and men. The revolt was led by Major Murtala Mohammed and included Captain Theophilus Danjuma, Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari, Lieutenant Ibrahim Babangida and Lieutenant Sani Abacha and became popularly referred to as the July counter-coup.

Early life
Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was born into the family of Igbo people Ezeugo Aguiyi on 3 March 1924, in Ibeku, Umuahia, now in Abia State, Nigeria. Aguiyi-Ironsi subsequently took the last name of his brother-in-law as his first name in admiration of Mr. Johnson for the father-figure role that he played in his life.

Aguiyi-Ironsi had his primary and secondary school education in Umuahia and Kano, respectively. At the age of 18, he joined the Nigeria Regiment against the wishes of his sister, Anyamma.

Military career
In 1942, Aguiyi-Ironsi joined the Nigerian Regiment, as a private with the seventh battalion. He was promoted in 1946 to company sergeant major. Also in 1946, Aguiyi-Ironsi was sent on an officer training course in Staff College, Camberley, England. On 12 June 1949, after completion of his course at Camberley, he received a short-service commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal West African Frontier Force, with a subsequent retroactive promotion to lieutenant effective from the same date.

Aguiyi-Ironsi was granted a regular commission on 16 May 1953 (seniority from 8 October 1947), and was promoted to captain with effect from the same date (seniority from 8 October 1951).

Aguiyi-Ironsi was one of the officers who served as equerry for Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Nigeria when she visited Nigeria in 1956 and so he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). He was promoted to Major on 8 October 1958.

In 1960, Aguiyi-Ironsi was made commandant of the fifth battalion in Kano, Nigeria, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Later in 1960, Aguiyi-Ironsi headed the Nigerian contingent force of the United Nations Operation in the Congo. From 1961 to 1962, Aguiyi-Ironsi served as the military attaché to the Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom. During that period he was promoted to the rank of brigadier. During his tenure as military attaché, he attended courses at the Imperial Defence college (renamed Royal College of Defence Studies in 1961), Seaford House, Belgrave Square. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (MBE) in the 1962 New Year Honours list.

In 1964, he was appointed as the commandant of the entire United Nations peace keeping force in the Congo. In 1965, Aguiyi-Ironsi was promoted to the rank of major general. The same year, Major General C.B. Welby-Everard handed over his position as the general officer Commanding, GOC of the entire Nigerian Army to Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, which made him the first Nigeria indigenous officer to head the entire Nigerian Army.

In January 1966, a group of army officers, led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, overthrew the central and regional governments of Nigeria, killed the prime minister and tried to take control of the government in a failed coup d'état. Nzeogwu was countered, captured and imprisoned by Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi.

Aguiyi-Ironsi was named military head of state on 17 January 1966, a position he held until 29 July 1966, when a group of Northern army officers revolted against the government and killed Aguiyi-Ironsi.

Fall of the Republic
On 15 January 1966, young radical and revolutionary soldiers drawn from different tribal extractions, led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, from Okpanam near Asaba, Noé in Delta State, eradicated the uppermost echelon of politicians from the Northern and the Western Provinces. That and other factors effectively led to the fall of the Republican Government. Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, was purportedly slated for assassination but effectively took control of Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory. Also an Igbo, President Nnamdi Azikiwe refusing to intervene to ensure the continuity of civilian rule, Aguiyi-Ironsi effectively compelled the remaining members of Balewa's government to resign. Seeing that the government was in disarray, Aguiya-Ironsi then allowed Senate President Nwafor Orizu, another Igbo who was serving as acting president in Azikiwe's absence, to surrender power to him officially, which ended the First Nigerian Republic.

Head of state
Aguiyi-Ironsi inherited a Nigeria that was deeply fractured by its ethnic and religious cleavages. None of the high-profile victims of the 1966 coup was of Igbo extraction. Aguiyi Ironsi, who was the most senior officer alive as at the morning of January 15, 1966. after managing to survive the coup by outwitting the coup plotters, he proceeded to rally some troops loyal to him and was able to crush the coup. The perception of many, including the Northern and Western soldiers that no high profile politician of Igbo extraction was killed, added to the emergence of yet another Igbo General as the leader of the Military Government of Nigeria, led people of the northern part the country to believe that it had been an Igbo conspiracy. Though Aguiyi-Ironsi tried to dispel that notion by courting the aggrieved ethnic groups through political appointments and patronage, his failure to punish the coup plotters and the promulgation of the now-infamous "Decree No. 34", which abrogated the country's federal structure in exchange for a unitary one, crystallized the conspiracy theory.

