Stade Brestois 29

Stade Brestois 29, commonly known as Stade Brestois or simply Brest, is a French professional football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. The club has competed in Ligue 1, the top division of French football, ever since being promoted to the top flight during the 2018–19 season.
In its early years, Brest made a rapid rise in the hierarchy of regional football, to the point of being promoted to the Championnat de France Amateur in 1958. The club joined the Division 2 in 1970, then finally reached the Division 1 in 1979. It experienced its sporting peak between 1981 and 1991 under the presidency of François Yvinec, playing nine seasons in the highest tier in ten years. In 1991, the club was demoted before filing for bankruptcy a few months later. The club only returned to the second division in 2004 and Ligue 1 in 2010. At the end of the 2012–13 season, it had respectively thirteen and seventeen seasons in the first two divisions. In 2023–24, underdogs Brest achieved an unlikely third-place finish in Ligue 1 and thus qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, marking the first appearance in any European competition in the club's history.
Stade Brestois has been chaired since 10 May 2016 by entrepreneur Denis Le Saint.
Sources do not agree as to the date of the club's creation. According to the version presented by the current club, it was born in 1950 from the merger of five local patronages. However, when it was created, the Stade Brestois took over the structures and the place of Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903, of which it would therefore be the direct heir.
The sports section of Saint Louis patronage was created in 1903 by taking the name of Armoricaine de Brest and adopting a motto: "Pen Huel" ("Heads up" in Breton). Before the First World War, 500 young people and 400 children attended the various patronage activities: military preparation, shooting, football, athletics, men's gymnastics, theatre, choir, brass band, and study circles. The war thinned the ranks of the Armoricans but activities quickly resumed.
In 1922, Father Cozanet had a stadium built at Petit Paris, on the site of the current Stade Francis-Le Blé, a grandstand still bearing the Armorican motto (the Pen Huel stand) as its name. The stadium was inaugurated on 9 February 1923 during a meeting between the Armoricaine and the Stade Français. From the ranks of the Armorican, between the wars, French internationals Alexis Thépot, Robert Coat and Jean Guéguen emerged.
The patronage of the Armorican contested the 16th finals of the Coupe de France in 1921 and 1927, the 32nd finals in 1923, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931 and 1935. In 1926, the Armoricaine took away the title of champion of France patronage by winning in the final against Saint-Jean-de-Luz (3–0). The goalkeeper Alexis Thépot, who obtained a selection while he was part of the Armoricaine squad in 1927 against England, was one of the club's brightest players during this period.
In 1950, the merger initiated by Canon Balbous between five Catholic patronages (the Armoricaine de Saint-Louis, the Avenir de Saint-Martin, the Flamme du Pilier Rouge, the Milice de Saint-Michel and the Jeune de Saint-Marc) gave birth to Stade Brest. One of the objectives of this merger of Catholic teams was to supplant the great Brest club of the time, AS Brest, which was secular.
At its birth, the Stade Brestois had as President (then as Honorary President until his death in 1998) Jean Offret.
Taking over the place of Armoricaine in the first division of Brittany, the Stadium was promoted in Promotion d'honneur in 1951, in the regional honour division (just created) in 1952 before joining the Honour Division (1953). Stade Brestois finally reached the French Amateur Championship (CFA) in 1958, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant. The club was finally evolving at the same level as its rival AS Brest. In 1963, the club went back down to the honor division but returned to the CFA in 1966. Continuing its rise in the hierarchy of French football, the Stade Brestois then acceded to the second division following its enlargement in 1970.
In 1979, the Stade Brestois was promoted to the Division 1 for the first time in its history. This apprenticeship year ended with last place in the standings, but Stade went back up the following season. The club, whose new president was called François Yvinec, was this time quite comfortably in Division 1. Despite a certain instability in the post of coach, the Breton club confirmed its place in the elite during the following seasons.
In 1983, President François Yvinec decided to change the name of the club to that of FC Brest Armorique in order to better specify the geographical location of the club. The year 1986 was a turning point in the life of the club. From that season, the Bretons embarked on the path of "football business" by recruiting South American stars, who after a fanfare debut allowed them to reach a historic (unmatched until 2024) 8th place in Division 1 in 1987. However, behind the scenes, the rupture between the president and the coach Raymond Keruzoré led to the resignation of the latter, then to the withdrawal of the main sponsor, the Leclerc stores.
