ChristopheVAFC

I met him last Wednesday at a meeting between the supporters' groups and the club, and what made him stand out was the fact that he lives in Dubai. Of course, he speaks French and he's a shareholder in Sport Républic, but we wonder why he's agreed to be chairman of VAFC when he won't always be there. As far as the leagues are concerned, we have : Ligue 1 Ligue 2 National 1 (where Valenciennes currently play) National 2 National 3 (where Valenciennes' B team plays) I don't think the chairman has the power to change everything for us. We're lucky to have an incredible CEO who does a great job for the club. We'll see what happens next in any case.

Interview with Valenciennes' new chairman, Dirk Gerkens, who replaces Henrik Juhel Kraft, in the local press today: VAFC: ‘Be as French-speaking as possible’, Dirk Gerkens, a new boss and a change of direction Dirk Gerkens, who was appointed chairman of VAFC a month ago, spent the week in Valenciennes and discovered the club from every angle. He also confirmed VA's new strategy, already apparent during the last mercato: to be as French-speaking as possible. This is not a retrograde step, but rather a way of taking into account the mistakes that have been made. After the all-out recruitment since the arrival of Sport Republic, we already felt a change during the last mercato with the arrival of French players, who do not arrive in unknown territory by setting foot at Valenciennes. The appointment of Dirk Gerkens is a step in the same direction. There was a reflection on the fact that we had to be as French as possible, as French-speaking as possible, and that was the main motivation for the change of chairman,’ explains Dirk Gerkens, who was born in Brussels 56 years ago and is perfectly fluent in French. It's a way of correcting what has been done, because it's important to speak French, or to be motivated to speak French. This is what led to the arrival at Valenciennes of the man who spent most of his career at the head of television channels in Hungary and Bulgaria, where he now runs a media group owned by Serbian Dragan Solak, the big boss of Sport Republic, the owner of VAFC. Dirk Gerkens is involved in the purchase of sports rights, and is no stranger to the world of football. ‘Not going up again this year would be a disappointment’. ‘There are similarities between managing a media group and a football club. On the one hand, you have to choose the right programmes, and on the other, you have to choose the right players,’ stresses the man who says he is privately passionate about football. In both cases, there is a requirement for results, and the new boss was quick to point this out. ‘Sport Republic came here to climb up to Ligue 1, not to drop down to the National. We're going to continue to invest and put in the resources. We don't want to waste any time getting there. The week he spent at Valenciennes, at the heart of the club, including its former presidents and supporters, as well as the local economic and political environment, reinforced his belief that there was everything to succeed. ‘Yes, not to go up this year would be a disappointment,’ he says. That's all in French and in all honesty.

Hello folks. Another draw yesterday against FC Versailles, 0-0, no progress with draws... We had quite a few chances yesterday but we weren't successful and the opposing goalkeeper had a good game too. If we want to go up to Ligue 2, we'll have to do much better in the next few games. Allez VA!

Hello my friend. FC Versailles are on a good run of form at the moment with 3 wins in a row and we have to be very vigilant tonight because it's not going to be easy. FC Versailles are not having a good season, but in recent weeks things have been going a bit better for them. As far as the National championship is concerned, 2 teams will go straight up to Ligue 2 (the 1st and 2nd in the championship) and the 3rd will play a two-legged play-off against the 16th-placed team in Ligue 2. At the moment, I think Nancy's place looks a foregone conclusion, but we've got a good chance of finishing 2nd and 3rd at the end of the season. As for Daouda Traoré, I'd say I expected better from him, his performances have been pretty average so far and I think that if he wants to play in the first team at Southampton next year, he'll have to do a lot better. One league isn't the same as another, we'd say, and the National League isn't easy. It remains to be seen whether Daouda will be playing for you next year.

Hello folks. It's a match for Valenciennes tonight as they welcome FC Versailles to the Stade du Hainaut. After two draws against Rouen and Concarneau, we want to win to continue our climb up the league table. The match kicks off as usual at 7.30pm French time and can be followed live and free of charge on the Youtube link below: Have a great day, folks! Allez VA!