During his short regime (194 days in office), Aguiyi-Ironsi promulgated a raft of decrees. Among them were the Constitution Suspension and Amendment Decree No.1, which suspended most articles of the Constitution though it left intact those sections that dealt with fundamental human rights, freedom of expression and conscience. The Circulation of Newspaper Decree No.2 removed the restrictions on press freedom that had been put in place by the preceding civilian administration. According to Ndayo Uko, the decree was to serve "as a kind gesture to the press" to safeguard himself when he went on later to promulgate the Defamatory and Offensive Decree No.44 of 1966, which made it an "offense to display or pass on pictorial representation, sing songs, or play instruments the words of which are likely to provoke any section of the country".

The July counter coup
On 29 July 1966, Aguiyi Ironsi spent the night at the Government House in Ibadan, as part of a nationwide tour. His host, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, military governor of Western Nigeria, alerted him to a possible mutiny within the army. Aguiyi-Ironsi desperately tried to contact his Army Chief of Staff, Yakubu Gowon, but he was unreachable. In the early hours of the morning, the Government House, Ibadan, was surrounded by soldiers led by Theophilus Danjuma.

Arrest and assassination
Danjuma arrested Aguiyi-Ironsi and questioned him about his alleged complicity in the coup, which saw the demise of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello. The circumstances leading to Aguiyi-Ironsi's death have remained a subject of much controversy in Nigeria. His body and that of Fajuyi were later discovered in a nearby forest.

Legend
The swagger stick with a stuffed crocodile mascot carried by Aguiyi-Ironsi was called "Charlie". Legend had it that the crocodile mascot made him invulnerable and that it was used to dodge or deflect bullets when he was on mission in the Congo. Despite the stories, the crocodile mascot probably had something to do with the fact that the name "Aguiyi" translates as "crocodile" in Igbo.

Personal life
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi married to Victoria Ironsi. His son, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, was appointed to the position of Nigeria's Defence Minister on 30 August 2006, forty years after his father's death.

Award
The Gallantry Medal was awarded by the Austrian government to Lieutenant Colonel Aguiyi-Ironsi, Maj Njoku, two expatriates and twelve Nigerian soldiers for their role in the Congo in 1960 in freeing an Austrian ambulance unit, which had been arrested and imprisoned by the Congolese authorities because it claimed to be Belgian parachutists.

title: Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi


text: User talk:66.99.59.58

title: User talk:66.99.59.58


text:
FC Istres

Football Club Istres Ouest Provence (commonly referred to as simply Istres) is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their home matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, a commune in the Arrondissement of Istres.

History
FC Istres was founded in 1920 by Édouard Guizonnier as SS Istréenne. In 1969, SS Istréenne was merged into the more general sports club Istres Sports, who chose to keep Istréenne's distinctive purple and black colours. In 1977 the club made young entrepreneur Michel Aviet the club's president and ex-Yugoslav goalkeeper Georges Korac the club's manager. During the Aviet-Korac years, the club advanced from France's lower amateur regional divisions all the way up to Ligue 2.

In the 2004–05 season, the club reached Ligue 1 for the first time in their history but finished last and were immediately relegated to Ligue 2 the following year. The club returned to Ligue 2 for the 2009–10 season after winning the Championnat National 2008–09. They were joined by Laval and Arles Avignon. but on the 23 June, the DNCG ruled that AC Arles-Avignon would not be allowed to play in Ligue 2 despite their promotion from the Championnat National, due to irregularities in the club's financial accounts and management. On 3 July, following an appeal, the DNCG reversed its decision reinstating Arles' Ligue 2 status. The club got relegated from Ligue 2 in 2013–14 season after a 2–4 defeat to Dijon FCO, but were readmitted because Luzenac were denied promotion because they had a inadequate stadium. But on the 11th of July 2014, the ruling against Valenciennes FC was revoked and FC Istres were relegated again.

