Saintes

Nothing in Saintes's history reads like 2024, when the club lifted the Coupe de France Fédérale, a trophy that had eluded the handball side in Charente-Maritime. A year later came a run that should have crowned it properly: US Saintes topped the Nationale 1 Fédérale elite pool in 2024-2025 and reached the championship final. The French Handball Federation then ruled the match lost on the pitch. The club appealed the DNCG's refusal to promote it anyway, and takes its place in ProLigue for 2025-2026 regardless of what the final scoreline says on paper.

The club traces back to 1965, when François Robin founded it as a non-profit association under the 1901 law. Progress up the divisions came in stages rather than one leap: Nationale 2 in 1993 opened the door to Division 2, and it took until 2007, with the Nationale 1 title, to reach the top flight for the first time.

Nicolas Pavillard spent thirteen seasons in the Saintes goal, while Franck Maurice's five years on the court between 2008 and 2013 later fed into a coaching career.