# Genoa CFC
**Genoa CFC** (Genoa Cricket and Football Club S.p.A.) is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, founded on 7 September 1893 at the British Consulate in Via Palestro 10/4 as the Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. It is the oldest football club in Italy still in activity and the only surviving club among the seven that founded the [Italian Football Federation](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-football-federation) (F.I.F., today F.I.G.C.) in 1898.[1](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/node/228) • [2](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/history-genoa-cfc)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 7 September 1893, British Consulate, Via Palestro 10/4, Genoa, by about thirty members each paying ten lire[1](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/node/228) • [3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/) |
| Honors | 9 Scudetti (fourth in the all-time Italian ranking), 1 Coppa Italia (1937), 2 Coppa delle Alpi (1962, 1964), 1 Coppa dell'Amicizia Italo-Francese (1963), 1 Anglo-Italian Cup (1996)[2](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/history-genoa-cfc) • [3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/) |
| First championship | Won the first Campionato Italiano on 8 May 1898 at the Velodromo Umberto I in Turin[4](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/) • [5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) |
| Stadium | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, 33,205 seats, mostly covered[6](https://genoacfc.it/biglietteria/stadio/) |
| Ownership | Majority owner and president Dan Sucu (since January 2025); 777 Holdings holds a 23% minority stake, sequestered by the Court of Genoa in February 2026[7](https://genoacfc.it/2025/01/13/il-cda-del-genoa-nomina-dan-sucu-presidente/) • [8](https://www.ansa.it/liguria/notizie/2026/02/05/genoa-tribunale-sequestra-azioni-di-minoranza-di-777-holdings_00ee2c63-9139-400f-aacd-6d55ca25a059.html) |
| Recognition | Member since 2013 of the Club of Pioneers, an organization recognized by FIFA grouping the world's oldest clubs; CONI Collare d'Oro in 2002 for its role in spreading football in Italy[3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/) • [5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) |
## Foundation and early years
The club was created on 7 September 1893 by about thirty members, most of them British residents of Genoa connected to the city's industrial and commercial life, who each paid a ten-lire fee. The founding document, the "Book of the Birth Certificate", is the oldest such record in Italian football and is kept in the club's museum; it opens with the name "Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club" and the date "Formed 7th September 1893", and continues as a double-entry ledger of membership fees and match receipts.[1](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/node/228) • [3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/) The first Italian and Swiss members appear in the book in 1898, on the eve of the federation's foundation.[1](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/node/228)
**Spensley and the spread of football.** The arrival in 1896 of the English ship's doctor James Richardson Spensley opened the club to Italians and helped spread football across the country; the Fondazione Genoa credits him as a key figure in the birth of Italian football.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) The club's own history page records that the first documented Italian football friendly, covered by press reports and photographs, was played at Ponte Carrega against a Turin representative side.[3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/)
## The pioneer era, 1898 to 1904
The Italian Football Federation was constituted in March 1898, and Genoa is the only one of its seven founding clubs still active.[4](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/) • [2](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/history-genoa-cfc) The first championship was decided on 8 May 1898 at the Velodromo Umberto I in Turin, and Genoa won it, taking the [Challenge Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/challenge-cup), the first trophy of Italian football, now displayed in the club museum after being rediscovered more than a century later.[4](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/) • [5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) Under the "challenge" formula then in use, the reigning champion entered directly into the final.[4](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/)
Genoa won six titles in the first seven championships, interrupted only by Milan's 1901 victory.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) • [4](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/) In 1904 the club also won the Fawcus Cup, today known as the Coppa della Regina Elisabetta II, a symbol of the club's English roots; in 1980 it was symbolically offered to Queen Elizabeth II during an official visit but remained in Genoa.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/)
## Innovations and later titles
The Fondazione Genoa lists a series of firsts credited to the club: the first Italian youth sector, established in 1902 for players under 16; the first international club match between Italian teams, Genoa 6-0 Football Vélo Club Nice on 1 March 1903, and the first away match abroad the following April; the first professional manager in Italy, William Thomas Garbutt, hired in 1912, who led the club to its seventh title in 1915, awarded only after the end of World War I; the first team to wear the tricolor scudetto badge, in 1924-25; the first Italian team to travel by plane, on 5 March 1927 for a match in Rome; and, together with Juventus, the first Italian side in a European competition, the 1929 Coppa Europa Centrale.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) • [9](https://footballhistory.org/club/genoa.html)
