Aviron Bayonnais Football Club (; commonly referred to as simply Bayonne) is a French

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

. The club is a part of a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

that was formed in 1904 that is also known for its rugby union club. The team is known primarily for youth development. The team is set to play in National 2 from 2025–26 after promotion from National 3 in 2024–25.

History

The football club was founded in 1935 and currently play in the

Championnat National 3 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 ...

, the fifth level of French football. Bayonne plays its home matches at the Stade Didier Deschamps located in the city. It is named after Bayonne native, former youth player and the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

winning

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Didier Deschamps, who also played for Marseille and Juventus. Central defender Aymeric Laporte is another player who featured for Bayonne as a youth before starring for

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

and later

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. Athletic have had a collaboration agreement with Bayonne for several years that they recently renewed until 2024. While Aviron is the largest club in the

French Basque Country The French Basque Country (; ; ), or Northern Basque Country (, or , ), is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitutes the Basque Municipal Community (; ) presided ...

, it has not replicated the successes of the clubs on the Spanish side of the border, though the club's new investor, Karim Fradim, who was previously the president of

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (; often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) are a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwest ...

, hopes to professionalise the club. In 2021, former AS Saint-Étienne goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier joined as an educator in the club. In 2024–25, Aviron Bayonnais secured promotion to National 2 for the first time in their history from next season.

Notable players

Youth

* Didier Deschamps * Roger Lacaze * Félix Lacuesta * Aymeric Laporte * Kévin Rodrigues * Stéphane Ruffier

Senior

* Jean-Claude Larrieu * Alexandre Oukidja * Raymond Camus * Christian Sarramagna * Jean-Louis Cazes * Didier Deschamps *

François Grenet François Jean Henri Grenet (born 8 March 1975) is a French former professional footballer who played mostly as a right-back and also as a midfielder. Club career Bordeaux Grenet was born in Bordeaux, capital of the ''départment'' of Gironde ...

* Stéphane Ruffier * Aymeric Laporte * Kévin Rodrigues * Vincent Laban

Gallery

Sport in Bayonne 1935 establishments in France Association football clubs established in 1935 Organizations based in Northern Basque Country Football clubs in Nouvelle-Aquitaine