In July 2015, the club was relegated to the 7th tier for financial reasons, but two successive promotions in 2017 and 2018 saw the club reach to the Championnat National 3, and again to the Championnat National 2 in 2024.

Naming history

 * SS Istréenne (1920–1969)
 * Istres Sports (1969–1990)
 * FC Istres Ville Nouvelle (1990–2004)

Current squad
None of the players have a fixed/assigned shirt number by the club.

Notable former players
For a list of former FC Istres players, see below

Rivalries
The club has two major rivalries. First is with neighbours FC Martigues, with many encounters over the years. The second is the Provence derby against AC Arles-Avignon.

Honours

 * National
 * Champions (1): 2008–09
 * Méditerranée Division d'Honneur
 * Champions (2): 1982, 1990
 * Coupe de Provence
 * Champions (4): 1933, 1982, 1987, 1989

title: FC Istres


text:
Talk:Jockstrap

Shape
Cups currently are available in two basic shapes. The classic shape is approximately rectangular when viewed from the front. The much newer shape is more like a long skinny triangle. This shape is also known as a banana cup after the brand that specializes in the shape. The banana shaped cups are by far the more comfortable to wear.

Cup protectors that don't use a pouch are also available. The waist band and straps attach directly to the cup often in a one size fits all fashion. These are designed to be worn over briefs, especially if the cup has holes in it. Otherwise the scrotum can be painfully pinched in the cup hole.

I've added links to all the brands of jockstrap. If you know more, change the redirect pages into articles about these things. Scott Gall 11:40, 2005 Apr 19 (UTC)

24.251.84.221 06:01, 14 September 2007 (UTC) This article is humourous and quite informative. Well done! :)

Ice hockey
Why is this article in Category:Ice hockey terminology? This appears to be the only element of clothing or safety gear that is in there. Helmets are also worn, but they too are just general sports gear. -Will Beback 19:01, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm going to move it to Category:Protective gear, which is under sporting goods. -Will Beback 19:03, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Why would a jockstrap be disposable?
I'm not quite sure I understand why there are a few sentences that state how jockstraps should be thrown away for sanitary reasons and that major sports teams sometimes use them once, then toss. A jockstrap is like any other garment, if it is put in the washing machine with hot water and detergent it is perfectly suitable to wear for years, as long as the elastic is still good and it fits the athlete.

History
The first two paragraphs seem to be contradictory. Bitbut 02:26, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree. The first two paragraphs of the History section are in DIRECT CONTRADICTION. I am tagging contradict as of today 66.108.207.217 01:30, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Opening statement
The into ends with this line: "They are sometimes worn by some people as general, everyday underwear." Is this a joke? It seems like a bit of an outlandish statement for an encyclopedia. I'm removing it until further discussion can show it aught to stay. Leekohlbradley 08:42, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

I wear them as regular underwear all the time. I don't like the feel of briefs or bikini underwear. I'm sure this is probably more common among gay men, though. Theygoboom13 08:33, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Jockstrap styles - Narrow waistband
"Since there is no material in the back, the waistband has no anchor causing it to roll and bind which makes it uncomfortable for long duration activities." I removed this observation from the sub-heading, on grounds of it being distinctly anecdotal. Extenebris 06:44, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Moved "posing" image further down the page
It seemed a little scrunched at the top, and with its weird aspect ratio, being right-aligned scrunched the text. Plus, it seemed more fitting in the "how to wear" section. Cheers. -- slakr 03:40, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

Added tag + some  tags.
A quick note, I added a missing citations tag due to a bunch of facts and semi-statistics being stated without source. Please help add these sources by checking out Wikipedia's article on citing sources for the format and use of inline citations. Cheers. =) -- slakr  03:49, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

UrbanDictionary
I question the relevance of including the fact that Urban Dictionary has multiple definitions for jockstrap.

