Istres

Istres has one national trophy in its history. The Coupe de la Ligue final of 2009 was played in Miami, an unusual stage for a club that had spent most of its life shuttling between the second tier and the top flight.

The climb into the elite came under president Alain Brisson and coach Ignacy Pazur. It did not hold: relegation followed in 1997, then a return to the top flight in 1999 and sixteen straight seasons there before the club dropped again in 2012. Istres came back up in 2018, went down once more, and returned to the Starligue in 2024 straight after taking the Proligue title, and it has never won the French championship itself.

Vincent Gérard's career traces that same in-and-out rhythm: the goalkeeper played for Istres in 2008–2010 and came back for the 2023–2024 promotion season. Goalkeeper Bruno Martini and Croatian back Zlatko Saračević passed through in the 1990s, when the club's top-flight status was still new.

Home games are played in violet and white at the Halle Polyvalente, known locally as the Gymnase Bernard Bardin.