Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in the Segunda División, following relegation from the 2025–26 La Liga season.
Girona holds its home matches at the 14,624-capacity Estadi Montilivi. It is a part of City Football Group Limited. The club also has youth and amateur women's teams for competition.
History Football became of particular interest in Girona at the beginning of the 20th century. The first major club in the city was Strong Esport (founded in 1902 under the original name of FC Gerundense). Some of the team's first players were Narciso Callicó and Salvador Hormeu, both of whom went on to play for FC Barcelona. In the 1920s, football gained strength with clubs such as CE Gironí, founded in 1921, but above all by Unió Deportiva Girona, founded on 13 February of the same year, when the elements united of the Sports Center Gironenc, heirs of the dissolved Strong, with other sports enthusiasts. The club soon became the strongest in the city. UD Girona, however, disappeared in 1929 due to financial problems, following a debt of around 200,000 pesetas (a real fortune for those times). After the disappearance of the UD Girona it was decided to create a new football team in the city.
On 23 July 1930, in the café Norat in La Rambla of Girona, Girona Futbol Club was founded upon the dissolution of Unió Esportiva Girona for economic reasons. On 1 August 1930, the city council authorized the club so that it could use the city's emblem on its badges. It was achieved thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts led by the club's first president Albert de Quintana de León. The team subsequently entered in the second division of the Catalan Championships. Its first official match was against Colònia Artigas with the lineup: Florenza, Teixidor, Farró, Flavià, Comas, Corradi, Ferrer, Escuder, Clara, Torrellas and Taradellas.
1935–36 was the first season Girona played in Segunda División, and the club finished in top position in its group, subsequently appearing in the playoff stage against Celta de Vigo, Real Zaragoza, Arenas Club, Real Murcia and Xerez, but finishing second from bottom, thus out of the La Liga promotion zone.
After the Spanish Civil War, the club fluctuated between the second level and Tercera División, falling into the latter category in 1959 and being further demoted in 1980 – Segunda División B was created as the new division three in 1977, and the club lasted three years in the competition. In 1968, construction of the Estadi Montilivi began, with home matches being held there on a permanent basis from 1970 onwards after nearly five decades at the Vista Alegre stadium.
In the following decades, Girona alternated between the third and the fourth divisions, even spending three seasons in the regional championships, in 1982–83 and 1997–99. On 16 June 2008, after defeating Ceuta 1–0 in the play-offs, the Raül Agné-led side achieved a second consecutive promotion, returning to the second tier after a 49-year absence.
On 22 July 2010, a group of local businessmen led by Ramon Vilaró, Joaquim Boadas and Josep Slim purchased 72% of the club's shares, previously held by former club president Josep Gusó and Josep Rofes, thus becoming the new owners of Girona. Vilaró was elected the new president while Agné, after a spell with Recreativo, returned as manager for the upcoming second division campaign, lasting in the position until 14 January 2012 when he was sacked following a 0–3 loss at Recreativo.
In 2011, Girona created a reserve team, having previously grown a natural grass pitch in Palau. On 9 May 2013, the club's board of directors, under the slogan "El Girona FC també és meu" ("Girona FC is mine too"), approved an increase of the club's capital in €300,000 to be distributed in €10 shares, aiming to balance its estate.
On the last matchday of the 2014–15 season, Girona needed to beat Lugo at home to earn promotion to La Liga, but were denied by a last-minute goal by the visitors. Girona had to settle for a play-off place, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Real Zaragoza, despite winning the first leg 3–0. The next season, they reached the play-off final but were defeated by Osasuna. Girona finally earned promotion to La Liga after the 2016–17 season as they finished runners-up to Levante. This was the first time that Girona had ever been promoted to La Liga in their 87-year history.
On 23 August 2017, it was announced City Football Group (CFG), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had purchased 44.3% ownership in Girona. Another 44.3% was held by Girona Football Group, led by Pere Guardiola, the brother of CFG-owned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. On 29 October 2017, Girona recorded a memorable victory, defeating reigning Champions League winners Real Madrid 2–1.
