Chamois Niortais Football Club (often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) is a
French association football club based in the commune of
Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the ...
, in the
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019. department of western France. It was founded in 1925 by Charles Boinot, the son of the owner of a local
chamois leather
Chamois leather () is a type of porous leather, traditionally the skin of the chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra''), a type of European mountain goat, but today made almost exclusively from the flesh split of a sheepskin.
United Kingdom
The Brit ...
factory. The club's home stadium is the
Stade René Gaillard in Niort, which has a capacity of 10,898 although in the last 20 years attendances have generally averaged below 5,000 per match due to the club's relatively small fan base. Chamois Niortais has traditionally played in an entirely blue
home strip, although away strips regularly differ.
For the first 20 years of the club's existence they played in local leagues around the Centre-Ouest region. In 1945, after the Second World War, the side joined the
Championnat de France amateur. They achieved promotion to Division 3 in 1970 and stayed in the division for the following eight seasons. From 1980 to 1984, the team played in Division 4 before promotion return to Division 3. The club gained professional status for the first time the following year when they were promoted to
Division 2. After another promotion in 1987, they played in
Division 1 for the 1987–88 season, only, then were relegated next season.
Chamois Niortais were relegated to the
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...
in 2008, and relegated again the next season, losing their professional status. After finishing as runners-up in the Championnat National, the team were promoted to Ligue 2 for the
2012–13 season.
History
Early years
After the First World War, local chamois leather factory owner, Theophile Boinot, established the first sports club in Niort, ''Amicale Club Niortais''. Soon after, the football section of the club was founded and named ''Étoile Sportive Niortaise''. In 1923, many players were conscripted into the French army. In 1925, a number of the players returned to the town and Boinot's son, Charles, set up the first proper association football team in the town, which he named ''Chamois Niortais Football Club''.
For the first season, the presidency of the club was entrusted to Jean Gavaggio, a chemical engineer at the Boinot factory. Georges Poussard, also a worker in the factory, was appointed as the club's first secretary. The original team played in a fully white strip, and competed in the regional championship of the Ligue de Charentes.
In 1929, the Swiss footballer Franchina was named as the club's first manager and the first committee was elected. Throughout the 1930s the club continued to grow in size, enlisting more players and members, despite the team performing relatively poorly in the league.
For the 1932–33 season, Chamois Niortais joined the
DH Centre-Ouest, the highest level of
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
football in France, and finished eighth in their first season. The side achieved consecutive sixth- and seventh-place finishes in the next two seasons, before being relegated to the Promotion d'Honneur in 1936. The team played in the division for three seasons, until they gained promotion back to the DH Centre-Ouest at the end of the 1938–39 campaign.
In 1939, Joseph Boinot was appointed president of the club. The following year the club pulled off a major coup with the signing of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
international
Ferdinand Faczinek, who played for the club for one season before transferring to
FC Sète
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
at the end of the 1940–41 campaign, after which the Second World War halted competitive football for two years in France. In 1943, the club were one of the founder members of the
Championnat de France amateur (CFA), the highest level of amateur football in France.
After the Second World War
Chamois Niortais were relegated from the CFA to the DH Centre-Ouest in 1945. Led by Faczinek, who had returned to the club as
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
in 1943, the side won the DH Centre-Ouest for three consecutive seasons.
Faczinek left the club in 1948 and was replaced by former
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
international
Maurice Banide. The team re-joined the CFA for the 1948–49 season and played in the division for the following five campaigns, achieving a second-place finish in 1951, when they finished behind
Stade Quimpérois by five points. In 1953, the side finished bottom of the division and were relegated to the DH Centre-Ouest. Manager
Nicolas Hibst
Nicolas Hibst (12 October 1915 – 21 January 1959) was a French association football player and coach (sport), manager. During his career, he played in Ligue 1, Division 1 and Ligue 2, Division 2 with FC Metz and AS Saint-Étienne and was part o ...
was sacked and replaced by
Georges Hatz,
who had previously coached
AJ Auxerre
Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...
. The side remained in the DH Centre-Ouest until 1960 when, under the guidance of
Nordine Ben Ali
Nordine Ben Ali (July 19, 1919 – May 15, 1996) was an Algerian-French association football player and manager.
He played as a midfielder and was part of the Girondins ASP side that won the Coupe de France in 1941, as well as reaching the final ...
,
they won the league title by a point ahead of
Poitiers FC to return to the CFA.
The side struggled in their first season back in the third tier, achieving a tenth-placed finish.
After being runners-up in the division for two consecutive seasons in 1961–62 and 1962–63, the team secured a number of mid-table league finishes under
Kazimir Hnatow. After Hnatow left Chamois Niortais in 1966,
the club's fortunes on the pitch began to diminish and they were eventually relegated at the end of the 1968–69 campaign after ending the season with just 12 points from 26 matches. Upon the restructuring of the league system, the team joined the newly formed
Division 3 in 1970. They played there for the following eight years, but never finished higher than fourth in the division.
