Chamois Niortais F.C.

Association football club in France

Chamois Niortais Football Club (often referred to as Les Chamois, Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) is a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux Sèvres department of western France. It was founded in 1925 by Charles Boinot, the son of the owner of a local chamois leather factory. The club's home stadium is the Stade René Gaillard in Niort, which has a capacity of 10,898 although in the last 20 years attendances have generally averaged below 5,000 per match due to the club's relatively small fan base. Chamois Niortais has traditionally played in an entirely blue home strip, although away strips regularly differ. For the first 20 years of the club's existence they played in local leagues around the Centre Ouest region. In 1945, after the Second World War, the side joined the Championnat de France amateur. They achieved promotion to Division 3 in 1970 and stayed in the division for the following eight seasons. From 1980 to 1984, the team played in Division 4 before promotion return to Division 3. The club gained professional status for the first time the following year when they were promoted to Division 2. After another promotion in 1987, they played in Division 1 for the 1987–88 season, only, then were relegated next season. Chamois Niortais were relegated to the Championnat National in 2008, and relegated again the next season, losing their professional status. After finishing as runners up in the Championnat National, the team were promoted to Ligue 2 for the 2012–13 season.

After the First World War, local chamois leather factory owner, Theophile Boinot, established the first sports club in Niort, Amicale Club Niortais. Soon after, the football section of the club was founded and named Étoile Sportive Niortaise. In 1923, many players were conscripted into the French army. In 1925, a number of the players returned to the town and Boinot's son, Charles, set up the first proper association football team in the town, which he named Chamois Niortais Football Club. For the first season, the presidency of the club was entrusted to Jean Gavaggio, a chemical engineer at the Boinot factory. Georges Poussard, also a worker in the factory, was appointed as the club's first secretary. The original team played in a fully white strip, and competed in the regional championship of the Ligue de Charentes. In 1929, the Swiss footballer Franchina was named as the club's first manager and the first committee was elected. Throughout the 1930s the club continued to grow in size, enlisting more players and members, despite the team performing relatively poorly in the league. For the 1932–33 season, Chamois Niortais joined the DH Centre Ouest, the highest level of regional football in France, and finished eighth in their first season. The side achieved consecutive sixth and seventh place finishes in the next two seasons, before being relegated to the Promotion d'Honneur in 1936. The team played in the division for three seasons, until they gained promotion back to the DH Centre Ouest at the end of the 1938–39 campaign.

Chamois Niortais were relegated from the CFA to the DH Centre Ouest in 1945. Led by Faczinek, who had returned to the club as player manager in 1943, the side won the DH Centre Ouest for three consecutive seasons. In 1953, the side finished bottom of the division and were relegated to the DH Centre Ouest. Manager Nicolas Hibst was sacked and replaced by Georges Hatz, The side remained in the DH Centre Ouest until 1960 when, under the guidance of Nordine Ben Ali,

The side struggled in their first season back in the third tier, achieving a tenth placed finish. After being runners up in the division for two consecutive seasons in 1961–62 and 1962–63, the team secured a number of mid table league finishes under Kazimir Hnatow. After Hnatow left Chamois Niortais in 1966, Upon the restructuring of the league system, the team joined the newly formed Division 3 in 1970. They played there for the following eight years, but never finished higher than fourth in the division.

Thanks to the promotion, Chamois Niortais became a professional club for the 1985–86 season. The following season turned out to be the club's only season to date in the top tier of French football. The season began with a 1–1 draw with Lens and the side's first victory came against Montpellier on 1 August 1987. The relegation saw the end of Patrick Parizon's reign as head coach as he was replaced by Victor Zvunka.

Denis Troch was hired as the club's new manager in August 2008, The relegation saw the end of Chamois Niortais's era as a professional club, as they were forced to become a semi professional outfit due to the DNCG rules. In June 2009, Pascal Gastien was appointed as manager for his third spell in charge of the club, handed the task of achieving promotion back to the Championnat National at the first attempt. The club won the CFA Group C that season, and was subsequently promoted back to the National division for the following campaign. Niort secured their third tier status with an 11th place finish in the 2010–11 season. The following season, the team finished as runners up in the Championnat National behind Nîmes to return to Ligue 2 for the 2012–13 campaign and regain their professional status. On 14 May 2023, Niort were relegated to the Championnat National after finishing bottom of Ligue 2.

The badge of Chamois Niortais features a chamois goat standing on a football, and the background of the crest is royal blue, which has featured in the club's home colours since its founding. When the club was founded in 1925, Chamois Niortais adopted a white strip. For the following season, the home kit reverted to the usual all blue strip and the jersey currently has a white sash across it. The away kit for the current season is the reverse of the home strip, and consists of a white jersey with blue sash, white shorts and white socks. For the 2009–10 season, the club's kits are produced by Italian sportswear company, Erreà, and the main shirt sponsor is Cheminées Poujoulat. At present, the stadium has four stands: the Tribune d'Honneur, the Tribune Pasages, the Tribune Populaire Nord, and the Tribune Populaire Sud. The four stands currently have a combined capacity of 10,898, with 1,324 of these being standing places. The stadium is typical of many continental European grounds, with an athletics track between the pitch and the stands. The organisation has no history of violence or extremism, and works closely with the football club to try to improve the atmosphere at home matches. Since then, the average attendance has usually been under 5,000 spectators. In the 2008–09 season, the average was as low as 2,348 when the club was playing in the Championnat National.

The club also fields a reserve team, which competes in the Championnat National 3, and has youth teams ranging from under 7 to under 15.