Evian Thonon Gaillard FC

Evian Thonon Gaillard FC is a professional football club from France and is one of the youngest professional sides in the world. The club was originally based out of Gaillard, on the French border with Switzerland. In 2003, it was formed as a result of a merger with Football Croix-de-Savoie 74, where the original club called FC Gaillard, had been around since 1924. Croix, on the other hand, were slightly more successful and were the bigger side of the two.

Croix-de-Savoie did a lot of good work within a few games, making their debut as a new club in 2003 and quickly working their way up the leagues to become a part of the professional structure – in just three seasons. Usually, it is only the top club in the amateur groups that make it into the Championnat National level but in the case of Evian Thonon Gaillard, luck played a major role. The reserve sides of Olympique Lyonnais and FC Metz came first and second in the group, which meant that the club would get promoted.