Football Season Guide

Niort are looking forward to a fresh start after a difficult 2018-19 season in which they went almost half the campaign without winning a game before finally getting their act together in the final weeks to pull away from trouble. Since then, however, Les Chamois have been hit by the departure of their star player, with striker, captain and all-time leading scorer Ande Dona Ndoh leaving the Stade Rene-Gaillard to join Ligue 2 rivals Nancy. He will be sorely missed, and the pressure is certainly on coach Pascal Plancque, whose position is already not entirely secure after he struggled to make an impact on the team following his appointment at the start of 2019. At least talented midfielder Valentin Jacob remains for now, but there is still plenty of time for that to change. In the meantime, Niort have brought in Ibrahim Sissoko from Lorient to boost their attack following Dona Ndon's departure, while Olivier Kemen is an intriguing addition. The former France youth international midfielder turns 23 this summer and is hoping to kickstart his career after failing to make the breakthrough at Lyon, or at Newcastle United before that. "I have already moved about quite a lot and played for several clubs. This is just an opportunity for me to show what I can do," he said. As the club continue in their quest to build a new stadium which they hope will catapult them into a successful new era, their main ambition for the campaign ahead has to be consolidating in Ligue 2 in what will be their eighth successive season at this level.