On the last match day of the 2018–19 La Liga season, Girona were relegated to Segunda Division, after losing 2–1 against Deportivo Alavés, ending their two-year spell in the Spanish top tier. In the 2021–22 season Girona finished sixth in the Segunda Division and were promoted to La Liga in the play-offs, beating Tenerife 3–1 on aggregate in the final. In the 2022–23 season they finished 10th with 49 points, four points away from a UEFA Europa Conference League play-off spot.
In the 2023–24 season, Girona reached the top four of La Liga for the first time after two matches, soon reaching the top of the La Liga table after seven matches with 19 points, the club's best-ever start in top flight football. On 10 December 2023, they defeated FC Barcelona in the league for the first time, a 2–4 away victory taking them to the top of the table with 41 points and just one defeat, their best ever record in La Liga after just 16 rounds. On 5 February 2024, they sat second in the La Liga table, with 56 points from 23 games, and with only a single loss, placing them two points behind Real Madrid. On 4 May 2024, Girona achieved a 4–2 victory over Barcelona, securing their first qualification to the UEFA Champions League and its first European qualification and finished the season in third place with 81 points.
In the 2024–25 season, Girona played their first competitive international match against French side Paris Saint-Germain in a 1–0 loss at the Parc des Princes on 18 September. David López converted Girona's first international goal when he scored the opening goal of a 2–3 loss against Dutch-side Feyenoord on 2 October.
In the 2025–26 season, Girona were relegated to the second division after failing to win a match against Elche on the last matchday, ending a four-year stay in top tier.
Training centre The club's new training facilities have been under construction since December 2017, located at the PGA Catalunya Golf Course complex to the south of Girona. Occupying an area of , the new complex will serve as the exclusive training centre of the club for the next years. It will be home to a training pitch of hybrid grass as well as a pitch of natural grass, in addition to indoor training facilities.
Season to season
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1933–3433ª1st1934–3522ª4thThird round1935–3622ª1stRound of 161939–4022ª3rdFirst round1940–4122ª4thThird round1941–4222ª5th1942–4322ª6th1943–4433ª5thSecond round1944–4533ª3rd1945–4633ª6th1946–4733ª4th1947–4833ª1stThird round1948–4922ª10thRound of 161949–5022ª9thThird round1950–5122ª16th1951–5233ª6th1952–5333ª8th1953–5433ª2nd1954–5533ª1st1955–5633ª2ndSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1956–5722ª9th1957–5822ª9th1958–5922ª15thFirst round1959–6033ª11th1960–6133ª4th1961–6233ª2nd1962–6333ª4th1963–6433ª6th1964–6533ª7th1965–6633ª7th1966–6733ª3rd1967–6833ª8th1968–6933ª11th1969–7033ª3rdSecond round1970–7133ª2ndFirst round1971–7233ª8thFirst round1972–7333ª2ndSecond round1973–7433ª3rdFirst round1974–7533ª6thSecond round1975–7633ª3rdFirst round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1976–7733ª2ndThird round1977–7832ª B6thThird round1978–7932ª B13thThird round1979–8032ª B19thFirst round1980–8143ª7th1981–8243ª18th1982–8351st1983–8443ª9th1984–8543ª7th1985–8643ª2nd1986–8743ª7thFirst round1987–8832ª B19th1988–8943ª1stFirst round1989–9032ª B12th1990–9132ª B7thSecond round1991–9232ª B3rd1992–9332ª B15thThird round1993–9432ª B15thFirst round1994–9532ª B18thFirst round1995–9643ª13thSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1996–9743ª19th1997–9851ª