Monaco Football: AS Monaco Squad, Predictions, History and the African Connection

AS Monaco, also called Monaco FC, are a football club from the Principality of Monaco who play in France's Ligue 1, and they won eight French league titles between 1960 and 2017. They play at the Stade Louis II, reached the Champions League final in 2004 and counted George Weah, Africa's first Ballon d'Or winner in 1995, among their players from 1988. For readers following French soccer from Johannesburg or Durban, or French football from Lagos, Nairobi, Accra or Kampala, his Monaco years provide a connection to Liberian football history.

Monaco's squad listings, fixture schedule, completed results and match calls appear in live modules that refresh after each game. The guide connects those entries with the club's African players and dated honours, explains viewing options across the five countries, and translates Monaco starts into WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT.

Who Are AS Monaco, and Why Does a Club From a Principality Play in Ligue 1?

AS Monaco represent a principality on the Mediterranean coast but compete within the French football system. Their participation has a long competitive history: Monaco entered France's professional second division in 1948 and earned promotion to the first division in 1953. Les Monégasques, the Red and Whites, chase the French title and enter the Coupe de France, which they won in 1960, 1963, 1980, 1985 and 1991. The competition shown beside each fixture identifies whether it belongs to domestic or European football.

How Is the Monaco Squad Set Out?

Monaco's squad module groups the names into goalkeeping, defence, midfield and attack, alongside nationalities and shirt numbers. Transfer activity can alter those entries, and confirmed arrivals or departures feed into the module. Mbappé provides a dated example of a young player earning opportunities at Monaco: aged 18, he scored 26 goals in all competitions in 2016-17, including 15 in Ligue 1.

How Do You Read Monaco Fixtures, Results and Predictions From Africa?

Read the competition, the venue and your own time zone together, because Monaco play in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and Europe, and the kick off times move with the European clocks. The full list sits on the Monaco fixtures page, while the results module above shows completed scores and the scorers. The Monaco predictions module gives a call for each upcoming match as a probability, built from recent form and the head to head record, and it is labelled as opinion because no football match is ever certain. So, if a call reads as a 55% chance of a Monaco win, with a reference decimal price of 1.82, read that as a lean, never a promise.

Who Coaches Monaco, and How Do They Play?

Monaco's head coach appears in the squad module, with changes reflected when appointments are confirmed. For a dated tactical example, Leonardo Jardim's 2016-17 title winners used a 4-4-2 formation, pairing Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé in attack with width supplied by the wide midfielders and advancing full backs. Arsène Wenger's Monaco won the league in 1987-88 and the Coupe de France in 1991, while Thierry Henry took charge in October 2018 and departed in January 2019.

Which African Players Matter at Monaco?

The squad module marks every player's nation, so you can see at a glance whether Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa or Uganda has a man in the red and white this season. Liberia's George Weah played for Monaco from 1988 to 1992, before winning the Ballon d'Or in 1995. Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor represented Monaco from 2003 to 2006 and was part of their squad during the 2004 Champions League final campaign.

Côte d'Ivoire midfielder Yaya Touré played for Monaco in 2006-07 before joining Barcelona in 2007. Democratic Republic of the Congo striker Shabani Nonda represented the club from 2000 to 2005 and finished as Ligue 1's leading scorer in 2002-03. These dated connections give readers in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda specific African careers to explore alongside the squad information.

What Have Monaco Won?

By the end of the 2016-17 season, Monaco had won eight French league titles: 1960-61, 1962-63, 1977-78, 1981-82, 1987-88, 1996-97, 1999-2000 and 2016-17. Their Coupe de France victory in 1991 brought their total to five, following wins in 1960, 1963, 1980 and 1985. In Europe they were runners up in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup. The greatest run came in 2004, when Monaco beat Real Madrid and Chelsea on the way to the Champions League final before losing to Porto. For a club from a principality, reaching that final put Monaco level, for one season, with the biggest names in European football.

In the 2016-17 Champions League, Monaco faced Manchester City in the last 16. Monaco lost the first leg 5-3 in England, then went through on away goals, the kind of tie that keeps a Lagos viewing centre arguing long after the final whistle. They beat Borussia Dortmund 6-3 on aggregate before losing to Juventus in the semi final. Radamel Falcao scored 30 goals in all competitions and Kylian Mbappé 26 in 2016-17. Their Ligue 1 contributions were 21 and 15 goals respectively, and the title was sealed on 17 May 2017 with a 2-0 win over Saint-Étienne.

Who Are Monaco's Famous Former Players?

George Weah played for Monaco from 1988 to 1992, giving the club a direct connection to Liberian football history. He moved on to Paris Saint-Germain in 1992 and became Africa's first Ballon d'Or winner in 1995. In my opinion, every African striker who has since made his name in France walks a little in that path, and it began in the principality.

Emmanuel Adebayor's Monaco years, from 2003 to 2006, included the club's run to the 2004 Champions League final. Yaya Touré's spell in 2006-07 adds another African international to the club's history.

Kylian Mbappé's development offers another dated example of Monaco giving a young player opportunities. After scoring 26 goals in all competitions in 2016-17, including 15 league goals, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in summer 2017 on loan with an obligation to buy for a reported €180m.

Where Do Monaco Play, and Who Owns the Club?

Monaco play their home games at the Stade Louis II in the principality, a compact ground holding somewhere between about 16,000 and 18,500 depending on how the sections are counted. That is small next to the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos or the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, which helps explain the close, almost private feel on television. Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev has controlled the club since December 2011 through Monaco Sport Investment Ltd, while the House of Grimaldi, Monaco's ruling family, holds the remaining third. As such, the club carries both private investment and a direct link to the principality itself.

Where Can You Watch Monaco in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda?

The broadcaster for each country is listed in the where to watch module, which is checked and updated as rights change, so use it rather than relying on last season's channel. Most fans across the five countries follow Monaco on pay TV or a streaming service, and many catch the club through Champions League nights or Ligue 1 round ups and highlights on their phones. If you are new to French football, the European nights are the easiest way in, because the opponents are clubs you already know.

Kick off times move with the European clocks, so convert from Monaco time before you plan your evening. During the European winter, a 21:00 kick off in Monaco means viewers in Kenya and Uganda start at 23:00 EAT, those in South Africa at 22:00 SAST, those in Nigeria at 21:00 WAT and those in Ghana at 20:00 GMT. During the European summer, each of those comes one hour earlier. So, a late European game is a comfortable evening watch in Lagos and Accra, and a late one in Nairobi and Kampala, which is worth knowing before a working day.