The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF).
The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their skills in a national competition. A victory in the finals of the cup is as sought by players trying to start their career, as by clubs wishing to demonstrate their ability to train young talents. (French)
The current champion is Paris Saint-Germain having defeated Montpellier in the 2026 final by a score of 3–2. The 2019–20 and 2020–21 editions of the tournament were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.
History The tournament is the modern day version of the Coupe nationale des juniors, which ran up until 1954. The competition was then renamed, in 1955, to honour Emmanuel Gambardella, president of the French Football Federation from 1949 to 1953, who died on 30 August 1953.
In 2019, the competition switched from being an under-19 competition to an under-18 competition. +ChronologyPeriodAge category1955–1996Players turning 20 on or after 1 August of the year the competition ends1996–2002Players turning 18 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions endsFoot, hebdomadaire de la FFF, 29 May 1996.2002–2019Players turning 19 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions ends2019–presentPlayers turning 18 on or after 1 January of the year the competitions ends
Format The Coupe Gambardella begins in December, of the previous year of the final, at the regional level. Home advantage is given out randomly, until the semi-final stage when games are played at neutral venues. Games which are drawn after ninety minutes, go to a penalty shootout as opposed to extra time and then a shootout. The final is always played on the same day as the Coupe de France and have traditionally taken place at the Stade de France.
List of finals
SeasonWinnersScoreRunners–up1955Cannes3–0Lille1956Troyes2–1Reims1957Lens3–0Troyes1958Lens 2–1Saint-Étienne1959RC Paris1–0Caen1960Lille1–0Quevilly1961Nîmes2–0CO Joinville1962Monaco2–1Metz1963Saint-Étienne3–0Stade Français1964Reims4–3Saint-Étienne1965Strasbourg3–2Aix-en-Provence1966Nîmes 3–2Toulon1967Quevilly2–1Stade Français1968Martigues2–2*Reims1969Nîmes 3–0Viry-Châtillon1970Saint-Étienne †3–3 Lyon1971Lyon2–1Saint-Étienne1972Monaco 2–1Toulouse1973Rennes †1–1 AS Brest1974Nantes4–1Nancy1975Nantes †1–1 Sochaux1976Bordeaux3–0Viry-Châtillon1977Nîmes 3–1Reims1978INF Vichy3–1Paris Saint-Germain1979Marseille2–0Lens1980INF Vichy 1–0Metz1981Metz1–0Nice1982Auxerre6–3Nancy1983Sochaux1–0Lens1984Laval †0–0 Montpellier1985Auxerre 3–0Montpellier1986Auxerre †0–0 Nantes1987RC Paris 2–1Grenoble1988INF Clairefontaine1–0Beauvais1989Le Havre †0–0 Paris Saint-Germain1990Brest3–1Grenoble1991Paris Saint-Germain †1–1 Auxerre1992Lens 1–0Lyon1993Auxerre 1–0Lens1994Lyon 5–0Caen1995Cannes 2–0Lens1996Montpellier1–0Nantes1997Lyon †1–1 Montpellier1998Saint-Étienne †1–1 Paris Saint-Germain1999Auxerre †0–0 Saint-Étienne2000Auxerre 1–0Lille2001Metz 2–0Caen2002Nantes 1–0Nice2003Rennes 4–1Strasbourg2004Le Mans2–0Nîmes2005Toulouse6–2Lyon2006Strasbourg 3–1Lyon2007Sochaux †2–2 Auxerre2008Rennes 3–0Bordeaux2009Montpellier 2–0Nantes2010Metz †1–1 Sochaux2011Monaco †1–1 Saint-Étienne2012Nice2–1Saint-Étienne2013Bordeaux 1–0Sedan2014Auxerre 2–0Reims2015Sochaux 2–0Lyon2016Monaco 3–0Lens2017Montpellier †1–1 Marseille2018Troyes 2–1Tours2019Saint-Étienne 2–0Toulouse2020Cancelled–2021Cancelled–2022Lyon †1–1 Caen2023Monaco 4–2Clermont2024Marseille 4–1Nancy2025Rennes 3–2Dijon2026Paris Saint-Germain 3–2Montpellier
Results by team Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. ClubWinsFirst final wonLast final wonRunners-upLast final lostTotal final appearancesAuxerre719822014220079Monaco51962202305Saint-Étienne4196320196201210Lyon419712022520159Nîmes419611977120045Rennes4 19732025 04 Lens319571992520168Montpellier31996201742026 7 Nantes319742002320096Metz319812010219805Sochaux319832015220105Paris Saint-Germain219912026319985 Strasbourg219652006120033Bordeaux219762013120083Troyes219562018119573Marseille219792024120173 INF Vichy21978198002RC Paris21959198702Cannes21955199502Reims119641964420145Lille119601960220003Nice120122012220023Quevilly119671967119602Toulouse120052005220193Martigues119681968 01Laval11984198401INF Clairefontaine11988198801Le Havre11989198901Brest11990199001Le Mans12004200401Caen0420224Stade Français0219672Viry-Châtillon0219762Nancy0219822Grenoble0219902CO Joinville0119611Aix-en-Provence0119651Toulon0119661AS Brest0119731Beauvais0119881Sedan0120131Tours0120181Clermont0120231Dijon012025 1
References