Le Havre AC

French association football club

For the women's football team, see Le Havre AC (women).

Football club

Le Havre

Full name| Le Havre Athletic Club
Nickname(s)| Le Club Doyen (The Dean Club)
Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky-and-Navy)[1]
Founded| 1884; 141 years ago (1884) (sports club)
1894; 131 years ago (1894) (football section)
Ground| Stade Océane
Capacity| 25,178[2]
Owner| Blue Crow Sports Group
Chairman| Jeff Luhnow
Head coach| Didier Digard
League| Ligue 1
2024–25| Ligue 1, 15th of 18
Website| hac-foot.com

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

|
|

Current season
HAC in Tournoi de paques 1913

Le Havre Athletic Club (French pronunciation: [lə ɑvʁ]) is a French professional association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The football club was founded in 1894 as a section of the sports club of the same name, founded in 1884. Le Havre plays in Ligue 1, the first tier of French football, after securing promotion from Ligue 2 as winners of the 2022–23 season, and plays its home matches at the Stade Océane.

Le Havre made its football debut in France's first championship in 1899 and, on its debut, became the first French club outside Paris to win the league. The club won the league the following season in 1900. Le Havre has yet to win the current first division of French football, Ligue 1, yet they won the second division, Ligue 2, for a record of six times. The club's highest honour to date was winning the Coupe de France in 1959.

The main rivalries of Le Havre are the "Derby Normand" with SM Caen and an always heated clash with Lens, located in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

## History

[edit]

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Contrary to what the club has long claimed, Le Havre AC was not founded in 1872. It was in 1884 that a group of British residents formed Le Havre Athlétique, which played a hybrid form of football, a cross between rugby and association football, called "combination". Association football began being played in Le Havre in 1894.[3][4]

In 1899, Le Havre became the first club from outside Paris to become French football champions. At the time the championship was organised by the USFSA. After being awarded a win over Iris Club Lillois in the semi-final by walkover, they were awarded the title after also receiving a walkover in the final against Club Français.[5] They would also win the following year, with the final being a "re-match" of the forfeited 1899 final.

The club is famous for its notable youth investment program which develops and nurtures young talent,[citation needed] with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise. A vast amount of good young talent has gone on to make an impact at international level including Benjamin Mendy, Ibrahim Ba, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Lassana Diarra, Riyad Mahrez, Steve Mandanda, Vikash Dhorasoo, Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet.

The club was on the receiving end of some high-profile illegal transfers, by which Charles N'Zogbia, Matthias Lepiller and Paul Pogba were signed by other clubs, allegedly without the proper compensation being paid.[citation needed] The first two were arbitrated by FIFA, who ordered Newcastle United and Fiorentina to pay training compensation.

In the 2022–23 Ligue 2, Le Havre finished top of the league table to win their sixth title in the division and secure promotion to the Ligue 1 for the first time since 2008.[6]

## Club culture

[edit]

Le Havre is known as 'les ciel et marine' in France, which translates as 'the sky and navy blues'. These colours were chosen by the club's English founders as they were those of their alma maters, the universities of Cambridge and Oxford: the anthem of the club is played to the melody of "God Save the King" to mark the English origins of the club:

"A jamais le premier
de tous les clubs français
ô H.A.C.
Fiers de tes origines
Fils d'Oxford et Cambridge
deux couleurs font notre prestige
Ciel et marine!"

English translation:

"The first ever
of all French clubs
The H.A.C
Proud of your roots
Son of Oxford and Cambridge
two colours make our prestige
(the colours of the) sky and the sea!"

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 5 August 2025.[7]
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

4  | DF |  FRA | Gautier Lloris
5  | DF |  JPN | Ayumu Seko
6  | DF |  FRA | Étienne Youte Kinkoue
7  | DF |  HUN | Loïc Négo
8  | MF |  MAR | Yassine Kechta
10  | FW |  SUI | Felix Mambimbi
11  | FW |  FRA | Godson Kyeremeh
13  | DF |  MLI | Fodé Doucouré
15  | FW |  GUI | Kandet Diawara
17  | DF |  MAR | Oualid El Hajjam
18  | DF |  FRA | Yanis Zouaoui
19  | MF |  SEN | Rassoul Ndiaye
20  | FW |  FRA | Élysée Logbo
23  | DF |  FRA | Thomas Delaine
24  | MF |  FRA | Guy-Noël Zohouri
26  | MF |  CMR | Simon Ebonog
33  | DF |  FRA | Stephan Zagadou
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

