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RC Lens Quiz Questions and Answers

RC Lens questions in rounds of ten, with the answers kept separate so you can read them out. Free to use for a pub quiz, a matchday WhatsApp group or your own revision — no sign-up, and the page prints cleanly.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3

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Round 1

  1. In which year is RC Lens traditionally recorded as having been founded?
  2. Lens' Stade Bollaert is named after Félix Bollaert. What kind of company did he head?
  3. In 2012 a second name was added to Stade Bollaert to honour a man who had been mayor of Lens for more than 30 years. What was his surname?
  4. Who managed Lens to their first French league title in 1997-98?
  5. Lens won the 1997-98 French title on goal difference after finishing level on 68 points with which club?
  6. Lens sealed the 1997-98 title on the final day of the season with a Yohan Lachor goal away at which club?
  7. In 1998 Lens missed out on a league and cup double when they lost the Coupe de France final 2-1 to which club?
  8. Daniel Moreira scored the only goal as Lens won the 1999 Coupe de la Ligue final against which club?
  9. In the 1998-99 Champions League, Mickaël Debève scored as Lens won 1-0 at Wembley against which club?
  10. Czech midfielder Vladimir Šmicer left Lens in 1999 to join which club?
Answers — round 1
  1. 1906 — The club dates its foundation to 1906, when it began as Racing Club lensois. The name Racing Club de Lens dates from 1969.
  2. A coal mining company — Félix Bollaert ran the Compagnie des mines de Lens, the coal company behind the ground that opened in 1933.
  3. Delelis — André Delelis was mayor of Lens from 1966 to 1998. After his death in 2012 the ground became Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
  4. Daniel Leclercq — Daniel Leclercq, nicknamed 'Le Druide', won the 1998 title and then the 1999 Coupe de la Ligue.
  5. Metz — Both clubs finished on 68 points. Lens' goal difference of +25 beat their rivals' +20, and Monaco were third.
  6. Auxerre — Lachor's goal at Auxerre on 9 May 1998 was enough to keep Lens ahead of Metz.
  7. Paris Saint-Germain — Lens lost 2-1 at the Stade de France in the 1998 final.
  8. Metz — Lens won 1-0 at the Stade de France on 8 May 1999.
  9. Arsenal — The hosts played their 1998-99 Champions League home games at Wembley, and Debève's goal won it for Lens.
  10. Liverpool — Šmicer moved to England in 1999 after three seasons at Lens, where he won the 1998 title.

Round 2

  1. On the final day of 2001-02, second-placed Lens lost a title decider 3-1 away to which club, who won their first French league title?
  2. Lens finished third in their 2002-03 Champions League first-stage group, ahead of which German club, who finished bottom?
  3. Lens were one of the three winners of the 2005 Intertoto Cup. Which Romanian club did they beat in the final?
  4. Which Malian midfielder left Lens in 2007 and joined Barcelona a year later?
  5. Who managed Lens to the 2008-09 Ligue 2 title and promotion straight back to the top flight?
  6. Which defender came through the Lens academy and joined Real Madrid in 2011?
  7. While Stade Bollaert was being rebuilt for Euro 2016, Lens played home games in 2014-15 at the Stade de la Licorne. Which city is it in?
  8. Lens finished second in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, one point behind which champion?
  9. Lens reached the semi-finals of the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup. Which club knocked them out?
  10. Lens sold El-Hadji Diouf in summer 2002, after his World Cup with Senegal. Which club bought him?
Answers — round 2
  1. Lyon — Lyon beat Lens 3-1 at Gerland and finished on 66 points to Lens' 64. It was Lyon's first league title.
  2. Bayern Munich — In Group G, Milan and Deportivo had 12 points each, Lens 8 and Bayern Munich just 2.
  3. CFR Cluj — Lens drew 1-1 in Cluj and won 3-1 at home, 4-2 on aggregate. Marseille and Hamburg were the other 2005 winners.
  4. Seydou Keita — Seydou Keita played for Lens from 2002 to 2007, spent one season elsewhere in Spain, then joined Barcelona in 2008.
  5. Jean-Guy Wallemme — Jean-Guy Wallemme, a former Lens defender, was in charge from 2008 and won Ligue 2 in his first season.
  6. Raphaël Varane — Raphaël Varane made his Lens debut in 2010 and moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2011.
  7. Amiens — Lens used Amiens' Stade de la Licorne, and also the Stade de France for some games, while Bollaert was renovated.
  8. Paris Saint-Germain — The champions had 85 points to Lens's 84. That finish put Franck Haise's side back in the Champions League.
  9. Arsenal — The winners took both legs, 1-0 at home and 2-1 in Lens. Lens had beaten Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo on the way.
  10. Liverpool — Gérard Houllier signed Diouf. He joined Bolton later.

Round 3

  1. In 2009 FIFA gave which club a transfer ban, later overturned on appeal, over its 2007 signing of Lens youngster Gael Kakuta?
  2. Lens academy product Geoffrey Kondogbia left the club in 2012. Which club did he join?
  3. Which veteran coach came out of retirement to take the Lens job in summer 2007, then quit after only a few matches?
  4. Who was Lens head coach for most of the 2007-08 season, which ended in relegation to Ligue 2?
  5. Franck Haise left Lens for Nice in 2024. Which coach, previously in charge of Reims, replaced him?
  6. Lens bought striker Lois Openda from Club Brugge in 2022. Which club did they sell him to a year later?
  7. Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov left Lens in January 2025. Which club signed him?
  8. Lens captain Seko Fofana was sold in summer 2023 to which Saudi club?
  9. Lens signed right-back Jonathan Clauss in 2020 from which German club?
  10. Lens signed striker Elye Wahi in summer 2023 from which club?
Answers — round 3
  1. Chelsea — FIFA banned Chelsea for inducing Kakuta to break his Lens contract. The Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted the ban in 2010.
  2. Sevilla — Kondogbia moved to Sevilla in 2012. He played for Monaco, Inter and Valencia later.
  3. Guy Roux — The long-serving coach resigned from Lens in August 2007, only weeks into the season.
  4. Jean-Pierre Papin — Jean-Pierre Papin took over early in the season. Lens were relegated in May 2008.
  5. Will Still — Will Still took over at Lens in summer 2024. Pierre Sage succeeded him in 2025.
  6. RB Leipzig — Openda joined RB Leipzig in summer 2023, after scoring 21 Ligue 1 goals in his only season at Lens.
  7. Manchester City — Manchester City signed Khusanov in January 2025.
  8. Al-Nassr — Fofana joined Al-Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo was playing, just after Lens's second-place finish.
  9. Arminia Bielefeld — Clauss arrived from Arminia Bielefeld. Two years later Lens sold him to Marseille.
  10. Montpellier — Wahi joined Lens from Montpellier before their 2023-24 Champions League campaign. He moved to Marseille a year later.

About these questions

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