Angers SCO

Angers Sporting Club de l'Ouest, commonly referred to as Angers SCO (), 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.

History

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

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. 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. In the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Angers finished in a respectable 13th position on the table.

On 8 June 2020, Angers broke their own transfer fee record by signing Paul Bernardoni from Bordeaux, in a deal worth 8 million euros. 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. 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. Angers communicated their intent to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 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.

League participations

* 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

Current squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Current technical staff

Notable players

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 :Angers SCO players''

* Paul Alo'o
* Vili Ameršek
* Boško Antić
* Jean-Marie Aubry
* Fahid Ben Khalfallah
* Marc Berdoll
* Stéphane Bruey
* Thierry Cygan
* Milan Damjanović
* Cédric Daury
* Jean-Pierre Dogliani
* Jean-Marc Guillou
* Kazimir Hnatow
* Claudiu Keserü
* Raymond Kopa
* Vladica Kovačević
* Guy Moussi
* Albert Poli
* Ulrich Ramé
* Amar Rouaï
* Emil Săndoi
* Steve Savidan
* André Strappe
* Karl Toko Ekambi
* Jean Vincent

Managers

Sponsors

Some official sponsors of Angers SCO football club:

Open energie

The Paris-based energy company was announced as an Official Partner of the club in May 2021 on a three-year deal. 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.

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.

Système U

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.

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

Kappa

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.

References

External links

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{{Championnat National 2 Group B

Association football clubs established in 1919
Sport in Angers
1919 establishments in France
Football clubs in Pays de la Loire
Ligue 1 clubs