Cat.5th1998–9951ª Cat.1st1999–200043ª7th2000–0143ª8th2001–0243ª9th2002–0343ª2nd2003–0432ª B7th2004–0532ª B17thRound of 322005–0643ª1st2006–0743ª2ndFirst round2007–0832ª B1st2008–0922ª16thThird round2009–1022ª14thThird round2010–1122ª11thSecond round2011–1222ª15thSecond round2012–1322ª4thSecond round2013–1422ª15thRound of 322014–1522ª3rdThird round2015–1622ª4thSecond round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2016–1722ª2ndSecond round2017–1811ª10thRound of 322018–1911ª18thQuarter-finals2019–2022ª5thRound of 322020–2122ª5thRound of 162021–2222ª6thRound of 162022–2311ª10thSecond round2023–2411ª3rdQuarter-finals2024–2511ª16thSecond round2025–2611ª19thSecond round2026–2722ªTBD
6 seasons in La Liga 25 seasons in Segunda División 13 seasons in Segunda División B 44 seasons in Tercera División 3 seasons in Categorías Regionales
European record Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate2024–25UEFA Champions LeagueLeague phase Paris Saint-Germain 0–1 33rd Feyenoord 2–3 Slovan Bratislava 2–0 PSV Eindhoven 0–4 Sturm Graz 0–1 Liverpool 0–1 Milan 0–1 Arsenal 1–2
Players First team squad
Reserve team
Out on loan
Club officials Current technical staff
Board of directors {| class="wikitable" |- !Office !Name |- | President | Delfí Geli |- | President board of director | Pere Guardiola |- | rowspan=6| Board members | Marcelo Claure |- | Ricardo Sosa |- | Roger Solé |- | Simon Cliff |- | John MacBeath |- | Ingo Bank |- | Secretary of the board | Ricard Capdevila |- | CEO | Ignacio Mas-Bagà |- | Sporting director | Quique Cárcel |- | Technical secretary | Iván Hammouch |- | Scouting | Juan Carlos Moreno |- | Performance | Totó |- | Football operations | Helena San José |- | Academy | Siscu Sànchez |- | Sporting director Girona B | Albert Síria |- | Sporting director academy | Albert Puig |- | Women's football team | Joan Carles Sánchez |- | Academy residence | Gerard Herrera |- | Finance, HR and IT | Albert Sebastià |- | Operations | Carolina Pujol |- | Communication and CSR | David Torras |- | Infrastructures | Alfonso Ferrer |- | Commercial and marketing | Aran Ferri |- | Strategy & new business | Albert Bagó |- | Legal and compliance | Ricard Capdevila
Coaches
Francisco Bru (1937–39) Károly Plattkó (1948–49) Hilario (1949–50) Domènec Balmanya (1952) Emilio Aldecoa (1955–57), (1959–60) Dagoberto Moll (1965–66) Emilio Aldecoa (1967–68) Vicenç Sasot (1972–74) Emilio Aldecoa (1974–76) Lluís Coll (1976) Vicenç Sasot (1979–80) Pepe Pinto (1980–81), (1981–82) Luis Costa (1981–82) Emilio Aldecoa (1982) Antonio Lagunas (1987) Alfonso Muñoz Jaso (1987–88), (1993–95) José Manuel (1988) Paco Bonachera (1993) Pere Gratacós (1997–99) Narcís Julià (2003) Agustín Abadía (2003–04) Josep María Nogués (2005) Joan Carrillo (2006–07) Ricardo Rodríguez (2007) Raül Agné (2007–09) Javi Salamero (2009) Miquel Olmo (2009) Cristóbal Parralo (2009) Narcís Julià (2009–10) Raül Agné (2010–12) Josu Uribe (2012) Javi Salamero (2012) Rubi (2012–13) Ricardo Rodríguez (2013) Javi López (2013–14) Pablo Machín (2014–18) Eusebio Sacristán (2018–19) Juan Carlos Unzué (2019) José Luis Martí (2019–20) Francisco (2020–21) Míchel (2021–2026) Quique Álvarez (2026–)
Honours
Domestic Segunda División B Winners (1): 2007–08 Tercera División Winners (5): 1933–34, 1947–48, 1954–55, 1988–89, 2005–06
Regional titles Supercopa de Catalunya Winners (1): 2019 Copa Catalunya Winners (1): 2025
Player records
Most appearances Competitive, professional matches only. Up to date as of 24 August 2024