Étoile du Congo

Étoile du Congo

Full name	Étoile du Congo
Founded	1926; 99 years ago (1926)
Ground	Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Brazzaville, Congo
Capacity	33,037
Chairman	Réné Blanchard Oba
Manager	Benoît Kokolo
League	Congo Ligue 1
2023–24	Congo Ligue 1, 5th of 14

Étoile du Congo is a Congolese professional football club based in Brazzaville.^[1]

History

L'Étoile du Congo started as a team in the Fédération Athlétique Congolaise (FAC), a league run by Catholic missionaries in the Belgian Congo. The church provided clothes and shoes and the team was required to attend mass. The team, known at the time as Renaissance, won the Brazzaville city championship each year from 1945 to 1950 led by team-captain Dominique Sombo. They played at Eboué stadium, which was owned by the mission.^[2]

Controversy

The players, being colonized, were not compensate at all for their efforts. The mission would collect money at the gates, and did not pay for medical treatment or transport to games. In 1951, the players decided to write to the Director of Social Services to request to leave the mission and to be sponsored by a cultural center. After threatening to boycott colonial administrators assuaged their demands to avoid popular outcry. Renaissance won another city championship and independence from the FAC. To celebrate their new autonomy, the team changed their name to L'Étoile, in respect to a star Brazzaville team from the 1930s. The name Renaissance was given to reserve team of younger players.^[2]

Honours

• Congo Premier League: 11

1967, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2001, 2006.

• Coupe du Congo: 6

1983, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2019.

• Super Coupe du Congo: 1

2019.

Performance in CAF competitions

• CAF Champions League: 3 appearances

2001 – second round

2002 – second round

2007 – second round

• African Cup of Champions Clubs: 8 appearances

1968 – first round 1979 – second round 1980 – quarter-finals

1982 – first round 1988 – first round 1990 – second round

1993 – first round 1995 – first round

• CAF Confederation Cup: 2 appearances

2007 – second round of 16

2015 – preliminary round

• CAF Cup: 1 appearance

1992 – second round

• CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 3 appearances

1996 – first round

2000 – quarter-finals

2003 – second round

Current squad

As of 14 July 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 GK  CGO Pavelh Ndzila — GK  CGO Chancel Massa

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  CGO Saïra Issambet

References

1. John Frank Clark (2012). Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo. Scarecrow Press. pp. 159–. ISBN 978-0-8108-4919-8. Retrieved 1 August 2013. Étoile du Congo is one of Congo's two great, historic football (soccer) teams. Founded as a club called "Renaissance" in the 1940s, the club took its current name in 1950. Based in the Poto-Poto district, it won the Brazzaville city champions ...
2. Phyllis, Martin (2002). Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville. Cambridge University Press. pp. 114–116. ISBN 0521524466.