US Avranches

L’Union Sportive Avranches Mont Saint Michel is a French football club based in Avranches, in the department of Manche, and founded in 1897. Since 2014 it plays in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football.

The club has been chaired by Gilbert Guerin since 1990.

History

Football arrived in Avranches in the mid-19th century, due to an influx of British immigrants who brought their customs and lifestyle to the area. In 1895, Paul Lebedel and Auguste Desclos, with approval from Henri Goujon, formed the Association Sportive du College d'Avranches. The club had several sections of sport, which included gymnastics, fencing and shooting, but the club specialized in football. The ASCA recruited most of their players from students who attended the university and players who lived nearby. The club endured difficulties following a match against Stade Rennais Universite, now Stade Rennais F.C., after the external players arrived home too late following the match. This caused a significant outrage from their parents and guardians and, eventually, the ASCA were forced to abandon signing players from outside the university. Due to this, a man named Alexandre Legrand concluded that the people outside the university should form their own club. After discussions, the club was formed in April 1897 as L’Union Sportive Avranches'. Due to his input, Legrand was inserted as the club's treasurer. The club competed mainly against local colleges in Avranches and played their first official match against AS du College de Vire.

Chairmen

Current state

The club's performance during the 20th century was mostly muted with the club often hovering in between the 7th, 6th, 5th, and 4th divisions until reaching the Championnat National during its inaugural season in 1993–94. The competition, at the time, involved two geographical areas and was mostly the top amateur clubs. The club won its first match, a 2–0 victory over AS Cherbourg, a