Unnecessary sections
I feel that the following sections should be removed from the article:

 * Wearing a jockstrap
 * Laundering and general care
 * Replacement and disposal

These seem unencyclopedic, and look like something more appropriate for an instructional website. It would probably be better if we provide links to this information instead. 156.34.224.202 (talk) 19:06, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

 * I've removed the sections, there are already links providing such information. 156.34.224.202 (talk) 19:12, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Taking out the "wearing instructions" again. It reads like softcore porn. There aren't instructions on how to wear a shirt, for example.  PacificBoy  20:20, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Too many images
Has anyone noticed the major difference in this article from last year http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jockstrap&oldid=93652070 to today? It looks like Times Square for jockstrap fetishists. This isn't a fetish site but an encyclopedic site. While "jockstrap sniffing" may be a paraphilia I don't think it's worthy enough to warrant an image. The bear (big guy) with bad lighting??? Come on... That doesn't focus on the jockstrap! Now while I happen to HAVE a jockstrap fetish I just don't think it needs to be the focus of this article. My solution? We spin off the whole "subculture" of Jockstrap Fetish so we can split these articles apart... It's kinda looking like a low budget porno right now 67.162.197.186 (talk) 03:14, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree. While the page was too plain last year, it now feels a bit inappropriate. I think the image with the bear, the sniffer, and maybe even the top image need to go. I'd replace the top one with something less sexually charged. The page is about the garment, not the fetish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.131.199.247 (talk) 01:28, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I removed the jocksniffing image as I thought it was unneccesary-besides the image is found in the jocksniffing article if anyone wishes to see it-

 * Articles should be illustrated. There isn't TOO many images in this article. Too many images would be when they outweight the text. The images are fine, and the guy wearing one is okay. It's good to have someone wearing them so readers can see what they look like. I agree that it may not be the best photo, but until we find a better one, it might stay. The image about jock sniffing is fine. It has to do with jock straps and It's related to the article. Also, I encourage you all to create accounts. Please remember to use edit summaries when editing articles, and signing you comments on talk pages like this one. Thanks. -- Dan Leveille TALK 17:58, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Seriously. It was better a year ago. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jockstrap&oldid=233804813] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.186.245.60 (talk) 04:53, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed. I expnaded the design section with a reduced, edited version of the styles section from this older edit. 75.60.193.248 (talk) 19:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Lolz. Nice Article.
Jock-Sniffing? Thats hilarious! Lol. Nice article. But arent encyclopedia articles not supposed to make you laugh? Shouldnt Jock-Sniffing belong in paraphilia (aka Fetish) section? Just wondering. Cheers,71.76.153.217 (talk) 15:00, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

I've declined the suggested speedy deletion of this article and removed the tag. The reason given was that the more appropriate name of the garment was "athletic supporter"; a disambiguation page exists for that term, this one has ample references and citations, etc. If the tagger truly believes that this detailed and thoroughly referenced article should be redirected, this would be a good place to discuss that. Accounting4Taste: talk 06:04, 22 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I can't think of why we shouldn't have all the information in this article that's available, relevant, referenced and well-illustrated. If a paraphilia makes people smirk and snigger, well, Wikipedia is not censored.  Accounting4Taste: talk 16:18, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * There's no need for this article to be deleted. Why can't encyclopedia's be funny? It's the topic that's making people laugh. It's meant to be informative, we're not trying to be funny. -- Dan Leveille TALK 01:49, 4 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm certain Mr. Garrison would agree 100% Jtdunlop (talk) 11:13, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Delete
An encyclopedia shouldn't feature an article the title of which is slang. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.96.192.118 (talk) 06:32, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Regardless whether your premise be true (far from obvious), it does not apply here anyway: the term jock strap is NOT slang, only its first component in the phallic sense. Arcarius (talk) 13:38, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Merge swimming jock?

 * YES, since that item is defined as a variation of the jock strap for aquatic sports and the article far too short to need even a full section. Arcarius (talk) 13:38, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

medical reasons for usage missing
I recommend adding or expanding the article to explain the medical reasons why a male should wear a jockstrap during exercise. Chafing and the ability to hold a cup were mentioned, but the medical reasons why the genitalia should be supported were not adequately discussed. Rearden9 (talk) 03:04, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

 * I agree that this needs mention. 71.123.109.211 (talk) 05:27, 12 May 2008 (UTC) John S.

