Nîmes Olympique is looking for revenge, the UTS tennis tournament is taking shape, USAM takes on a challenge, and two Nîmoises from ACN are heading to Las Vegas.
Nîmes Olympique
“Redeem ourselves from the first leg.” GOAL FC (Grand Ouest Association lyonnaise Football Club) is one of four clubs to have defeated Nîmes Olympique in the championship this season along with Rumilly (twice), Saint-Maur, and Istres. So naturally, a spirit of revenge drives the Crocodiles: “I like to see the players’ potential to progress. In the first leg, GOAL FC outplayed us (2-0), now I want to see how we can react to this team. They are an unpredictable opponent who can deliver good performances. We don’t ask too many questions, but we need to redeem ourselves from the first match,” explains Mickaël Gas. The NO coach has not changed his routine this week: “We stick to our routine and have a certain charm in showing good things.” The coach openly talks about the climb to League 3 now: “We are excited. I had said that if we won against Saint-Priest, we would be in the promotion race. I find it quite logical, on the other hand, we will talk about a sprint in the last four games. My goal was for the public to identify with my team and stabilize the club. Now it’s a bonus.” While Nîmes Olympique welcomes GOAL FC, Saint-Maur will go to Grasse and Cannes will travel to Toulon. It is not impossible for the Crocodiles to regain the top spot in Pool C. “If we can take the top spot, we will, but the important thing is to be first at the right time,” tempers Mickaël Gas, who would be content to be the leader at the end of the last matchday on May 16.
The ranking for N2 Pool C: 1st Cannes 42 pts, 2nd Saint-Maur 41 pts, 3rd Nîmes 41 pts, 4th Rumilly 36 pts, 5th Istres 33 pts, 6th Hyères 33 pts, 7th Créteil 32 pts, 8th Andrézieux-Bouthéon 31 pts, 9th GOAL FC 28 pts, 10th Fréjus Saint-Raphaël 27 pts, 11th Bobigny 25 pts, 12th Grasse 25 pts, 13th Saint-Priest 24 pts, 14th Limonest 22 pts, 15th Toulon 19 pts, and 16th Rousset 11 pts.
The schedule for the 23rd matchday: Bobigny – Hyères, Nîmes Olympique – GOAL FC, Créteil – Rousset, Grasse – Saint-Maur, Toulon – Cannes, Fréjus Saint-Raphaël – Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Rumilly – Istres, and Limonest – Saint-Priest.
OAC
“The trap match.” This Saturday at 6 p.m., OAC will finish their series of nine consecutive matches, uninterrupted, on the pitch of the Marcel-Cerdan stadium in Carnoux-en-Provence. A rare occurrence in N3 but due to different match postponements. A match won in the first leg by the narrowest of margins (1-0) thanks to an own goal early in the game. An opponent fighting for survival, despite being promoted, and poses a real trap match, as Simon Chaveriat, Alès center-back, admits: “In the first leg, it was a match with bad weather and especially wind, so playing conditions were tough. Afterward, we won with a somewhat lucky goal. It’s not a well-ranked team, but still causes a lot of problems. So it’s really the archetypal trap match. We’ll approach it with the seriousness it requires, we must maintain our defensive solidity and find the way to the net to secure the victory.” The ultimate trap match to win, before a mini-break of a week off, then three consecutive matches. “I think fatigue has taken over in the last few matches, and the mini-break will do us good. Then it needs to be beneficial with a victory in Carnoux. Afterward, we have to focus on the final sprint. If we leave Carnoux with a good result, who knows what could happen,” concludes the Alès defender as OAC, in fifth place, trails by seven points behind the leader, the only contender for promotion.
UTS Nîmes
The Arènes turn to tennis. A week before the UTS tennis tournament in Nîmes, teams are busy setting up the clay court in the Roman amphitheater. Rollers, line markings, net installation – the project is progressing well. It takes several days to set up a court. It all starts with laying a geotextile to protect the Arènes floor, before adding 120 tons of limestone, similar to the one used at Roland-Garros. Once compacted, the surface reaches 6 cm thickness. Then, 1.5 tons of crushed brick are applied to obtain the characteristic ochre color. The lines, fabric-clad and painted using a similar process as the Monte-Carlo tournament, define a court measuring 40 meters by 20. Norwegian Casper Ruud, the defending champion, will be back to defend his title. He will face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals on Friday, April 3. On the French side, only Ugo Humbert will compete against Kazakh Alexander Bublik. Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, the tournament favorite, will face Grigor Dimitrov. Finally, Andrey Rublev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will face off in the last quarterfinal. While tickets are still available for Friday, Saturday, April 4, the day of the semifinals and final, is already sold out. Last year, over 22,000 tickets were sold over the two days.
USAM Nîmes Gard
A tough series. Of the three giants in this championship, PSG, the strongest, is the last this season to come to the Parnasse. The Parisian powerhouse, eleven-time reigning French champions en route to a twelfth title, arrives tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Parnasse for the 21st matchday of the Starligue. A heavily favored opponent still undefeated this season with 19 wins and one draw. On the other hand, the Nîmois are on a three-match losing streak and are eager to end this tough series by facing mostly higher-ranked teams. Even though Nîmes has lost the last three matches against Paris, the margin has never exceeded three goals. At the end of this matchday, USAM could find themselves eight points behind fifth place and almost say goodbye to Europe via the championship. However, Nîmes is still in the Coupe de France with a semi-final at home against Nantes on Wednesday, April 15, at 8 p.m. For this clash against PSG, coach David Degouy can count on the entire group.
The usamiste group: Hodzic, Pardin; Anquetil, Vincent, Acquevillo, Derisbourg, Faustin, Gibelin, Zuzo, Gibernon, Lafosse, Onodi, Wedberg, Peyre, Kamtchop-Baril, Kaczor.
Arc Club de Nîmes
Two Nîmoises from ACN in Las Vegas. Victoria Sebastian in classic bow and Anaëlle Florent in compound bow participate this weekend in the final tournament of the 2026 Indoor World Series held in Las Vegas (United States). Currently leading the IWS 2026 rankings, Victoria Sebastia is closely followed by Mexican Angela Ruiz. The two girls have distanced themselves from the other competitors. Victoria Sebastian, thanks to her victory in the Taipei tournament (IWS250) and the Nîmes tournament (IWS 1000), and the Mexican with her second-place finish in Nîmes and victory in Mérida (IWS500). The annual title will be decided in Nevada. On the other hand, Anaëlle Florent is competing in the compound bow tournament to gain experience against the world’s best.
