Nantes open the league with a new coach after reaching semis

FC Nantes women kick off their new top-flight cycle this Sunday at Paris FC (15:00) at Jean-Bouin. The match marks the start of the league campaign after last season’s historic fourth-place finish and a run to the semi-finals.

A fresh start in Nantes

Still, the reality is that this is not the same project. As reported by L’Équipe, Nantes have had a major reshuffle: they lost coach Nicolas Chabot, who moved to Marseille, and several of their key players left as well, including Calba, Toloba, Burns and Fleury. The club’s officials, the piece adds, pledged not to reduce resources for the women’s team despite the men’s team relegation.

Pierre-Alain Picard arrives

Nantes have appointed Pierre-Alain Picard (35), previously in charge of Dijon, to steer the rebuild. Speaking in the article, Picard was clear about the challenge ahead: “The first three opponents… have resources far greater than ours. We’ll fight with our tools to cause them problems… The goal is to exist, to disrupt them with our identity and our playing project.” He expects it to be tough, but not impossible.

Cup matches before kick-off

Before the league, Nantes had already played two Coupe de la Ligue ties. They drew 1-1 with Saint-Malo and won on penalties (3-4), then beat Le Havre 2-0. Now the focus is the league opener against the vice-champions, with a plan to compete and find their rhythm early.