You can be proud of yourselves, friends, having experienced it last year with Valenciennes, it's not easy every day, I'm sad to see that your season is complicated and I think you have to continue to support your team and not give up. Unfortunately, it's time to think about next year and wish your club a direct promotion, which is possible because you did it last year. I admire your passion for your club and I'm convinced that better days will come soon. Like you, I would also like to see SR do better for our 3 clubs and I think it's a shame that we don't always make the right choices. I think that this year the steps were too high for you but I'm not worried, you'll do much better next year my friends.

My friend, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you how I feel about our joint owner, Sport Républic. As far as your situation is concerned, I was really happy for you last year and your promotion back to the Premier League was well deserved, even if you had a scare at the end when you went into the play-offs. It's true that this year it's very complicated for you and you should know that I'm sad about that, because you have a club with a great history. As far as our sister club Goztepe is concerned, our owner seems to be doing well, having climbed back into the Turkish D1 last year and achieved a respectable position at the top of the league for the time being. I have no doubt that they will have a rather quiet season. Finally, as far as my club, Valenciennes, is concerned, I can tell you that before the arrival of Sport Républic, things were really very complicated for us, with absentee management, a president whose management bordered on dictatorship, and we were very close to bankruptcy. It's true that SR's first year at the head of Valenciennes was very complicated and we went down to the 3rd division, but a lot of things are improving every day. I don't think that SR is as bad as that, he makes mistakes that I think are sometimes avoidable and tries to do the best he can, it's a shame because I think that with a better entourage, he could do a lot better for our 3 clubs...

My friend, I didn't watch the game on Friday either, I was out on the town haha. I'd still say it's not a good result because if we want to play the 1st role, we should have won the game, we're still unbeaten in 2025 and the positive streak continues.

I'm really sad for you guys, it's really been a nightmare season... Can't wait for next season...

Need to my friends 🙏❤️🤍

Hello everyone! Hope you're all well! Today is match day for Valenciennes, who travel to Concarneau (Finistère). They're within our reach and I think that if we're very serious, we can get something out of the trip. Kick-off 7.30pm French time. Link to the match: Have a nice day. Allez VA !

Hello my friend. Unfortunately I didn't have access to this information. It was a pleasure to attend this match in any case!

It's true that it's funny, because you'd almost want both teams to win haha. In fact, yesterday I wore a Valenciennes jacket and a Saint's scarf!

Family photo of the match

End of the match: Valenciennes U21 3-1 Southampton U21

Half Time 1-1 Valenciennes U21 vs Southampton U21

Hello folks, Some of your Southampton youth teams are currently here in Valenciennes for some friendly matches. Today's fixtures: (French time) - 11.30am: VAFC U15/U16 - Southampton - 15:00: VAFC U16/U17 - Southampton - 15:30: VAFC U21 - Southampton Our U9/U12s are also in Southampton today for a visit to Saint Mary's Stadium and a training session. For my part, I'm going to try and say hello to your U21s after work as I'm heading to VAFC's training centre. Have a good day.

I said exactly the same thing to myself on Friday evening after the match! If you can't win the match, you have to know not to lose it!

Match summary: We were cold, we didn't lose and we didn't concede a goal - that's something!

Hello friends! Today is Valentine's Day! 😵 Just kidding! 😅 It's match day for Valenciennes, who host FC Rouen at the Stade du Hainaut ! 👀 I hope we can continue our positive run of recent games! Kick-off 7.30pm French time! Youtube link for the match: @Convict Colony my friend, are you going to watch the match tonight or are you out haha 😁 Have a great day, brothers! Allez Valenciennes !

My friends, I hope you enjoy the match, and I'll be watching if I can! Go Saint's!

