After silence, Nantes ultras return — but Kita’s exit remains non-negotiable
After months of silence, the Brigade Loire has announced a return to full activity ahead of FC Nantes’ next away trip to Laval. The group, the club’s principal ultra collective, published a statement confirming it will resume its traditional role in the stands from the Canaris’ match in Laval. The decision follows a withdrawal that began at the end of January, when the Brigade chose to stop animating the home end in protest at both the team’s on-field struggles and the club’s leadership. The communiqué makes clear that the resumption is not a vote of confidence in the current board. The Brigade Loire says it is returning to its customary role supporting the team and the supporters, while maintaining its criticism of FC Nantes’ governance. The collective argues the club’s difficulties go far beyond results and accuses the leadership of actions incompatible with the club’s history and identity.
At the heart of the statement is a persistent demand: the sale of FC Nantes. The Brigade Loire repeats its call for the Kita family to leave, describing the current situation as a lasting rupture between the club’s direction and a large part of the local fanbase. The group stresses its attachment to FC Nantes as an institution, framing its return as an act of support for the players and the club itself, not an endorsement of the board’s decisions.
The communiqué traces the withdrawal to late January, when the Brigade described the season as empty of points, victories and hope. It says repeated seasons of poor performances and a stalled sporting project left the ultras unable to sustain their usual intensity for 90 minutes. The group decided to pause its activities, not only because its motivation had eroded into permanent frustration, but also to force the club — still tied to the Kita family — to confront its responsibilities. The months since have, in the Brigade’s view, exposed the depth of the crisis. Some tried to blame the ultras’ withdrawal for the club’s problems, but the collective insists the opposite: its absence did not create the crisis; it simply made it impossible to hide. The leadership could no longer hide behind the supposed fervor of the Nantes public.
The Brigade Loire frames its return as a return to identity. It describes ultras as people who live football with passion, demonstration and total commitment. That identity, it says, is what it represents for the group, the stand, the city and the colors. While the leadership’s actions still provoke outrage, the collective says it is unbearable to watch FC Nantes play in silence. It has therefore chosen to resume all activities ahead of the trip to Laval. The communiqué stresses that this move does not signal any improvement in the club’s situation. Nothing has changed: neither the analysis, nor the demands, nor the determination to expose what the Brigade calls years of mismanagement.
The statement notes a shift among supporters. Where once the Brigade may have stood nearly alone in denouncing the Kita family’s management, that criticism is now widely shared. It took eighteen years of errors, the group says, for this consensus to form. The communiqué asks a pointed question: what remains the point of the Kita family persisting in a deadlock while publicly displaying increasing contempt for the people of Nantes? The Brigade reaffirms its demand: FC Nantes must be sold. It argues the club deserves a virtuous, coherent project that respects its history, and insists no positive outcome is possible while the Kita era continues.
The communiqué is signed by the Brigade Loire and carries the warning ‘Communiqué de la Bri’ — a signature that underscores the group’s identity and the seriousness of its message.