Vannes Olympique Club (; commonly referred to as simply Vannes) is a

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

club based in

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who lived ...

. The club was formed in 1998 as a result of the merger of ''Véloce vannetais'' founded in 1911 and ''FC Vannes'' known before 1991 as ''UCK Vannes'' founded in 1946 and currently play in

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

, the fourth level of

. Vannes plays its home matches at the

Stade de la Rabine The Stade de la Rabine is a multi-purpose stadium in Vannes, France. It is currently used by Vannes OC and Rugby Club Vannes. The stadium is able to hold 11,303 spectators. The stadium was used as a venue for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championshi ...

located within the city.

History

Though formed in the late 1990s, Vannes developed into a solid football club. In the club's first season of existence, it won the Division d'Honneur of the

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

region 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 ...

. Almost a decade later, the club won 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 ...

, the third division of French football to ascend to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. In cup competitions, Vannes reached

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 2008–09 edition of the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

, in what was the club's first time participating in the tournament. The team defeated

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

clubs

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

and

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

on its way to the final, where Vannes lost to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. The club remained in Ligue 2 for three seasons, but were relegated in 2012 and failed to return, and were declared bankrupt in 2014. They reformed in the Brittany Region ''Division Supérieure Elite'' (equivalent to the seventh level of football in France) under order of the FFF. Two successive promotions brought the club back to the

Championnat de France Amateur 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 ...

for the 2016–17 season.

Players

Current squad

Notable former players

''For a list of former Vannes players, see :Vannes OC players.''

Honours

**Runners-up: 2008–09 *

**Winners: 2007–08 *

Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

**Winners: 2003–04 *Division d'Honneur (Brittany) **Winners: 1998, 2016 *Division Supérieure Elite (Brittany) **Winners: 2015

References

{{Championnat National 2 Group A Association football clubs established in 1998 1998 establishments in France Football clubs in Brittany