Istres FC

Istres

Full name	Istres Football Club
Founded	1920; 104 years ago (1920)
Ground	Stade Parsemain, Fos-sur-Mer
Capacity	12,500
Chairman	Bertrand Benoît
Manager	Anthony Sichi
League	National 2 Group A
2023–24	National 3 Group A, Champions
Website	istres-fc.fr
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Istres Football Club (French pronunciation: [istʁ]; commonly referred to as simply Istres) is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their home matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, a commune in the Arrondissement of Istres.

FC Istres was founded in 1920 by Édouard Guizonnier as SS Istréenne. In 1969, SS Istréenne was merged into the more general sports club Istres Sports, who chose to keep Istréenne's distinctive purple and black colours. In 1977 the club made young entrepreneur Michel Aviet the club's president and ex-Yugoslav goalkeeper Georges Korac the club's manager. During the Aviet-Korac years, the club advanced from France's lower amateur regional divisions all the way up to Ligue 2.

In the 2004–05 season, the club reached Ligue 1 for the first time in its history but finished last and was relegated to Ligue 2. Istres returned to Ligue 2 in the 2009–10 season after winning the Championnat National 2008–09. On 23 June 2009, the DNCG initially barred Arles-Avignon from participating in Ligue 2 due to financial irregularities, despite their promotion from the Championnat National. However, this decision was reversed on appeal on 3 July, allowing Arles-Avignon to retain their Ligue 2 status.^[1] On 3 July, following an appeal, the DNCG reversed its decision reinstating Arles' Ligue 2 status.^[2] Istres were relegated from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2013–14 season after a 4–2 loss to Dijon FCO.^[3] They were briefly readmitted to Ligue 2 when Luzenac was denied promotion due to stadium requirements. However, on 11 July 2014, following the reversal of a ruling against Valenciennes, Istres' relegation was confirmed, and they returned to the Championnat National.

In July 2015, the club was relegated to the seventh tier due to financial issues. On 12 March 2016, it was renamed Istres Football Club, with President Alain Christmann explaining, "The entity 'Ouest Provence' no longer exists, so this change is more logical. It's not a revolution, but it needed to be done."^[4] Successive promotions in 2017 and 2018 elevated the club to the Championnat National 3, with another promotion to the Championnat National 2 in 2024.

• SS Istréenne (1920–1969)
• Istres Sports (1969–1990)
• FC Istres Ville Nouvelle (1990–2004)
• FC Istres Ouest Provence (2004–2016)

As of 14 October 2024

None of the players have a fixed/assigned shirt number by the club.

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 1 GK  FRA Esteban Veles 4 DF  FRA Baba Toure 5 MF  FRA Jordan Robinand 6 DF  MTN Diadié Diarra 7 FW  FRA Yohan Mollo 8 MF  FRA Mahamadou Konte 10 MF  FRA Anthoni Cabon 11 FW  COM Ibrahim Madi 14 MF  FRA Foued Kadir 16 GK  FRA Cyril Boukhit 17 FW  FRA Deniz Erdogan 19 MF  FRA Landry Nkulu

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  FRA Samir Ben Brahim 21 MF  FRA Lucas Solvery 22 MF  FRA Nolan Binet 23 DF  FRA Walid Touil 24 FW  FRA Alvin Doucet 25 DF  FRA Abderrezzek Saidi 26 MF  FRA Jorés Rahou 28 DF  FRA Kévin Renaut 29 MF  FRA Mansour Belarbi 30 GK  FRA Mahdi El Makhfi

For a list of former Istres players, see below

The club has two major rivalries. First is with neighbours FC Martigues, with many encounters over the years. The second is the Provence derby against AC Arles-Avignon.^[5]

• National
  • Champions (1): 2008–09
• Méditerranée Division d'Honneur
  • Champions (2): 1982, 1990
• Coupe de Provence
  • Champions (4): 1933, 1982, 1987, 1989

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Istres.

• Official website (in French)