FC Lorient

Football Club Lorient, known as FC Lorient and nicknamed Les Merlus, is a professional association football club based in the Breton port city of Lorient in north-western France. The club was founded on 2 April 1926 and spent most of its early existence as an amateur side in the regional leagues of Brittany, turning professional only in 1967 when it was elected into the second division. It went bankrupt in 1978 and again ran into financial trouble in 1990, but rebuilt under the manager Christian Gourcuff and reached the top flight for the first time in the 1998-99 season. Its biggest honour is the 2002 Coupe de France, won by beating Bastia 1-0 in the final, and it also won the Championnat National in 1995 and the second division title in 2020 and 2025. The club plays at the Stade du Moustoir, formally named after the former mayor Yves Allainmat, and competes in Ligue 1 after promotion from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024-25 season. Lorient is often described as a springboard club for players who later moved on to larger clubs.