Angers Sporting Club de l'Ouest, commonly referred to as Angers SCO (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʒe]), is a French professional football club based in Angers in Pays de la Loire in western France. The club was founded in 1919 and plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France. It plays its home matches at the Stade Raymond Kopa. The club has played 31 seasons in the French top flight.

Angers
Full nameAngers Sporting Club de l'Ouest
Nickname(s)Le SCO
Les Scoïstes
Les Noirs et Blancs (The Black and Whites)
Founded1919; 105 years ago (1919)
GroundStade Raymond Kopa
Capacity18,752
OwnerChabane Family
PresidentRomain Chabane
ManagerAlexandre Dujeux
LeagueLigue 1
2023–24Ligue 2, 2nd of 20 (promoted)
Websiteangers-sco.fr
Current season

History

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The team was founded in 1919, the same year the FFF was founded.[1]

During the team's history, it has bounced between the top two tiers on multiple occasions. However, it did spend time in the third tier on several occasions; the 2006–07 season was its last season in the third tier.

The first season that Angers debuted in the French second division was in 1945. During this season, Angers SCO was placed in the North group; at that time, the second division was split into two groups, the North and South. Angers finished third, being seven points short of Stade Français, which was promoted to the first division. In the 2014–15 Ligue 2 season, the team achieved promotion after a long time being in the lower division. During the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season, SCO placed ninth in the final standings. In its opening league match against Montpellier, Angers won the match 2–0.

On 28 May 2017 Angers played in the 2017 Coupe de France final against Paris Saint-Germain. Angers lost the match 1–0 courtesy of 91st minute own goal.[2] At the end of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Angers finished 14th on the table and Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi finished with an impressive 17 goals in the competition.[3] In the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Angers finished in a respectable 13th position on the table.[4]

On 8 June 2020, Angers broke their own transfer fee record by signing Paul Bernardoni from Bordeaux, in a deal worth 8 million euros.[5] On 30 April 2021 Angers, along with Paris FC, were handed a transfer ban by FIFA for violation of regulations regarding relay transfers in August 2020. The ban was effective for the summer 2021 transfer window.[6] On 27 April 2023, Angers received a two-window transfer ban from FIFA due to a dispute with Tunisian club ES Tunis over the transfer of Ilyes Chetti.[7] Angers communicated their intent to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).[8] In the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season, Angers suffered relegation with five matches to spare, returning to the second tier after eight years in the top flight.[9]

League participations

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  • Ligue 1: 1956–68, 1969–75, 1976–77, 1978–81, 1993–94, 2015–2023, 2024-present
  • Ligue 2: 1945–56, 1968–69, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1981–93, 1994–96, 2000–01, 2003–05, 2007–15, 2023—24
  • National: 1996–2000, 2001–03, 2005–07
  • Regional League: 1931–39
  • Division d'Honneur: 1919–31
  • Coupe de France runners-up: 1957, 2017

Players

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Current squad

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As of 30 August 2024[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF   HAI Carlens Arcus
3 DF   GAB Jacques Ekomié
5 DF   FRA Marius Courcoul
6 MF   CIV Jean-Eudes Aholou
7 FW   SEN Ibrahima Niane
8 MF   SEN Joseph Lopy
9 FW   FRA Loïs Diony
10 MF   ALG Himad Abdelli (vice-captain)
11 FW   FRA Sidiki Cherif
12 MF   FRA Zinédine Ould Khaled
14 MF   MAR Yassin Belkhdim
15 MF   FRA Pierrick Capelle (captain)
16 GK   CGO Melvin Zinga
17 FW   FRA Justin Kalumba
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF   GAB Jim Allevinah
19 FW   FRA Esteban Lepaul
20 FW   ALG Zinedine Ferhat
21 DF   FRA Jordan Lefort
22 DF   BEN Cédric Hountondji
24 DF   FRA Emmanuel Biumla
25 DF   CIV Abdoulaye Bamba
26 DF   FRA Florent Hanin
27 DF   FRA Lilian Raolisoa
28 FW   ALG Farid El Melali
30 GK   CIV Yahia Fofana
93 MF   ALG Haris Belkebla
99 FW   SEN Bamba Dieng (on loan from Lorient)