 * Like any article, we can only add what we've got sources for. If anyone happens to find a reliable source for medical issues relating to this topic please add it, or at least post a link here. ·:· Will Beback  ·:· 06:03, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

 * This Slate article suggests that wearing a jockstrap has no discernible medical benefit.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.199.131 (talk) 23:07, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

sexual usage
lots of gay dudes use and gay porn shows, men having sex while wearing a jockstrap. this is done as a sexual fetish with regards to athleticism and machoness in addition to what it termed easy access to the receptive partners anus by the active partner. i will add a short statement to that effect.MY♥IN chile 07:14, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Only if the information you add is verifiable and comes from reliable sources WP:V WP:RS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.6 (talk) 10:12, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm wondering also, perhaps, if jockstraps are sometimes used in gay porns where the top is heterosexual so that he does not have to see the male genitalia of the person that he is fucking? Deusveritasest (talk) 22:14, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
 * ....oh....my...god.... please find verifiable sources. -- Dan Leveille TALK 03:07, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

 * I've heard that when straight guys fuck gay guys in gay porn the gay guy has to wear a jock strap so the straight guy doesn't have to see the gay guy's garbage. So I agree with the previous insertion. TimmyTruck (talk) 10:52, 1 February 2009 (UTC).
 * If verifiable sources are added, I think it would be important to add the use of jockstraps in sex and sex appeal, since now-a-days they are not just for sports. Tarheelz123 (talk) 02:21, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * That's a big "if". The material you added does not have verifiable, reliable sources.   Will Beback    talk    23:23, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I understand the need for "sources" in most cases, but sometimes it's just too obvious. The sheer prevalence on the internet of modern jockstraps being sold on online gay sex shops is all the proof you need. Do we really need a scholar to spell it out in an academic paper? Maybe adding a google search result for "gay jockstrap" should do it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.169.40.10 (talk) 12:58, 29 July 2016 (UTC)
 * wow.... just.... wow... this was probably one of the funniest things i've read on wikipedia... just saying... --ΖαππερΝαππερ BabelAlexandria 15:04, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

RfC: Gallery of jockstraps and jockstrap-related material
Does the article benefit from the extensive gallery of images? 207.69.137.26 (talk) 23:52, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * No. There is no need for a request for comment either.  I've trimmed it down, this really looked like a sandwich case.  WLU (talk) 00:07, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Butt Pic
Is the pic of the dude from the rear necessary?Rs09985 (talk) 07:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes. The jockstrap is one of the very few types of underwear that is not connected centrally in the rear, and this image shows that clearly. +Angr 15:09, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't really think it's necessary to have a pornographic-style depiction of the rear. Not that I'm offended or complaining; it's a nice image. But probably not appropriate for Wikipedia.
 * Why? The image helps inform people. The omission of the image would not illustrate the subject as well. Though it may not be the most professional looking photo, we don't have any other image to work with. As far as not being appropriate, of course it is. It's not pornographic. And Wikipedia is not censored. -- Dan Leveille TALK 05:09, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Box (cricket) - suggested merge
I don't think this is the place to merge Box (cricket), beyond the sentence that already exists. Would suggest perhaps merging into a general article about Cricket equipment if it must be merged at all. Markhh (talk) 08:38, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
 * They are not the same thing and the articles should not be merged. If the editor who placed the merge tag on the article doesn't come here and argue for the merge, the tags can be removed.--Michig (talk) 09:11, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, the box in cricket is the same thing as a protective cup that is sometimes used in conjunction with a jockstrap. The editor did suggest that the Box (cricket) article should be merged with the section about protective cups in the jockstrap article.   The reason for this is because the logical merge candidate is protective cup, but that article was also merged with jockstrap.  No matter what I think the Box (cricket) to be removed and any relevant no repetitive content moved or merged (if any exists). Vivaldi (talk) 09:21, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Merge into Cricket clothing and equipment completed. All content was already duplicated there. Markhh (talk) 20:54, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

