Why Vendée flourish in the Coupe de France yet remain absent from the professional game | OneFootball

Three Vendée clubs, Les Sables, Les Herbiers and Fontenay, are in the Coupe de France last 32 this weekend against Ligue 1 opposition, yet the department has had no professional side since 1993.

On Saturday Le Poiré edged Fontenay 4-3 in National 3, the latest sign of a lively local scene. According to L'Équipe, this contrast has revived debate over pooling resources, with La Roche-sur-Yon president Christophe Chabot urging a merger to give the area a chance of reaching the professional ranks.

About 18 months ago, a bid to rename La Roche-sur-Yon as Vendée Football Club was proposed, rejected by the District and met with an outcry. Chabot says clubs are competing against each other, which he views as unreasonable.

Resistance is strong elsewhere, notably at Les Herbiers, and political differences between towns have previously surfaced. Les Sables general manager Charly Charrier argues that a club changed its name and sought to put itself at the centre of Vendée, adding that such standing should be earned on the pitch.

Le Poiré president Jean-Yves Cougnaud says the convivial community around his club is enough, and that earlier unifying projects never prospered, so they do not want to return to them.

The department has seven teams in the national tiers, but its last flag-bearer was La Roche-sur-Yon in the second division in 1993. Even with promotion, no stadium in Vendée currently meets Ligue 2 standards.

Source: L'Équipe