Other players under contract

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
23 FW   FRA Adrien Hunou
29 DF   FRA Ousmane Camara
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   BIH Halid Šabanović

Current technical staff

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Position Name
President   Romain Chabane
Vice President   Teddy Kefalas
Director of Sport   Laurent Boissier
Manager   Alexandre Dujeux
Assistant manager   Jean-Michel Badiane
Fitness coach   Alan Berrou
Physiotherapists   Antoine André
  Aurélien Latour
Goalkeeping coach   Olivier Tingry[11]
Club doctor   Claire de Labachelerie
Podologist   Arnaud Perrier
Osteopath   Marc Sourice

Notable players

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Below are the notable former players who have represented Angers in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1919. To appear in the section below, a player must have either played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented his country's national team either while playing for Angers or after departing the club.

For a complete list of Angers SCO players, see Category:Angers SCO players

Managers

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Sponsors

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Some official sponsors of Angers SCO football club:

The Paris-based energy company was announced as an Official Partner of the club in May 2021 on a three-year deal.[12] Since the start of the 2021–22 season, Open Energie serves as the back-of-shirt sponsor for Angers' matchday shirts, right below the kit number.[13][14]

Atoll is a shopping mall located in Beaucouzé, near the commune of Angers. It also serves as an Official Partner to Angers SCO. Since November 2020, Atoll houses an official club store on a permanent basis.[15]

The Rungis-headquartered French retailers' cooperative is a long-time sponsor of the club. Currently, it serves as one of their Official partners, with its logo appearing on the front of Angers' matchday shorts.[16]

In May 2021, a U convenience store was opened in the Les Hauts de Saint-Aubin district of Angers.

The Turin-headquartered Italian sportswear brand has been the technical partner of the club since 2013, supplying them with matchday kits, training and non-playing staff's uniforms and off-pitch lifestyle ranges.

In April 2019, the two parties renewed their partnership in a four-year agreement.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Angers SCO – Site Officiel – Venez découvrir son actualité, sa boutique sa billetterie, son équipe, sa saison ses vidéos et photos et sa communauté". www.angers-sco.fr. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  2. ^ Sunderland, Tom. "PSG Defeat Angers 1-0 with Own Goal in 91st Minute of 2017 Coupe De France Final". bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Ligue1.com – SEASON REVIEW: Not only Neymar! The unsung heroes..." www.ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Angers pre-season game confirmed". Arsenal.
  5. ^ "Official | Angers buy Paul Bernardoni from Bordeaux for a record €8m". Get French Football News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Angers et le Paris FC condamnés par la FIFA !" (in French). foot-national.com. 30 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Angers handed transfer ban by FIFA – Get French Football News". 27 April 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Communiqué officiel suite à la décision de la Chambre de Résolution des Litiges de la FIFA – Angers SCO". www.angers-sco.fr (in French). 27 April 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Battu par Rennes, Angers est officiellement relégué en Ligue 2". [L'Équipe]] (in French). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Effectif de l'équipe pro d'Angers SCO" (in French). Angers SCO. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Angers Sco. Olivier Tingry dans le staff, Xavier Dudoit s'en va". 6 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Ligue 1 Uber Eats – Open Energie nouveau sponsor maillot dos d'Angers SCO jusqu'en 2024". SportBuzzBusiness.fr (in French). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  13. ^ Joshi, Anshuman (3 September 2021). "Angers SCO Sponsors 2021-22". SportsKhabri. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Ligue 1 Uber Eats – Open Energie nouveau sponsor maillot dos d'Angers SCO jusqu'en 2024". SportBuzzBusiness.fr (in French). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  15. ^ Joshi, Anshuman (3 September 2021). "Angers SCO Sponsors 2021-22". SportsKhabri. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  16. ^ Joshi, Anshuman (3 September 2021). "Angers SCO Sponsors 2021-22". SportsKhabri. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  17. ^ Joshi, Anshuman (3 September 2021). "Angers SCO Sponsors 2021-22". SportsKhabri. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
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