The last two months have seen FC Lugano go through a historic period, marked by sporting achievements, farewells, events and new prospects. On the pitch, the men’s first team concluded the 2025/26 Brack Super League with a convincing victory over FC Basel, a 4-0 win that secured third place and qualification for the UEFA Conference League Q2. During the same period, the women’s first team and the U21s also concluded their respective leagues, both achieving their goal of avoiding relegation and confirming the value of two key pillars in the Club’s sporting development.
The end of the season was, however, also a time for farewells and celebrations. On 3 May, Cornaredo celebrated Vincenzo Brenna, officially recognised as the all-time record holder for appearances in the black-and-white shirt, with 441 matches. A celebration which, in one of the historic stadium’s final matches, brought together past and present around a figure who has spanned generations. A few weeks later, the men’s first team’s final match at Cornaredo brought with it another emotional moment: a farewell to Mattia Bottani, a symbol of both Lugano and the bianconeri, accompanied by a warm reception from the crowd both before and after the victory against Basel. The following week, on Saturday 23 May, it was the Women’s First Team’s turn to write the final chapter in the relationship between the Club and Cornaredo, playing the bianconeri’s last official match at the historic ground.
Speaking of the women’s team, the story of the squad continued through the ‘Una Bella Storia’ series, presented by UBS. Following the first three episodes released in previous months, two further instalments of the series were released: first the one dedicated to Luisa Nascimento Sa and then the one featuring Aline Oliva, continuing to recount the experiences, personal journeys and motivations of the bianconeri players.
LOCAL EVENTS Off the pitch, May demonstrated the Club’s ability to create opportunities for people to come together even outside of matchdays. On 8 May, the FC Lugano Golf Trophy took place for the third time at the Lugano Golf Club, bringing together 80 participants, including partners, sponsors, guests and people closely associated with the Club. The day retained its charitable purpose, with a donation of CHF 11,000 going to the Golf dei Castelli association, an organisation promoting inclusion through golf.
Staying on the subject of golf, the tour continued with the second edition of the FC Lugano Golf Tour driven by Lugano Region, created to take Lugano and the bianconeri colours beyond the Gotthard Pass. Following the positive response to the first edition, the circuit returns with three stages in German-speaking Switzerland: Holzhäusern, Oberkirch and Otelfingen. The first day, held on Saturday 6 June at the Migros Golfpark Holzhäusern, attracted 108 participants, exceeding last year’s figures and awarding the first places for the final in Ticino.
Also in German-speaking Switzerland, the Club has strengthened its presence in terms of relations and networking. The Handelszeitung Business & Football Summit presented by Lugano Region brought together partners, sponsors, entrepreneurs, executives and figures from Swiss football in Zurich to discuss mental strength and resilience in business and sport. With 275 attendees, an appearance on stage by Oliver Kahn and a significant increase on the first edition, the evening confirmed the event’s role as a meeting point between the Club, the business world and German-speaking Switzerland.
THE NEW ERA
As part of the journey towards the new AIL Arena, on 27 May the Club unveiled the new home kit for the 2026/27 season. The kit, designed to mark the Club’s entry into the new era of the AIL Arena, features the historic white V on a black background at its centre: a direct nod to the black-and-white tradition, reinterpreted in a contemporary style to accompany the Club into its new chapter.
A few days later, the new era became a reality. Following an initial preview reserved for the 1908 Lifetime Members, on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May, the AIL Arena opened its doors to the public with an Inauguration Weekend destined to remain etched in the memory of the Club and the city. The public response was extraordinary: over 10,000 people visited the new stadium, with 10,205 signing up for the AIL Arena Self Tour alone. Fans, families, local residents and curious onlookers were able to explore the new bianconeri home for the first time, from the changing rooms to the stands, from the dugouts to the pitch, experiencing their first real encounter with a venue destined to shape the Club’s future.
The Fan Village, the official events, the partners’ activities and the tremendous organisational effort turned the two days into a collective celebration. It was the moment that brought to fruition a long-awaited transition: Cornaredo has been consigned to memory, whilst the AIL Arena has begun to take shape as a vibrant, open space shared with the community.
The first sporting event took place a few days later, on Friday 5 June, with the match between Switzerland and Malta, a qualifier for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. In front of 7,526 spectators, the Swiss women’s national team officially inaugurated the new stadium with a 6-1 victory. Beyond the result, the evening held strong symbolic significance: the women’s national team returned to Ticino twenty years after their last visit, and the AIL Arena celebrated its footballing debut in a festive atmosphere.
NEXT STEPS
With the 2025/26 season now behind us, our attention turns to the summer and the start of the new sporting campaign. Pre-season will kick off on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 June with medical and fitness tests, whilst the first training session is scheduled for Thursday 18 June in Caslano. As part of the partnership with FC Malcantone, the team will train at the “Roque Maspoli” Sports Centre until Friday 3 July.
The schedule then includes three friendly matches in Ticino, designed to bring the team closer to the fans in different parts of the canton:
- Saturday 27 June, 3.00 pm, in Giubiasco against Neuchâtel Xamax FC;
- Saturday 4 July, 11:00, in Losone against FC Rapperswil-Jona;
- Friday 17 July, 8.15 pm, in Balerna against FC Vaduz.
In between, after two summers without a training camp, the bianconeri will return to a summer training camp: from 5 to 11 July, the team will train in Weiler-Simmerberg, Germany, with two friendly matches yet to be confirmed.
The official season will kick off on Thursday 23 July with the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, ahead of the start of the Brack Super League on the weekend of 25/26 July.
Meanwhile, work has also begun on building the squad for the 2026/27 season. The transfer market has already brought four new players to the bianconeri: Dereck Moncada, a Honduran attacking winger born in 2007; Beckham David Castro Espinosa, a Colombian winger born in 2003; Joel Bichsel, a Swiss defender born in 2002; and Felix Gebhardt, a German goalkeeper born in 2002. Four signings with different characteristics, backgrounds and experience, brought into a sporting project that looks ahead to the new season with ambition and continuity.
At the same time, the Club bid farewell to Mohamed Belhadj, Hicham Mahou, Zachary Brault-Guillard and Serif Berbic, whose contracts expire on 30 June, thanking them for their contributions to the club.
Events linked to the Club and the local area will also continue throughout the summer. On Saturday 20 June, the AIL Arena will host the finals of the Swiss Senior Cup for the 30+, 40+ and 50+ age groups. Following the first FC Lugano Kids Camp of the year, which took place from 6 to 10 April with around fifty participants, the programme will continue between June and July with further weeks in Lugano and Vallemaggia.
It is another building block in the relationship between the Club, families and the local community, built through play, training and the sharing of sporting values.
Finally, the summer will also bring the eagerly awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup, kicking off on Thursday 11 June. Lugano will be represented by Hannes Delcroix, who has been called up by Haiti, which will face Scotland, Brazil and Morocco in its group. A special occasion for the bianconeri defender and a source of pride for the whole Club, in a summer that will mark the definitive transition to a new season and a new home. After months marked by farewells, celebrations and, above all, the opening of the AIL Arena, FC Lugano is now preparing to embark on a new sporting season and, with it, the dawn of a new era.
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