Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football. The Stade des Antonins is the club’s home stadium.

Nîmes
Full nameNîmes Olympique
Nickname(s)Les Crocodiles (The Crocodiles)[1]
Founded10 April 1937; 87 years ago (1937-04-10)
GroundStade des Antonins
Capacity8,033[2]
PresidentRani Assaf
Head coachAdil Hermach
LeagueChampionnat National
2022–23Ligue 2, 19th of 20 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

In the 1995–96 season, Nîmes reached the final of the Coupe de France, allowing them to compete the following year in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In September 1996, in the Round of 32, Nîmes beat Budapest Honvéd (5–2 on aggregate), before losing to AIK in the next round (2–3 on aggregate).[3][4]

On 5 May 2018, Nîmes secured promotion back to Ligue 1 for the first time since the 1992–93 season after finishing second in Ligue 2.[5] In the 2018–19 season, Nimes finished comfortably above the relegation zone in Ligue 1, placing 9th among 20 teams. In the 2020–21 Ligue 1 season, Nimes finished second from bottom and were relegated to Ligue 2.[6]

On 5 November 2022, Nîmes played its final match at the Stade des Costières, a 1–0 Ligue 2 victory over Bordeaux.[7] The club would move into the Stade des Antonins on a temporary basis, before the demolition of the Stade des Costières would pave the way for the construction of the Stade Nemausus, for a projected completion in 2026.[8] In the 2022–23 Ligue 2 season, Nimes finished second from the bottom and were relegated to the Championnat National.[9]

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 12 February 2024[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   CMR Fabrice Ondoa
5 DF   SEN Waly Diouf
6 MF   FRA Brahima Doukansy
7 FW   FRA Paul Wade
8 MF   FRA Gauthier Lorens
9 FW   GAB Orphé Mbina
10 FW   MLI Mahamadou Doucouré
11 MF   FRA Axel Thoumin
12 MF   FRA Ibrahim Sacko
14 MF   MTQ Jonathan Mexique
15 FW   GUI Ismaël Camara
16 GK   FRA Lucas Dias
17 DF   MTQ Ronny Labonne
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF   FRA Mathis Picouleau
19 MF   FRA Hamza Sbaï
20 MF   FRA Léon Delpech
21 DF   FRA Namakoro Diallo
22 DF   FRA Formose Mendy
25 DF   MTQ Patrick Burner
26 DF   FRA Sanasi Sy
27 FW   FRA Wesley Ngakoutou
28 FW   CGO Freddy Mbemba (on loan from Dunkerque)
29 DF   FRA Dagui Paviot
30 GK   MAR Amjhad Nazih
40 GK   REU Tao Paradowski
50 GK   ITA Vincenzo Cozzella

Notable players edit

Below are the notable former players who have represented Nîmes in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1937. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented the national team for which the player is eligible during his stint with Nîmes or following his departure.

For a complete list of Nîmes Olympique players, see Category:Nîmes Olympique players

  France

  Algeria

  Argentina

  Austria

  Belgium

  Benin

  Bosnia and Herzegovina

  Burkina Faso

  Cameroon

  Central African Republic

  Comoros

  Côte d'Ivoire

  Croatia

  Czechoslovakia

  Democratic Republic of Congo

  Denmark

  Gabon

  Ghana

  Greece

  Hungary

  Liberia

  Macedonia

  Mali

  Mauritania

  Morocco

  Netherlands

  Nigeria

  Norway

  Palestine

  Paraguay

  Poland

  Republic of the Congo

  Republic of Ireland

  Romania

  Scotland

  Senegal

  Serbia

  Slovakia

  Sweden

  Togo

  Yugoslavia

Coaches edit

Honours edit

League edit

Cup edit

References edit

  1. ^ "#85 – Nîmes Olympique : les Crocodiles, les Crocos" (in French). Footnickname. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Nîmes Olympique : tout savoir sur le chantier du futur stade des Antonins, visite guidée". Midi Libre (in French). 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Merci d'avoir suivi en direct la rencontre de football Nîmes - Budapest Honved". Archived 11 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine |title=L’Equipe
  4. ^ "Libération".
  5. ^ "Ligue1.com - Nîmes clinch promotion". www.ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Football : Nîmes conclut sa saison par une défaite face à Lyon aux Costières (2-3)". www.midilibre.fr. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Ligue 2: Nîmes dit adieu au stade des Costières en faisant tomber le leader Bordeaux". RMC SPORT (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Nîmes : le club va faire ses adieux au stade des Costières". Foot National (in French). 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Relegated to National, Nîmes Olympique receives Sochaux with 15 players to finish the championship: failure and match". www.euro.dayfr.com.
  10. ^ "Effectif" (in French). nimes-olympique.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  11. ^ "France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

External links edit