How international are they?
Good article, but does not make clear whether they are common outside the US. I dont think I remember ever seeing a pair [?] / one [?] worn in years of football or general life in Australia. Cricket cups and the like work just as well with underpants.115.128.4.241 (talk) 20:37, 2 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I've seen them in Myers in Sydney. I'd say they're pretty international. —Peco! Peco!TALK 09:43, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I have never seen any in Europe- I would not consider them very international at all. It would be interesting to see some source confirming or disproving this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.58.246.135 (talk) 23:23, 5 November 2011 (UTC)

Copyright Notice Tag.
In my honest opinion from my experience in dealing with copyright law, having a look at the original article and doing a compare and contrast on both, the best anyone could claim is an interpretation of the original article as the is enough of a difference between the articles. I wouldn't worry about it. Now if you are an 18 year old or younger admin read on. I have been dealing and working within copyright law for as long, and longer in some cases that you've been alive. Just because an article looks similar to another does not mean that it is in breech of copyright. If there are enough differences between the two articles then no claim of copyright infringement can be made. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.63.188 (talk) 02:49, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

 * At the time the content was placed, the external source included the following text:

 * This is an example of the content placed in the article:

 * Emphasis has been added to draw attention to particularly close passages. Perhaps comparing the content as it was placed to the text source may clarify the concerns. Under the U.S. laws that govern Wikipedia, substantial similarity is, of course, a matter to be defined by the courts in each specific case, but Wikipedia's policies are not designed to push the envelope. Given that derivative works must be authorized by copyright holders, we are not permitted to create them, but must instead write all content based on non-free sources in our words. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:55, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
One or more portions of this article duplicated other source(s). The material was copied from: http://web.archive.org/web/20070522205359/http://www.shockdoctor.com/news/cpHistory.html. Infringing material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:55, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

Ass picture
Do we really need as the main lead image, a guy's ass? Can't the image just be the front part of a jockstrap rather than a dude's ass?  Caden  cool  20:31, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

 * C'mon, if anything the lack of dude's ass is the main issue with this article. Currently, jockstraps are part of gay male culture, and this article does a poor job of representing that Gangweedersriseup (talk) 01:54, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

External links modified
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Move The "Cups" Section To A New Article?
I think that the section on cups should be moved to a completely different article. I play baseball and know that you can also put a cup in slider shorts and the like. I think that having the cups section here is misleading, making people think that only jockstraps are used with cups. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Baseballhockey5 (talk • contribs) 22:38, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Wearing a cup .. NFL players generally don't
Article says that cups are mandatory in several sports, including "football". (Which kind of football?)

This link https://www.businessinsider.com/why-nfl-players-dont-wear-cups-2012-12 is one of many from a web search. This article explains why NFL players (United States) do not wear cups. Many other search results say the same thing.

I haven't learned references yet or I would add this.

Suggested change: Add "However, many NFL players (United States) do not wear cups." with the reference (or a couple of references). Thanks.

73.127.147.187 (talk) 19:51, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

 * Hi, I suggest that you try adding the information yourself, even if the references are not formatted perfectly. If something is incorrect, another editor will come along and fix it. For more information on how to format references, please go to Help:Footnotes. Questions can be answered in the WP:HELPDESK or at the WP:TEAHOUSE. Thanks and happy editing! Z1720 (talk) 23:59, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

Female genital protector
Recently had to remove content claiming the female "jillstrap" or pelvic protectir was designed by a USA Miami man named Ronald Paramore, in the United States. This information was originally from the wiki article "Jockstrap".

There is evidence, though currently not accessible online, that female pelvic protectors were available for female broomball and ice hockey players, as well as ringette players, in Canada by the late 1980's. Until this is sorted out, I think editors should refrain from giving credit to Paramore since this doesn't appear to be the case. CheckersBoard (talk) 00:46, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

First sentence
There’s no reason, as far as I can tell, to attribute genders to genitalia as seen in the first sentence: “…for protecting the testes and penis (for boys and men), and female genitalia (for girls and women) during contact sports or other vigorous physical activity.”

