Nantes or Football Club de Nantes is a French football club, located in Nantes., Pays de la Loire. The team was formed as five local clubs united in 1943 and began to compete at the professional level after World War II in 1945. The debut match was a 2-0 win against CA Paris and the first season Nantes finished fifth.
In 1963 the team won promotion to the top division and won the Championship in 1965, 1966, 1973, 1977 and 1980. Their first Coupe de France, which they won at the expense of Auxerre, came in 1979. In 1983 Nantes won the league title and Vahid Halilhodžić, a footballer from Yugoslavia, helped the side to win that title with 27 goals during the season. In the second half of 1980s their results worsened, they were relegated and returned to the top flight in 1992, being renamed to FC Nantes Atlantique. The situation improved and in 1995 the team claimed the Championship title. In 1999 and 2000 they won Coupe de France and in 2001 Nantes was Ligue 1 winner.
Owned by Groupe Dassault since 2004, Nantes began to perform worse and in 2007 relegated to Ligue 2. That was their first experience in the second division since 1963. FC Nantes Atlantique was given its current name FC Nantes in 2007.
In 2013 the club returned to Ligue 1.
Their home ground is La Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau, which house 38,285 spectators.
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