Soccer Club Lorient was established on April 2 in 1926. Lorient was founded on the back of La Maree Sportive, a club established a year prior through Madame Cuissard, a store patron who was from Saint-Etienne and their son Joseph. Lorient began playing as an amateur team in the hands of manager Czechoslovakian coach Jozef Loquay. The club was awarded the Champions de l'Ouest in 1929 which put the club in the Division d'Honneur of the Brittany region. The year 1932 saw Lorient was crowned the winner of this league, and the following year, it repeated the same feat. The beginning in World War II limited the team's explosive growth in the region . The deportation of several players who participated in the war effort or left for overseas effectively spread the word about the club.
After the conflict, Antoine Cuissard, the grandson of Madame Cuissard became a member of the team, with the intention of rebuilding it to honor his mother. Lorient began playing within the Division d'Honneur. Cuissard became one of the very first Lorient players to keep an appearance on the France national team, while also playing for the club. The year 1954 was the first time he was for the team which made it to the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Lorient rapidly recovered, and by 1948, was with the Championnat de France amateur (CFA). The club played for two years in the league, before dropping back into the Division d'Honneur. The year 1957 saw Lorient returned to CFA but had a difficult time because of financial constraints. The club then sought sponsors in the hope of turning professional. Under the leadership that of Jean Tomine and Rene Fougere, Lorient placed a bid to be professionalized and was selected to Division 2 of the French League. The president of the new club Henri Ducassou agreed to do his best to ensure that professionalism flourish in Lorient.
The second division was where Lorient was struggling to keep ahead of the rankings. In the seasons 1974-75 as well as 1975-76 Lorient came close to advancing to Division 1 and finished 3rd in its group on every occasion, but falling one spot below the play-offs for promotion. But, in the next year, Lorient was relegated to Division 3. The team's potential was evident as the club made it to their debut French FA Cup quarter-finals in the history of the tournament. The club then struggled both domestically and financially. It was bankrupt by 1978. In this time it was known as "Club of Supporters of FC Lorient" (the supporters legally took over the club to preserve their FC Lorient name alive), Lorient played in the Division Superieure Regionale (sixth tier of the French football pyramid). In the beginning of the 1980s, Georges Guenoum took over the club's presidency as president, and also hired the former Lorient teammate Christian Gourcuff to be the manager. It was a surprise that under Gourcuff Lorient quickly made its way back to the top of to the top of French league ladder. The club won the 1983 season. team was awarded the Brittany Division d'Honneur title and in the following season, they was crowned Division 4. The following season, in 1985 they took home Division 3 and returned to Division 2 just eight years after their loss at that level! Gourcuff was dismissed from the club following the initial Division 2 season and relegation was only efficient due to a poor goal differential. Lorient was able to stay for the next five seasons in Division 3 with two manager. The club went through a financial crisis in the year 1990 but was allowed to remain in Division 3. It was in the year 1991 that Gourcuff came back to Lorient and , after almost a decade in Division 3 Lorient received a promotion in Division 2 after winning the 2nd season of the Championnat National.
Lorient was within the 2nd division, and in 1997-98 was astonished by the fact that it ran off with the league along with champions Nancy. The 1998-99 season was the club's debut participation in division 1 within the team's history. The season was short and saw Lorient struggling to keep up with the financial requirements and the tougher opposition in the league. Lorient finished 16th place , and was removed from the league. It was amazing that Lorient ended up with the same points and Le Havre with both clubs having the same amount of losses, wins, and draws. However as a result of Le Havre having a better goal differential, Lorient was relegated. After just two season in Division 2 Lorient was back in Division 1 for 2001/02. Before the promotion, April 2001, an attempt to take over the club by Alain Le Roch led to internal conflicts that led to the resignation from Gourcuff as well as one of Lorient's top player, Ulrich Le Pen, within a short time. The club then hired Argentine director Angel Marcos to replace Gourcuff. But, Marcos did not last for more than a couple of months.
Despite the initial difficulties, Lorient strengthened its squad to prepare ahead of its return premier division by signing players like Pascal Delhommeau, Moussa Saib, Johan Cavalli, and Pape Malick Diop. As a team led by Yvon Pouliquen the new players joined those like Jean-Claude Darcheville, Arnaud Le Lan, and Seydou Keita. They also stunned many when they reached an end of Coupe de la Ligue. Lorient fell to Bordeaux during the championship. Lorient continued its winning cup run when it won the Coupe de France just two months after. In the final, Lorient was up against Bastia and beat the Corsicans by 1-0 thanks to Darcheville's goal. The win is the first significant honor. The celebration however ended with a bitter note, since Lorient was dropped from league competition in that same year. Lorient was a participant in UEFA Cup the following season losing to Turkish club Denizlispor in the opening round due to away goals.
Lorient went back to its first division which is now known as Ligue 1, in 2006 with a totally revamped team. Instead of investing in stars, the team concentrated on enhancing its academy. It also promoted players to the first-team , such as Andre-Pierre Gignac Virgile Reset Jeremy Morel, and Diego Yesso during the club's period within Ligue 2. Lorient was also affected through the arrival Malian national Bakari Kone. Lorient, during it's return to Ligue 1, finished mid-table for three consecutive seasons. In the 2009-2010 year, Lorient performed well domestically. In the month of October 2009, Lorient was in fifth place in the table, which was its most impressive position at the end of the season has ever been. Lorient ended the season with a 7th position, which was the best result ever in Ligue 1.
The 2016/2017 Ligue 1 season, Lorient was in action against Ligue 2 side ES Troyes in the promotion/relegation play-off match. Lorient were defeated by a score of 2-1, and were then relegated into Ligue 2 after an 11 year stint in the top division.
On the 30th April, 2021, Lorient received promotion to Ligue 1 after the LFP made the decision to close the seasons of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 earlier due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Lorient was at the top in the Ligue 2 table at the moment at the time of this announcement.
