About

Sporting Club Bastiais (Corsican: Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Championnat National, the third tier of French football, after being demoted four levels from Ligue 1 in 2017 due to financial difficulties after playing in the first tier for five seasons. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Armand Cesari located within the city. Bastia is managed by Mathieu Chabert and captained by defender Gilles Cioni. Bastia's main historical success include reaching the final of the 1977–78 edition of the UEFA Cup. The team was defeated by Dutch club PSV Eindhoven (0–0 at home, 0–3 away). Domestically, Bastia won the second division of French football in 1968 and 2012, and the Coupe de France in 1981. During the club's infancy, it was league champions of the "Corsican League" 17 times. They are the local rivals of Ajaccio and contest the Corsica derby. The club has produced several famous players in its history, Dragan Džajić, Claude Papi, Johnny Rep, Roger Milla, Michael Essien, Alex Song, Sébastien Squillaci, Jerome Rothen, Antar Yahia and Florian Thauvin are among players who have played in Bastia's colours. In 2017 the club was relegated to the third tier of Championnat National due to financial irregularities and lost its professional licence; therefore the official name was changed from Sporting Club de Bastia to Sporting Club Bastiais.