Why have the statements seen in the parentheses? They add no additional information are arguably transphobic, which would be adding bias to the article. Explaining which genitals belong to which *sex* might make more sense, but certainly not gender. 147.161.4.13 (talk) 07:52, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Jockstrap


text:
Margaret McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh

Margaret Josephine McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh (26 June 1961 – 24 June 2023) was a British Labour politician who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 1998 to 2001. She later worked as a management consultant and was a co-president of the Labour Party Irish Society, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer from 2004 until her death.

Early life and education
Margaret Josephine McDonagh was born on 26 June 1961 in Mitcham, Surrey, to an Irish family. She was the younger of two daughters of Cumin McDonagh, a construction labourer, and Breda McDonagh (Doogue), a psychiatric nurse. Her elder sister was Siobhain McDonagh, who was elected the Labour member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden in 1997. Margaret was educated at Holy Cross School in New Malden and gained a Bachelor of Science degree in government at Brunel University London and a Master of Arts in advanced marketing at Kingston Business School, and later completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Career
McDonagh was part of the New Labour leadership inner circle for the 1997 general election campaign and was one of the inner-core deciding the official party position on specific issues.

In 1998, McDonagh became Labour's first female general secretary, after having served as deputy general secretary the previous year. She was not always popular with the grassroots and parts of the Parliamentary Party due to her perceived "control-freakery". She was considered to have badly mishandled the party's London mayoral candidate selection process, which resulted in Ken Livingstone winning 2000 mayoral election as an independent candidate, leaving the official Labour candidate, Frank Dobson, in third place, with subsequent disapproval amongst the party members. McDonagh later apologised for the mayoral electoral loss. Her organisational skills came to the fore however in the delivery of a second landslide victory at the 2001 general election. She was also criticised for accepting, without consultation, a £100,000 donation from Daily Express and adult magazine publisher Richard Desmond, and for still counting as party members those in arrears of up to 15 months to delay news of declining membership emerging.

After stepping down from the position of General Secretary following the 2001 general election, McDonagh took a short Harvard University business course and became general manager of Express Newspapers. She was a non-executive director of Standard Life, TBI plc, and CareCapital Group plc. She was chair of the Standard Life Charitable Trust.

McDonagh became a life peer on 24 June 2004, and was created Baroness McDonagh, of Mitcham and of Morden in the London Borough of Merton.

In 2013, McDonagh was appointed chair of the Smart Meter Central Delivery Body, which then became Smart Energy GB, an independent organisation that aims to inform consumers about smart meters and their national rollout across Great Britain.

Personal life
McDonagh lived with her sister in Colliers Wood, London, throughout their adult lives. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2021 and died at home on 24 June 2023, at age 61, and 19 years to the day after she was first appointed to the Lords. She was described as the "linchpin" of New Labour. Pat McFadden wrote that she was a "true working-class hero".

Legacy
At Labour Party Conference 2023 it was announced that the Labour party would be launching the Margaret McDonagh Leadership Academy in her honour. David Evans, the General Secretary of the Labour Party, speaking at the launch of the Academy said it will "ensure that future generations will also know Margaret".

title: Margaret McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh


text:
Samuel L. Gouverneur

Samuel Laurence Gouverneur (1799 – September 29, 1865) was a lawyer and civil servant who was both nephew and son-in-law to James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States.

Early life
Gouverneur was born in 1799 in New York City. His father was Nicholas Gouverneur (1753–1802), a merchant with the firm Gouverneur & Kemble, and mother was Hester (née Kortright) Gouverneur (1770–1842), sister of the First Lady Elizabeth Kortright Monroe. His younger sister, Maria Charlotte Gouverneur (1801–1867), was married to Thomas McCall Cadwalader (1795–1873).

His maternal grandparents were Lawrence Kortright, a wealthy merchant, and Hannah (née Aspinwall) Kortright. His paternal grandparents were Samuel Gouverneur (1720–1798) and Experience (née Johnson) Gouverneur (1720–1788). He was a first cousin of U.S. Representative Gouverneur Kemble (1786–1875) through his aunt Gertrude Gouverneur, wife of merchant Peter Kemble.

He graduated from Columbia College in 1817.

