Olympique de Valence (formerly Association Sportive Valence), simply known as Valence, is a French association football club based in the town of

Valence, Drôme Valence (, ; oc, Valença ) is a commune in southeastern France, the prefecture of the Drôme department and within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhône, about south of Lyon, along the railway line ...

. It was founded in 2005 following the demise of

ASOA Valence Association Sportive d'Origine Arménienne de Valence was a French football team playing in the city of Valence, Drôme. History The team ended in 2005 due to financial problems. Its successor is AS Valence, which plays at an amateur level. N ...

and folded in 2014 but was refounded immediately. As of the 2014–15 season, the club's senior team plays in the Promotion d'Honneur Régional

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône ...

, the eighth tier of French football.

History

AS Valence was founded in 2005 after the town's previous club,

, which had been 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, t ...

, was disbanded in August of that year. The senior team, coached by Eric Vila, joined the DH Rhône-Alpes, a regional league at the sixth tier of the

French football league system The French football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France and Monaco, and includes one Spanish side. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Football Professionnel, which consists of two pr ...

, and finished in fourth place in the 2005–06 season. In the summer of 2006, former ASOA Valence player

Fabien Mira Fabien Mira (born 25 November 1961) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently the manager of Championnat de France amateur Group A side AS Valence. Born in Montpellier, Mira started his professional ...

was hired as manager. At the end of the following campaign, however, Valence finished tenth in the division and the team was subsequently relegated to the DHR Rhône-Alpes. In 2008, the side won the DHR at the first attempt and went on to finish as runners-up in the DH in the 2008–09 season. They won the DH Rhône-Alpes in 2010, thereby earning promotion to the

CFA 2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

Group D for the 2010–11 campaign. Valence ended the season as runners-up to

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

but were nevertheless promoted to the CFA after the latter was denied promotion by the FFF. Valence ended the 2011–12 season in sixth place in the CFA Group B, retaining their place in the division for the following campaign. Even when financial problems became apparent, it stayed for two more seasons in the CFA until the club, in the relegation area, folded in 2014 after declaring bankruptcy. Almost immediately a new club was founded and it took the name ''Olympique de Valence'', restarting in its third regional division.

References

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External links

Club official website
Valence 2005 establishments in France Sport in Drôme Valence, Drôme Football clubs in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes