Stade Rennais Football Club was founded on 10 March 1901 by a group of students in Rennes, the historic capital of Brittany in northwestern France. One of the founding members of professional French football, the club has competed at the top tier of the French game for well over fifty seasons, establishing itself as one of the dominant forces in the Breton region.
The club's most celebrated trophies are its three Coupe de France titles, won in 1965, 1971, and 2019. The 2019 triumph was particularly dramatic: trailing Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes fought back to win 6–5 on penalties, claiming the cup for the first time in 48 years. That same era saw the club reach its best-ever league finish of third place in the 2019–20 season, which also earned Rennes their first-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
A defining feature of the club's identity is its renowned youth academy, the Henri Guérin Training Centre, inaugurated in 2000 and officially recognised by the French Football Federation as the country's best in 2010. It has produced a remarkable generation of talent — among them Ousmane Dembélé, Eduardo Camavinga, Désiré Doué, and Sylvain Wiltord — cementing Rennes' reputation as one of Europe's leading developer of young players.
On the pitch, Rennes plays home matches at the Roazhon Park, a 29,778-capacity stadium the club has called home since 1912. Their fiercest rivalries are reserved for fellow Breton clubs, most notably Nantes, in the contest known as the Derby Breton. Since 1998 the club has been owned by Artémis, the holding company of French business magnate François Pinault.