Valenciennes plays its home matches at the recently built Stade du Hainaut located within the city.

Valenciennes Football Club was founded in 1913 by a group of young men known by surnames Colson, Joly, and Bouly.

The merger was completed in 1916 with the club changing its name to Union Sportive de Valenciennes Anzin (USVA) in the process.

During this period, the club was notably led by foreign players such as Englishmen Peter O'Dowd and George Gibson and the German-born attackers Édouard Waggi and Ignace Kowalczyk.

The club finished equal on points with Red Star Olympique, but due to having less wins and a lesser goal difference, Valenciennes were relegated.

Soon after arriving, Turbot released several of the club's international players and brought in the likes of Ernest Libérati to replace them.

In 1959, Valenciennes reached the final of the Coupe Drago, but were defeated 3–2 in extra time by Lens at the Parc des Princes.

The manager had vast majority of talent in the club, most notably Bruno Metsu, Bruno Zaremba, Dominique Dropsy, and Didier Six and kept the club in the first division for his entire campaign, however, after finishing in 18th place in 1979, Dustremelle was fired and replaced by the combination of Erwin Wilczek and Bolek Tomowski.

[3] The subsequent reports of the scandal completely tarnished the Valenciennes's image and several players departed the club amid embarrassment and speculation that they were also involved in the plot.

In the following season, the fourth division was renamed to the Championnat de France amateur and Valenciennes became inaugural champions of the league.

After one season, Valenciennes earned promotion back to the first division, now called Ligue 1, under the leadership of Antoine Kombouaré.

With six games left to play, Valenciennes were relegated back to Championnat National in the 2023–24 Ligue 2 season, following a 4–1 defeat to Pau FC on 13 April 2024, ending a 19-year spell in the professional leagues.

After the club held on to its title at the last minute on the final day of the season, rumours of a sale resurfaced.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.