Career
In 1824, Gouverneur was elected as a People's Party (faction of the Democratic-Republican party) member of the New York State Assembly, serving in the 48th New York State Legislature in 1825. He was aligned with Assembly Speaker Clarkson Crolius, also from New York County.

On November 19, 1828, he was appointed Postmaster of New York City, succeeding former U.S. Representative and Senator Theodorus Bailey who died in office on September 6, 1828. While in New York he invested in racehorses, and the Bowery Theatre along with James Alexander Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, and Prosper M. Wetmore. Gouverneur served as Postmaster until July 4, 1836, when he was succeeded by Jonathan J. Coddington.

Relationship with Monroe
Gouverneur served as private secretary to his uncle, the fifth U.S. President James Monroe who served two consecutive terms as President from March 4, 1817 until March 4, 1825. Gouverneur helped former president Monroe to press his claims to Congress to repay mounting debts. After Elizabeth Monroe's death in 1830, Monroe came to live at the Gouverneurs' home, and died there in 1831. Gouverneur was executor of Monroe's estate, which had to be sold off to pay the debts.

Monroe was buried in the Gouverneur family vault at the New York City Marble Cemetery, until descendants had the remains moved to the James Monroe Tomb in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. A ceremony was held at the Gouverneur vault 175 years later, on July 8, 2006.

Monroe's personal papers were left to Gouverneur, who also was asked to support his wife's sister Eliza Monroe Hay (also his cousin, then a widow). Gouverneur started work on publishing the papers or a book on Monroe, but it was never finished. After Mrs. Hay died in 1840, the Gouverneurs moved to Washington, DC where he worked in the consular bureau of the U.S. Department of State from 1844 to 1849. After congress agreed to buy the papers of President Madison, Gouverneur proposed a similar arrangement, which was concluded in 1850. Some personal papers would be retained for a few generations.

Personal life
On March 9, 1820, Gouverneur was married to Maria Hester Monroe, his first cousin and the daughter of President Monroe. The wedding was officiated by the Rev. William Dickinson Hawley and was the first wedding held in the White House for a child of a president. The wedding was small, with only 42 guests and no cabinet members invited, and General Thomas Jesup served as groomsman for Gouverneur. The couple went on a brief one-week honeymoon, and upon their return, Commodore and Mrs. Stephen Decatur gave them a reception at the Decatur House on May 20, 1820. Another ball was planned, but was cancelled due to Decatur's death two days later in a duel. After moving to New York, the Gouverneur's bought and lived at 63 and 65 Prince Street at Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Together, Samuel and Maria were the parents of four children:

 * a daughter, who died in infancy (d. September 4, 1821)
 * James Monroe Gouverneur (1822–1885), a deaf-mute who died at the Spring Grove Asylum in Baltimore, Maryland;
 * Elizabeth Kortright Gouverneur (1824–1868), who married Dr. Henry Lee Heishell, James M. Bibby, and Colonel G. D. Sparrier.
 * Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, Jr. (1826–1880), who married Marian Campbell (1821–1914), and became the first U.S. consul in Fuzhou, China (then spelled Foo Chow).

In 1832, the Gouverneurs' sold their Prince Street residence to Miles R. Burke. On June 20, 1850, his wife Maria died at the Oak Hill estate, which was sold two years later in 1852.

In September 1851, the widower Gouverneur married Mary Digges Lee (1810–1898), a granddaughter of Thomas Sim Lee (1745–1819). They retired to the Lee estate called "Needwood", near Frederick, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. This stressed family relations during the American Civil War, with Gouverneur associated with the Union government, while his in-laws had deep roots in the Confederate states.

Death
Gouverneur died at his Needwood estate on September 29, 1865. His estate was left to his second wife.

Descendants
His granddaughter Rose de Chine Gouverneur, born in China in 1860, married Roswell Randall Hoes (1850–1921) and died on May 26, 1933. Their sons Gouverneur Hoes (1889–1943) and Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (1900–1978) established the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in the Fredericksburg, Virginia building that housed the James Monroe Law Office, administered by the University of Mary Washington.

title: Samuel L. Gouverneur