Les Herbiers VF

Les Herbiers VF reached the final of the Coupe de France in 2017–18 and lost it 2–0 to Paris Saint-Germain. What made the run stand out was the path there: a third-tier side that knocked out second-division Lens in the quarter-finals and Auxerre in the round of 16, and never had to face a Ligue 1 opponent until the final itself.

The club traces back to 1919, when Father Rousseau founded it as Alouette Sportive; it became Les Herbiers Sports in 1923 before settling into its present form. Locally the side is known as Les Diables Rouges, or Les Bocains, after the Bocage Vendéen countryside around the town.

Domestic silverware has come mostly at regional level: the Atlantique DH title in 1999, the CFA 2 Group G championship in 2005–06, and further back the Coupe de Vendée in 1970 and the Coupe Atlantique in 1976 and 1979.

Three years in the Championnat National, the first two survived, before relegation followed in 2018. Games against Vendée Poiré Football and La Roche-sur-Yon are still billed locally as the Derby Vendéen.

Jean Louchet kept goal through the cup run, from 2017 to 2021, before moves to Chamois Niortais and Valenciennes. More recently the squad has turned over quickly: striker Ludéric Etonde left for Bordeaux and then Boulogne after a single season, 2024–25, and Senegalese defender Malick Lopy joined in 2025. Les Herbiers now play their home matches at the Stade Massabielle in front of crowds capped at 5,000.