What Are the Biggest European Cities Without a Professional Football Team

What Are the Biggest European Cities Without a Professional Football Team

It feels like a quirk of geography and footballing fate that some of Europe’s largest cities lack a professional side.

Rich history, a large population, and in most cases, even a big stadium that gets filled regularly.

But no professional football side to call their own.

These cities are not remote towns; they are bustling trade centres with one city even being able to say it was a former capital.

Cities of this size tend to churn out clubs that at least threaten the heights of their domestic leagues.

Football Park looks through the five largest cities in Europe, by population, that lack a professional football team.

Bydgoszcz, Poland

-Population - 330,000_

Club in the highest division - Zawisza Bydgoszcz, 4th division

The eighth largest city in Poland, it was only nine years ago that Bydgoszcz had a club in the top division of Polish football.

But for Zawisza Bydgoszcz, the last ten years hold a painful memory.

12 years ago, in the 2013/14 season, Zawisza Bydgoszcz beat Zagłębie Lubin 6-5 on penalties in the Polish Cup. This qualified the club for the Europa League.

But behind the scenes, a crisis was unfolding.

Chairman Radoslaw Osuch was hated by fans. He had tried numerous times to relocate the club, and had even changed the logo. Fans started to protest, which led to low turnouts at matches, even at the historic Polish Cup final.

After five years as chairman, Osuch made the fatal decision to leave the club. This led to all the staff and players also resigning.

Without any other investment into the club, Osuch disbanded the club as his last act, stating that there is a “poor atmosphere surrounding Polish football.”

This left fans of the club to pick up the pieces in the Polish 8th tier, the lowest in the country.

Since then, the club has been on a historic rise back to the 4th division. They are only halfway back to the Ekstraklasa, but this time, fans will not be pushed to one side.

🔵⚫️I jak? Zadowoleni z losowania? 😎

Mecz zaplanowano między 3-5 marca 2026 roku.#DoBojuZawisza pic.twitter.com/uv4005qabq

— Zawisza Bydgoszcz (@SPZawisza1946) December 10, 2025

Bonn, Germany

-Population - 335,000_

Club in the highest division - Bonner SC, 4th division

The former capital of West Germany from 1949-1990, Bonn is another huge city that lacks a professional football side.

Their biggest club, Bonner Sc, has one of the strangest stories in footballing history.

They have not played professionally for over 30 years, and their greatest ever achievement was winning the 1962 West German amateur championship.

So what is the weird aspect, I hear you ask?

In 1999, the then-owner, Hans-Robert Viol, signed the entire Cuban national team with the approval of famous Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Castro ordered his players to remain amateurs, and they were only allowed to be paid in “pocket money.”

The 15 Cuban internationals were the first players to play abroad during the Castro era.

They currently sit 12th in the Regionalliga West, having been promoted last season.

Football fact Advent calendar 🎄⚽️

Day 2️⃣

Despite being the former capital of West Germany Bonn has never been represented in the Bundesliga

The closest a club from Bonn came to top flight football was Bonner SC who spent several seasons in the 2.Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/NuT8eqX0jb

— JackGillies1875🇩🇪💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@JackGillies6) December 2, 2025

Alicante, Spain

-Population - 358,000_

Club in the highest division - Hercules CF, 3rd division

Known better for its party life and proximity to Benidorm, England’s favourite party capital, Alicante is another city that lacks a professional football side.

Their biggest club, Hercules CF, have not played professional football since the 2013/14 season, but was playing in La Liga as recently as 2011 after their promotion a year prior.

Their one-season stint in La Liga ended with the club finishing 19th—nine points adrift of safety—but their fans definitely had something to cheer about.

In the second game of the season, Hercules faced Barcelona at the Nou Camp. At this time, Barcelona had not lost a home game in over a year.

Despite this, the tiny club of Hercules stunned Spanish football by defeating the superclub 2–0 at the Camp Nou, courtesy of a remarkable brace from Nelson Valdez.

Hercules now sit eighth in the Spanish third tier.

🏆 Equipo ganador.

💙 #MachoHércules 🤍 pic.twitter.com/W01HxSQo6G

— Hércules CF 💙🤍💯 (@cfhercules) December 10, 2025

Wuppertal, Germany

-Population - 360,000_

Club in the highest division - Wuppertaler SV, 4th division

Most people know Wuppertal for its suspended monorail and the infamous video of an elephant riding it in 1950.

But when it comes to football, Wuppertaler have less to shout about.

Their best team, Wuppertaler SV, have not played professional football since the 2009/10 season.

Their brightest era was between 1972-75 when the German team held their own against German giants in the Bundesliga.

But for Wuppertaler, all good things have to come to an end. By the end of the 1974/75 season, Wuppertaler were anchored to the foot of the table with just 12 points, the second-lowest points tally in the league's history.

Despite this, they still beat a Bayern Munich side, with the likes of Franz Beckenbauer in it, 3-1 during the season.

Wuppertaler SV (Regionalliga West🇩🇪)

2025-26 Home Kit by Macron pic.twitter.com/DOOm7Gt1xl

— Football Shirt News🌍 (@Footy_ShirtNews) July 2, 2025

Murcia, Spain

-Population - 470,000_

Club in the highest division - Real Murcia, 3rd division

And finally, we have the biggest city on the continent without a professional team.

For fans of Real Murcia, it feels weird to be playing amateur football. A mainstay in the second division, the club has played the most years in Spain’s Primera Federación, and has eight titles—another record.

The last time Real Murcia played professional football was in the 2013/14 season. They finished fourth that year and even qualified for the league playoffs, but were relegated weeks later due to non-compliance with Liga de Futbol Profesional regulations.

Since then, they have been stuck in the third division—albeit a year when they dropped to the fourth division of Spain—and have been unable to find their way back to the league they call their own.

👑 ❤️ SIMPLEMENTE 𝐋𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐓𝐎 pic.twitter.com/5DEkBbcPLM

— Real Murcia CF (@realmurciacfsad) December 8, 2025