August 4 – Lens have won their fight to gain promotion to the French fop flight that begins this week but will be playing home games elsewhere.
The club were initially barred for failing to produce the necessary financial guarantees but their appeal to the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), France’s highest sporting authority, was upheld.
Lens, champions in 1998, thus return to Ligue 1 after an absence of three seasons but their ownership situation will reportedly continue to be scrutinised by French football authorities. The club is run by Azerbaijani businessman Hafiz Mammadov, who also owns FC Baku and English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
Although they are back in the top division, Lens will have to play home games either at Amiens just over an hour’s drive away or, in a few cases, France’s Stade de France in Paris while their own ground is revamped in preparation for Euro 2016.
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