Good morning friends, I hope you slept well. I'd like to give you my thoughts on yesterday's match and on the last few games in general. Since the arrival of Vincent Hognon, the new coach, the team has been totally different. No more joking around and lack of seriousness, now it's time for hard work and commitment from all our players. He really motivates the players to give their all and he won't be giving away any gifts. This winter's recruitment was really well done, with the arrival of a number of loan players who are already making a difference. I think that with this coach and this team, we really have a chance of playing for promotion back to Ligue 2 at the end of the season, and if the seriousness and mentality we're showing at the moment are there, it could be very interesting. Of course, nothing's been done yet, and there are still a lot of games to be played and it won't be easy, but I think that with hard work, perseverance and motivation, we can win at the end of the season. Have a great day, my friends! Allez Valenciennes!

Press review following yesterday's match in Chateauroux: https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1552801/article/2025-02-07/football-national-au-sortir-de-son-relookage-hivernal-ce-va-vraiment-de-la Football (National): after its winter makeover, this VA really looks good The Valenciennes team improved on their draw last week by winning this Friday (1-2) in Chateauroux, a third victory in four matches that allows them to temporarily move up to fourth place. Above all, they showed an extremely attractive face in Indre, especially in the first half. The flu, which has long raged at Mont-Houy, has left the Valenciennes team pretty much alone this week. Weak at the knees, they had not managed to do “much that was satisfactory” in Nîmes, considered Vincent Hognon, apart from having brought back the draw, which was already not bad and had the immense merit of extending a series of invincibility that has stretched since the arrival of the Nancy player at the controls – in Le Mans, in the Coupe de France, VA had only been knocked out on penalties. Well, this series continued this Friday and the transformation, on the field, was spectacular. Lively, alert, irresistibly drawn to the goal, VA sought to hurt relentlessly in the first half. The Berrichonne often had a headache, overwhelmed by the liveliness of Camblan, Appuah, Oyewusi and Gasnier (4th, 23rd, 33rd, 40th). She hung on, sometimes as best she could, and she was right. Versini stole the ball from Camblan's feet and Clairicia struck, like the scorpion (1-0, 45th). "I'm happy because we saw an excellent first half, but not enough in the sense that the match should have been over." Not at all defeated by this stroke of fate, the Valenciennes team moved forward again and immediately equalized, on a finally winning move, initiated by Oyewusi and concluded by Gasnier (1-1, 45th + 2). "I'm happy because we saw an excellent first half," observed Vincent Hognon, "but not enough in the sense that the match should have been over. » His players waited until the return from the locker room to take the lead with a cannon shot from Sissoko, with a magnificent strike from 25 meters, at the end of a move similar to the one that had already led him to score against Paris 13 Atletico (1-2, 52nd). After that, VA had only one fault, that of being too cautious against the Châteauroux players who put all their strength into the battle. It was injury time when Basse threw himself to block a final strike from N'Goma. Valenciennes had their victory, the third in four matches, and that put smiles on everyone's faces. CHÂTEAUROUX – VALENCIENNES: 1-2 (1-1). Stade Gaston-Petit. 3,642 spectators. Referee: M. Perreau-Niel. Goals: Clairicia (45th) for Châteauroux; Gasnier (45th + 2), Sissoko (52nd) for Valenciennes. Warnings for Châteauroux players Chraibi (37th), Pierre (69th); for Valenciennes players Traoré (81st), Sissoko (90th + 4), Touré (90th + 5). Châteauroux: Konaté; Collella, Pelletier, Agounon (cap.), Umbdenstock (N’Goma, 82nd); Versini, Pierre, Chraibi (Michel, 75th), Mendy; Clairicia, Tormin (Diallo, 64th). Coach: Cris. Valenciennes: Michel; Diomandé, Touré, Coeff, Basse; Sissoko, Masson (cap.), Gasnier (Boissier, 88th); Appuah (Traoré, 67th), Oyewusi (Antoine, 88th), Camblan (Boutoutaou, 77th). Coach: Vincent Hognon.

Hello friends, I hope you're well. Today is match day for Valenciennes, who travel to La Berrichonne de Châteauroux, currently bottom of the league. It's not an easy match, but the objective is clear: try to win the game tonight to keep up the current positive momentum. Kick-off as usual 19:30 French time. Here's the link to the match: Have a great day, folks! Allez VA !

Incredible story my friend! I didn't even know about it!