ASEC Mimosas

ASEC Mimosas was founded on 1 January 1948 by a group of businessmen from Western Africa, Lebanon and France. The club originates from a place called Sol-béni (French for Holy Ground) in Abidjan-M'pouto, which today is the name of their training complex.[1] In the following years, ASEC competed in the Championship of Abidjan together with their eternal rival Africa Sports, with their first professional coach being Frenchman Guy Fabre in 1954. Fabre also shaped the club's philosophy of que les enfants s'amusent... en jouant au football (may the children have fun... by playing football).[2]

After Independence in 1960, ASEC won its first title in the newly found Premier Division in 1963. In the early 1970s, ASEC rose to power by winning the league title 5 out of 6 possible times from 1970 to 1975. This was the era of players as Laurent Pokou and Eustache Manglé. In the next years, it was Africa Sports who dominated the league, with ASEC winning only once in 1980.

On 19 November 1989, advocate Roger Ouégnin was elected as club president. In his wish to professionalize the club, he introduced Philippe Troussier as coach from 1989 till 1992. This was the time for ASEC to return to old strength, winning the championship six consecutive times between 1990 and 1995. ASEC also provided the backbone of the national team that won the 1992 African Cup of Nations, including key members of the side such as Ben Badi, Donald-Olivier Sié and Basile Aka Kouamé. After having qualified for the semi-finals already five times before, ASEC finally won the CAF Champions League in 1998. For some players, this was the chance to sign for a European club, for example team captain Tchiressoua Guel, who joined Olympique de Marseille afterwards. A few years later, ASEC bet their own record by winning the league seven consecutive times between 2000 and 2006.

In 1993, former French national player Jean-Marc Guillou joined the club staff as director, manager and financier. Together with chairman Roger Ouégnin, he founded the Académie MimoSifcom at Sol Béni. In the following weeks, they started to scout amongst thousands of young kids to form the first promotions to receive coaching and education. In 1999, following ASECs success in the 1998 Champions League, ASEC faced Espérance Sportive de Tunis in the CAF Super Cup. But most of the old players were aged, had left the club or at least wanted to. So Guillou and Ouégnin decided to replace the old squad with the first products of the Academy, most of them only aged around 17/18 years. The own protested against this measure and Espérance's president Slim Chiboub called it a "scandal to be playing against children". However, the young ASEC squad surprisingly beat their opponents by 3 to 1 goals and brought in the second big international title for their club.[3] Amongst others, Boubacar 'Copa' Barry, Kolo Touré, Didier Zokora, Gilles Yapi Yapo, Siaka Tiéné, Abdoulaye Djire, Venance Zézé, and Aruna Dindane were part of that squad.

When Guillou became manager of Belgian side K.S.K. Beveren in 2001, many of the Academy's players joined him. As a result, the Belgian team consisted mainly out of Ivorian players for several years. These could use Beveren as a chance to show their talent to top European clubs. Players as Yaya Touré, Arthur Boka, Emmanuel Eboué, Gervinho, Romaric and Copa all had their time in Beveren. This lasted till 2006, when Guillou and Beveren broke up with ASEC Mimosas. ASEC then linked up with Charlton Athletic.[4]

The following clubs are affiliated with ASEC:

• Charlton[5]
• Feyenoord Fetteh[6]

ASECs youth academy has been described as the crown jewel of African football. The academy started by Roger Ouégnin and Jean-Marc Guillou in 1993 at ASEC's training complex has since produced many international stars. The student-athletes are given an education, for which they take classes in math, history, geography, physics, French, English, and Spanish. The students live in dorms during the week and have two training sessions a day. They play matches on Saturday and get health care and tutoring.

As of 06 February 2019[7]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Aboubakar Bamba 2 DF Kalpi Ouattara 3 DF Arnaud Akassou 5 MF Issa Sanogo 6 DF Oumar Sako 7 MF Ibrahim Bancé 8 MF Anicet Badié 9 FW Abdoul Tapsoba 10 MF Christian Nougbélé 11 MF Mohamed Medjo Koné 12 DF Christian Angbandji 13 FW Thomas Gonazo 14 MF Daouda Diarrassouba 15 MF Hamed Hervé Diomandé 16 GK Mamadou Sylla

No. Position Player 17 FW Fonsinho 18 DF Patrick Malo 19 MF Yaya Dosso 20 DF Gaoussou Samaké 21 GK Abdoul Karim Cissé 23 MF Brice N'Tamon 24 MF Mohamed Lamine N'Dao 25 DF Wonlo Coulibaly 27 DF Oumar Komara 28 FW Salif Bagaté 29 FW Ahmed Touré 30 DF Ousmane Méité 31 MF Junior Loué 32 FW Claude Agbo FW Guy-Vénance Keumian

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

No. Position Player 27 FW Adriel d'Avila Ba Loua (on loan to Lille OSC)

Technical staff

César Lambert Amani Yao	Manager
Siaka "Gigi" Traoré	Assistant Coach
Tivoli Bi N'Guessan	Goalkeeping Coach
Dr. Yves Kouamé	Doctor
Patrice Voli Bi	Masseur
Rémy Kouadio	Masseur
Dr. Zaka	Physiotherapist
Issouf Kanaté	Kit Manager
Moussa Traoré	Kit Manager
Hyacinthe Coulidjaty	Director of Sport
Siaka Samaké	Assistant Director
	Head Coach of the Academy
Steve Vilmiaire	Assistant Coach of the Academy

The club's colours are yellow and black; the badge displays a Mimosa. Together with their biggest rival Africa Sports National, they contest the most important ivorian football derby. These two are also the only clubs allowed to play their home games in Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

ASEC has, after own declarations,[8] more than 8,000,000 fans in Ivory Coast and 15,000,000 in the whole region. The fans are called the Actionnaires. They are organised in the CNACO (Comité National d`Action et de Coordination, = National Committee for Action and Coordination), which has 40,000 members and consists out of 350 commissions.

ASEC holds the world record for unbeaten league games, racking up 108 league and domestic cup games without loss between 1989 and 1994 before they were eventually beaten by SO Armee; four more than the unbeaten run of Steaua Bucureşti in the late 1980s.[9]

• CAF Champions League: 13 appearances

• African Cup of Champions Clubs: 12 appearances

• CAF Confederation Cup: 5 appearances

2009 – Second round of 16

2011 – quarter-finals

2012 – Second round of 16

2013 – Second round of 16

2014 –

• CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 4 appearances

1983 – semi-finals

1984 – quarter-finals

1987 – Second round

2000 – First round

• (in French) Official website
• The Mimosifcom academy way – These Football Times (2015)