Valenciennes FC
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| Full name | Valenciennes Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | VA, Les Athéniens (The Athenians) |
| Founded | 1913 |
| Ground |
Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes |
| Capacity | 25,000 |
| Chairman | Jean-Louis Borloo |
| Manager | Faruk Hadžibegić |
| League | Ligue 2 |
| 2015–16 | Ligue 2, 12th |
| Website | Club home page |
Valenciennes Football Club (French pronunciation: [valɑ̃sjɛn]; commonly known as Valenciennes or USVA) is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Valenciennes plays its home matches at the recently built Stade du Hainaut located within the city.
Valenciennes was founded under the name Union Sportive de Valenciennes Anzin (USVA). The club spent over 80 years playing under the name before switching to its current name. Valenciennes has spent an equal amount of time playing in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 having played 40 seasons in the first division and 36 seasons in the second division. The club has never won the first division, but has won Ligue 2 on two occasions. Valenciennes has also won the Championnat National and the Championnat de France amateur in 2005 and 1998, respectively. In 1951, the club made its first and only appearance in a Coupe de France final.
From 2004–2011, Valenciennes was presided over by Francis Decourrière, a former politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament under the Social Democratic Party from 1994–1999 and later the Union pour la Démocratie Française (Union for French Democracy) from 1999–2004. In 2011, Decourrière left the position and was replaced by Jean-Raymond Legrand.
Valenciennes Football Club was founded in 1913 by a group of young men known by surnames Colson, Joly, and Bouly. Due to the club having limited resources and its formation coinciding with the onset of World War I, Valenciennes sought a consolidation between locals clubs in the city. The merger was completed in 1916 with the club changing its name to Union Sportive de Valenciennes Anzin (USVA) in the process. Following the merger, the new club spent the ensuing 15 years playing the District de l'Escaut Championship. In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. Valenciennes, under the leadership of president M. Le Mithouard, achieved professionalism in 1933 and were inserted into the second division. The club, subsequently, became founding members of the second division of French football.
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