Football Club de Nantes (;

Gallo Gallo may refer to: *Related to Gaul: ** Gallo-Roman culture **Gallo language, a regional language of France **Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages **Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...

: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a women's football club based in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, France. It has been the women's section of

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, a ...

since 2012. Coached by Nicolas Chabot, the club competes in the

Division 2 Féminine The Division 2 Féminine, shortened as D2 Féminine, is the second division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governi ...

History

In the summer of 2012, the plan to create a women's section of

took effect. Firstly, youth teams were put in place, with the objective being to become a competitive feminine football club at a national scale in the long run. The senior team entered the league system in 2014, starting from the lowest tier, the third division of the District de Football de Loire-Atlantique. The club had failed to secure a merger with another club in the Nantes region, notably with . The team rapidly progressed, successively finishing first in the third, second, and first district divisions, accessing the regional level of

women's football in France Women's football in France is run by the French Football Federation. As such the national team are eligible to play in the World Cup and the European Championship, whilst clubs can enter the UEFA Women's Champions League. The earliest known wom ...

ahead of the 2017–18 season. The team would shine once again during that season, finishing first in their Régional 2 group and reaching the final of the Coupe des Pays de la Loire. In the 2018–19 season, Nantes finished second in the Régional 1 behind

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. The club therefore qualified for the play-offs for promotion to the

, where the team would eventually eliminate CA Paris and Le Mans. Nantes therefore reached the national level of football for the first time in the club's history, five years after the first team's entrance into the league system. The first season in the Division 2 for Nantes was ended prematurely due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, although the team did place fourth before the suspension of the league. The 2020–21 season was ended even earlier than the previous season; Nantes finished in second place in Group A. Despite a hope for promotion via play-offs, the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...

finally decided that only

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

would be promoted and that Nantes would stay in the Division 2. On 30 July 2021, Nantes announced the appointment of Mathieu Ricoul as head coach to replace Tanguy Fétiveau, who had been managing the team since June 2017. At the beginning of the 2021–22 season, the club would have a budget of €1 million and twelve federal contracts, the maximum amount in the Division 2, with hopes of achieving promotion to the

Division 1 Féminine The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twelv ...

Managerial history

* 2017–2021: Tanguy Fétiveau * 2021–2022: Mathieu Ricoul * 2022–Present:

Oswaldo Vizcarrondo Oswaldo Augusto Vizcarrondo Araujo (, born 31 May 1984) is a former Venezuela international footballer who played as a centre-back. He retired as a professional football player in 2019 and started a coaching career in 2020. He coached at the AS ...

Players

Current squad

Notable former players

Sherly Jeudy Sherly Jeudy (born 13 October 1998) is a Haitian footballer who plays as a forward for French Division 2 Féminine club Grenoble Foot 38 Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble or GF38, is a French association football clu ...

* Yvonne Leuko

References

External links

Club website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nantes Women

FC Nantes (women) Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a Women's association football, women's football club based in Nantes, France. It has been the women's section of FC Nantes si ...

2012 establishments in France Association football clubs established in 2012

Nantes (women)