In 1978, the club finished last and were again relegated to the fourth level, but were immediately promoted back to Division 3 after finishing as runners-up in 1979. However, they again finished bottom of the division and in 1980 returned to Division 4, where they played for the next four seasons.
In April 1984,
Patrick Parizon
Patrick Parizon (born 3 June 1950, in Le Creusot, France) is a football manager. He was fired from coaching SM Caen
Stade Malherbe Caen (; commonly known as SM Caen, SMC, or simply Caen) is a French professional football team, based in the c ...
was appointed as manager and the following month, the side secured a third-placed finish to gain promotion back to Division 3.
In 1984–85, the team lost only three matches in the entire campaign as they finished comfortably top of the division. A 2–1 victory over Montauban on 18 May 1985 confirmed their promotion to
Division 2 for the first time in the history of Chamois Niortais.
Professional status
Thanks to the promotion, Chamois Niortais became a professional club for the 1985–86 season.
The season began well for the side, as they achieved a 1–0 win against
USL Dunkerque
Union Sportive du Littoral de Dunkerque is a French football club based in the commune of Dunkirk. It will compete in the Championnat National in the 2022–23 season. Their kit colours are white and blue, and they play their home matches at th ...
on 16 July 1985.
They went on to accomplish a respectable fifth-placed finish in their first season with a total of 37 points. The next campaign saw unprecedented success for the team, as they racked up a 17-match unbeaten run on the way to the league championship. Their title triumph was confirmed with a 2–0 victory over
US Orléans
Union Sportive Orléans Loiret Football (; commonly referred to as US Orléans or simply Orléans) is a French association football club based in Orléans. The club was founded in 1976 and currently play in Championnat National after being relega ...
at the
Stade René Gaillard on 23 May 1987.
The following season turned out to be the club's only season to date in the top tier of French football. The season began with a 1–1 draw with
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...
and the side's first victory came against
Montpellier on 1 August 1987.
The team also managed a win in their first ever televised match, defeating
Saint-Étienne 2–1 on 18 August 1987.
After a promising start, the team languished around the bottom of the division for the majority of the campaign, and were eventually relegated back to Division 2 on 10 June 1988, after being beaten 3–0 by
Caen, finishing just one point behind
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...
.
The relegation saw the end of Patrick Parizon's reign as head coach as he was replaced by
Victor Zvunka
Victor Zvunka ( ro, Victor Zvuncă; born 15 November 1951 in Le Ban-Saint-Martin) is a French former association football, football Defender (association football), defender and football manager most recently in charge of Sporting Club Toulon.
...
.
Zvunka remained manager for the following three seasons, until the side were relegated to Division 3 at the end of the 1990–91 campaign. The team returned to the second tier after just one season as they comfortably won Division 3. The next 13 consecutive seasons saw a number of mid-table finishes in
Ligue 2, until a poor 2004–05 campaign, in which the team lost 21 of their 38 league matches.
Philippe Hinschberger
Philippe Hinschberger (born 19 November 1959) is a French football manager and former player who is manager of Ligue 2 side Amiens.
Playing career
Hinschberger was a one-club man, having spent his entire career with Metz.
Managerial career
Af ...
was appointed as the new manager in 2005,
and he successfully escaped from the
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...
at the first attempt, securing the title with a 2–0 victory over
Sporting Toulon Var
Sporting Club Toulon is a football club from Toulon, France, that plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system. The club was founded in 1944 and played under that name until the 1999–2000 season w ...
on 13 May 2006.
Niort found the following two seasons difficult in Ligue 2, finishing 16th in the 2006–07 season and then suffering relegation in 2007–08 after conceding an injury time goal to
Boulogne.
To regional football and back again
Denis Troch
Denis Troch (born 24 October 1959, in Le Blanc-Mesnil) is a French former professional association football, football player and now manager.
Troch's last job in management was with Chamois Niortais F.C., Chamois Niortais, but he left in June 20 ...
was hired as the club's new manager in August 2008,
and despite hopes of a swift return to Ligue 2, the team performed poorly throughout the 2008–09 campaign. The side failed to win a league match during the first three months of the season, and that form continued into 2009. They went into their final match of the season, away at
Pacy Vallée-d'Eure, requiring three points to avoid successive relegations. However, the side could only procure a 0–0 draw and were relegated to the
Championnat de France amateur for the first time since 1970. The relegation saw the end of Chamois Niortais's era as a professional club, as they were forced to become a semi-professional outfit due to the DNCG rules. In June 2009,
Pascal Gastien was appointed as manager for his third spell in charge of the club, handed the task of achieving promotion back to the Championnat National at the first attempt. The club won the CFA Group C that season, and was subsequently promoted back to the National division for the following campaign. Niort secured their third-tier status with an 11th-place finish in the 2010–11 season. The following season, the team finished as runners-up in the Championnat National behind
Nîmes to return to Ligue 2 for the 2012–13 campaign and regain their professional status.