Young Paul Le Guen, Vincent Guérin and Patrick Colleter were not enough to keep the club going, which went down to Division 2 in 1988 with its promising young generation. It was against the Racing Club de Strasbourg that they regained their place in the elite a year later after the play-offs which remains a great moment in the history of the club.
Back in the first division, the Brest team was made up of talented young players such as Corentin Martins, David Ginola, the Paraguayan Roberto Cabañas and the future world champion Stéphane Guivarc'h, who allowed the club to rank well in the elite. But in 1991, despite the 11th place obtained by Brest in the league, the club's significant deficit led to its administrative relegation to the Second Division.
The club on the banks of the Penfeld ended up imploding in December of that same year. During his last match with the rival Guingamp, the invasion of the lawn by the exasperated Brest supporters forced David Ginola to call for calm so that the match could resume. The results of matches played by the club since the start of the competition were void. The club, whose liabilities were estimated at 150 million francs, filed for bankruptcy.
The professional team was dissolved, and Brest's players were released. The reserve team, which then played in the third division, became the pennant team.
In 1993, the club was promoted to the brand new National 1 championship. Following the merger of the two National groups in 1997, the Stade Brestois was relegated to the French Amateur Championship, where three seasons remained.
After ten years in the amateur championships, the Breton club, which regained its original name (in 1993), went back to the National Championship in 2000, where it remained for four seasons.
In 2004, led by a young Franck Ribéry, the club secured promotion to Ligue 2, the second division of French football. The club managed to stay at this level in the following years. However, Brest was not a serious candidate for promotion until the end of the decade. The 2009–10 season saw the Breton club, coached by Alex Dupont, finish in second place, which secured automatic promotion to Ligue 1, following a 2–0 victory against Tours on 30 April 2010. In addition, the team had a good run in the Coupe de France, eventually falling in the round of 16 to Lens in extra time.
The club managed to ensure its position in the top division, obtained on 29 May 2011 despite a defeat at home against Toulouse. During the 2011–12 season, Brest secured its place in the first division with a win over Évian on the final day of the season. It was also the club's first away win during the campaign.
At the conclusion of the 2018–19 Ligue 2 season, Brest won promotion back to Ligue 1, returning to the top flight for the first time in six years. In the 2019–20 Ligue 1 season, they finished in 14th place. In the 2020–21 Ligue 1, the team secured its safety on the final match-day of the season, finishing in 17th place. From 31 October to 4 December 2021, Brest won six Ligue 1 games in a row, defeating Monaco, Lorient, Lens, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, and Marseille in the club's longest-ever winning streak in the top flight. They finished the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season in 11th place, the club's best finish since the 1990–91 Division 1 season.
On 3 March 2024, Brest defeated Le Havre at home by a score of 1–0 to extend their unbeaten run to thirteen matches, thereby breaking the club's record established in 1991. Their streak was snapped in the following match six days later after a 1–0 defeat away to Lens. On 28 April, following a 5–4 win away to Breton rivals Rennes, Brest secured European football for the first time in their history. On the final matchday of the 2023–24 season, Brest finished third in the league, the club's best-ever season in the top division after a 3–0 away win over Toulouse, securing direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League, following a stoppage-time equalizer from Nice in a 2–2 away draw against Lille.
Brest was unable to make their stadium, Stade Francis-Le Blé, meet UEFA's requirements for a Champions League match and instead were forced to play their home games at Guingamp's Stade de Roudourou. In their European debut against Austrian side Sturm Graz at the Stade de Roudourou on 19 September 2024, Brest won 2–1 thanks to a second-half goal from Abdallah Sima. On 1 October, they secured a historic 4–0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in their first-ever official match outside of France. On 23 October, Brest held German champions Bayer Leverkusen to a 1–1 draw at home thanks to a Pierre Lees-Melou strike. They continued their undefeated start with a 2–1 win away to Sparta Prague on 6 November, but eventually fell 3–0 away to Barcelona on 27 November. Brest went on to beat PSV Eindhoven (1–0) before losing to Shakhtar Donetsk (2–0) and Real Madrid (3–0), finishing in 18th place in the league phase.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Stade Brestois in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1903. To appear in the section below, a player must have either played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented their country's national team either while playing for Brest or after departing the club. For a complete list of Stade Brestois players, see Category:Stade Brestois 29 players.
Since September 2011, Stade Brestois 29 sponsors its amateur American counterpart in New York City, Stade Brestois New York.