A second championship cycle came in the 1920s, with players such as Giovanni De Prà, Renzo De Vecchi, and Ettore Levratto winning the 1923 and 1924 titles; the 1923-24 championship lasted eleven months, from 7 October 1923 to 7 September 1924, the longest on record for the club.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) In 1923 the team toured Argentina and Uruguay, and in 2024 the club dedicated its fourth kit to [Boca Juniors](https://www.edgepedia.org/boca-juniors) in recognition of that historic link.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) The Stadio Luigi Ferraris opened in 1933, and the club won its only [Coppa Italia](https://www.edgepedia.org/coppa-italia) in 1937.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) • [3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/)
## European campaigns and modern history
The club's international honors include the Coppa delle Alpi in 1962 and 1964, the Coppa dell'Amicizia Italo-Francese in 1963, and the Anglo-Italian Cup, won at Wembley in 1996 with a 5-2 defeat of Port Vale in the trophy's final edition.[3](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/) • [5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) In 1992 a fourth-place [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) finish brought UEFA Cup qualification, and Genoa beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield, the first Italian side to defeat Liverpool there in an official European competition.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/) In 2009 the club returned to European competition after 18 years, and Alberto Zapater scored the first goal in the newly created Europa League, in a 2-0 win over Slavia Praha on 17 September 2009.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/)
The Fondazione Genoa 1893 ETS was created in 2006 to preserve the club's historical heritage, and the club celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2023.[5](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/)
## Ownership and finances
The American investment firm 777 Partners acquired the club, and in December 2024 a capital increase of over €45 million brought Romanian entrepreneur Dan Sucu to majority ownership; the board named him president on 13 January 2025.[10](https://genoacfc.it/2025/04/07/il-tribunale-accoglie-le-tesi-dei-legali-del-genoa/) • [7](https://genoacfc.it/2025/01/13/il-cda-del-genoa-nomina-dan-sucu-presidente/) Litigation followed: the Court of Genoa rejected as inadmissible the precautionary requests of ACM Delegate LLC against the December 2024 capital increase, finding that ACM was not a Genoa shareholder.[10](https://genoacfc.it/2025/04/07/il-tribunale-accoglie-le-tesi-dei-legali-del-genoa/) In February 2026 the same court ordered the sequestration of the 23% minority stake still held by 777 Holdings, at the club's own request, to secure a credit Genoa claims against 777 Holdings; a judicial custodian now exercises the voting rights attached to those shares.[8](https://www.ansa.it/liguria/notizie/2026/02/05/genoa-tribunale-sequestra-azioni-di-minoranza-di-777-holdings_00ee2c63-9139-400f-aacd-6d55ca25a059.html)
The shareholders' meeting approved the financial statement for the year to 30 June 2025 with a loss of €33.3 million, while the club's equity rose from about €1 million to almost €18 million thanks to the capital increase.[11](https://genoacfc.it/2025/10/27/genoa-cfc-lassemblea-degli-azionisti-approva-il-bilancio/)
## Stadium and support
Genoa plays at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, which has 33,205 seats, most of them covered; since 2010 the club has regularly ranked among the top eight in Italy for stadium occupancy, and the ground is shared with city rivals [Sampdoria](https://www.edgepedia.org/sampdoria).[6](https://genoacfc.it/biglietteria/stadio/) The club's English origin survives in its name, which uses the English spelling "Genoa" rather than the Italian "Genova".[9](https://footballhistory.org/club/genoa.html)
## References
1. [Constitutive act, Museums of Genoa](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/node/228)
2. [History of the Genoa CFC, Museums of Genoa](https://www.museidigenova.it/en/history-genoa-cfc)
3. [Storia, Genoa Cricket and Football Club official website](https://genoacfc.it/storia-e-museo/)
4. [Il primo campionato italiano di calcio, FIGC](https://figc.it/it/federazione/la-federazione/la-storia-della-federazione-approfondimenti/il-primo-campionato-italiano-di-calcio-il-genoa-campione-d-italia-1908/)
5. [Storia del Genoa CFC, Fondazione Genoa](https://www.fondazionegenoa.com/genoa-cfc/)
6. [Stadio, Genoa CFC official website](https://genoacfc.it/biglietteria/stadio/)
7. [Il CdA nomina Dan Sucu Presidente, Genoa CFC official website](https://genoacfc.it/2025/01/13/il-cda-del-genoa-nomina-dan-sucu-presidente/)
8. [Genoa: tribunale sequestra azioni di minoranza di 777 Holdings, ANSA](https://www.ansa.it/liguria/notizie/2026/02/05/genoa-tribunale-sequestra-azioni-di-minoranza-di-777-holdings_00ee2c63-9139-400f-aacd-6d55ca25a059.html)
9. [Genoa CFC - football club history, footballhistory.org](https://footballhistory.org/club/genoa.html)
10. [Il Tribunale accoglie le tesi dei legali del Genoa, Genoa CFC official website](https://genoacfc.it/2025/04/07/il-tribunale-accoglie-le-tesi-dei-legali-del-genoa/)
11. [L'Assemblea degli Azionisti approva il bilancio, Genoa CFC official website](https://genoacfc.it/2025/10/27/genoa-cfc-lassemblea-degli-azionisti-approva-il-bilancio/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › Teams and sporting organizations › Football clubs of continental Europe and Israel › Italian football clubs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license