Colours and badge
The badge of Chamois Niortais features a chamois goat standing on a
football, and the background of the crest is royal blue, which has featured in the club's home colours since its founding. When the club was founded in 1925, Chamois Niortais adopted a white strip.
Since then, however, the club has usually played in a home strip of royal blue jersey, shorts and socks. In the 2007–08 season the team played in a gold and black kit for the first time, to commemorate 20 years since the club competed in
Division 1.
For the following season, the home kit reverted to the usual all-blue strip and the jersey currently has a white sash across it. The away kit for the current season is the reverse of the home strip, and consists of a white jersey with blue sash, white shorts and white socks. For the 2009–10 season, the club's kits are produced by Italian sportswear company,
Erreà
Erreà () is an Italian sports equipment company supplier. Erreà was the first Italian sportswear company to be accredited with the Oeko-tex standard certification, which assures that garments textiles are free from harmful chemicals.
Backgrou ...
, and the main shirt sponsor is Cheminées Poujoulat.
Stadium
When Chamois Niortais were founded, the club had no fixed home
ground and played friendly matches at various venues in and around
Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the ...
. In 1926, when the team joined the Ligue du Charentes, the club adopted the small Stade de Genève as their first home.
They continued to play at the Stade de Genève for the majority of the following 50 years until, in the early 1970s, it was announced that the side would move into a new stadium. On 3 August 1974, the Stade Venise Verte was opened, with the inaugural game being an
exhibition match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
between Chamois Niortais and
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
.
Some time later, the stadium was renamed the Stade René Gaillard in honour of René Gaillard, the former mayor of Niort.
At present, the stadium has four stands: the Tribune d'Honneur, the Tribune Pasages, the Tribune Populaire Nord, and the Tribune Populaire Sud. The four stands currently have a combined capacity of 10,898, with 1,324 of these being standing places. The stadium is typical of many continental European grounds, with an athletics track between the pitch and the stands.
Next to the stadium there is a small annexed ground where the club's reserve and youth teams play their matches. The first televised match at the ground took place on 18 August 1987, when
Saint-Étienne were beaten 2–1.
The record attendance at the stadium was set on 24 October 1987, when 16,715 people saw Chamois Niortais defeat
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
by two goals to one in a
Division 1 encounter.
Supporters
Chamois Niortais have always had a relatively small fan base, with very few fans from outside of the area around Niort. The club has one main supporters' organisation, named "Unicamox 79". The name is taken from "uni", the French for united, "camox", the Latin word meaning chamois. The 79 symbolises the department number of
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019. .
The organisation has no history of violence or extremism, and works closely with the football club to try to improve the atmosphere at home matches.
To date, the highest ever average attendance in a season was 10,142 during the club's
Division 1 campaign of 1987–88.
Since then, the average attendance has usually been under 5,000 spectators. In the 2008–09 season, the average was as low as 2,348 when the club was playing in the
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...
.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Other teams
The club also fields a reserve team, which competes in the
Championnat National 3, and has youth teams ranging from under-7 to under-15.
Managers
Since the appointment of the first Chamois Niortais manager, the Swiss coach Franchina, there have been 31 different first-team managers. Three of the coaches,
Kazimir Hnatow, Robert Charrier and
Pascal Gastien, have had more than one spell in charge of the club.
The current manager is Pascal Gastien, who was given the job in 2009 after
Denis Troch
Denis Troch (born 24 October 1959, in Le Blanc-Mesnil) is a French former professional association football, football player and now manager.
Troch's last job in management was with Chamois Niortais F.C., Chamois Niortais, but he left in June 20 ...
was sacked following the side's relegation from the
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...
. Gastien, a former Chamois Niortais player, is currently in his third spell as manager. To date, the only manager to have coached the club in the top division of French football is
Patrick Parizon
Patrick Parizon (born 3 June 1950, in Le Creusot, France) is a football manager. He was fired from coaching SM Caen
Stade Malherbe Caen (; commonly known as SM Caen, SMC, or simply Caen) is a French professional football team, based in the c ...
, during the 1987–88 season.
The club's longest-serving manager was
Ferdinand Faczinek, who had a five-year tenure between 1943 and 1948.
Managerial history
Honours
Records
Club
*Biggest win: 6-0 (v.
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
,
Ligue 2, March 2018)
*Highest league finish: 18th,
Division 1 (1987–88)
*Record home attendance: 16,715 (v.
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
– 24 October 1987)
Players
*Most league appearances: 435 –
Franck Azzopardi
*Most league goals: 61 –
Andé Dona Ndoh
*Most league goals in one season: 17 –
Walquir Mota (1995–96)
See also
*
List of Chamois Niortais F.C. players
References
{{good article
Association football clubs established in 1925
1925 establishments in France
Sport in Deux-Sèvres
Niort
Football clubs in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ligue 1 clubs