34  | FW |  FRA | Enzo Koffi
35  | FW |  FRA | Noam Obougou
36  | DF |  FRA | Bissenty Gomis
37  | MF |  FRA | Mokrane Bentoumi
38  | FW |  FRA | Kenny Quetant
44  | MF |  FRA | Ismaïl Bouneb
45  | FW |  SEN | Issa Soumaré
50  | GK |  FRA | Paul Argney
66  | DF |  FRA | Aliou Thiaré
70  | FW |  TAN | Mbwana Samatta
77  | GK |  COD | Lionel Mpasi
78  | MF |  FRA | Daren Mosengo
93  | DF |  SEN | Arouna Sangante (captain)
94  | MF |  GUI | Abdoulaye Touré
99  | GK |  SEN | Mory Diaw
—  | FW |  FRA | Ben Bamba

### Out on loan

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

—  | MF |  FRA | Mathéo Bodmer (at Bourg-Péronnas until 30 June 2026)

## Honours

[edit]

### Nationals

[edit]

* Ligue 2 (French 2nd Division)
* Winners (6): 1938, 1959, 1985, 1991, 2008, 2023
* Runners-up (1): 1950
* Coupe de France (French Cup)
* Winners (1): 1959
* Runners-up (1): 1920
* Trophée des champions (French Super Cup)
* Winners (1): 1959

### Friendlies

[edit]

* USFSA Championnat
* Winners (3): 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1918–19
* Challenge International du Nord
* Winners (1): 1900
* Coupe Nationale
* Winners (2): 1918, 1919

## Club staff

[edit]

Name and Nationality  | Position

|

Vincent Volpe |  | President
Christopher Sargent  |  | Vice-President
Steve O'Connor  |  | Technical director
Ashton Smith  |  | Sporting director
Bruce Fallon  |  | Sports coordinator
Didier Digard |  | Head coach
Jérémy Collard  |  | Assistant coach
Gauthier Duchert  |  | First-team coach
Christophe Hoarau  |  | Goalkeeper coach
Jean Luc Pierrot  |  | Video analyst
Stéphane Meunier  |  | Video analyst
Corentin Rousseau  |  | Video analyst
Jules Delacroix  |  | Doctor
Auguste LeBlanc  |  | Academy Goalkeeping Co-ordinator
Grégory Proment |  | Academy manager

## Managerial history

[edit]

* George Kimpton (1921–26)[8]
* Mac Burgess (1934–35)
* George McLachlan (1935–36)
* Josef "Pépi" Schneider (1936–39)
* George Kimpton (1945–46)
* Jean Cornelli (1946–47)
* Roger Magnin (1948–49)
* Jules Bigot (1950–52)
* Elek Schwartz (1952–53)
* René Bihel (1953–54)
* Edmond Delfour (1954–55)
* Roger Magnin (1955–56)
* Théo Bisson (1956–57)
* Lucien Jasseron (1957–62)
* Eduardo Di Loreto (1962–63)
* Arie Devroedt (1963–64)
* Christian Villenave (1964–66)
* Max Schirschin (1970–71)
* Gino Corlani (1971–72)
* Fredo Garel (1972–73)
* Léonce Lavagne (1973–74)
* Edmond Baraffe (1974–76)
* Léonce Lavagne (1976–82)
* Yves Herbet (1982–83)
* Didier Notheaux (1983–88)
* Pierre Mankowski (1988–93)
* Guy David (1993–96)
* René Exbrayat (1996–97)
* Denis Troch (1997 – Oct 98)
* Joël Beaujouan (Oct 1998–99)
* Francis Smerecki (1999–00)
* Joël Beaujouan (2000)
* Thierry Uvenard, Philippe Sence and Bruno Baronchelli (Dec 2000)
* Jean-François Domergue (Dec 2000–04)
* Philippe Hinschberger (2004 – April 2005)
* Thierry Uvenard (April 2005–07)
* Jean-Marc Nobilo (2007–08)
* Frédéric Hantz (2008–09)
* Cédric Daury (2009 – Nov 2012)
* Christophe Revault (Nov 2012 – Dec 2012)
* Erick Mombaerts (Dec 2012 – Dec 2014)
* Thierry Goudet (Dec 2014 – Sept 2015)
* Bob Bradley (Nov 2015 – Oct 2016)
* Oswald Tanchot (Oct 2016 – May 2019)
* Paul Le Guen (May 2019 – June 2022)[9]
* Luka Elsner (June 2022 – June 2024)
* Didier Digard (July 2024–present)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "#35 – Le Havre AC : Ciel et Marine" (in French). Footnickname. 4 May 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
2. ^ "Stade Océane". Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
3. ^ Charitas, Pascal (2011). "La combination au Havre Athletic Club (1872–1914) : les «origines» du football-rugby ?". Études Normandes. 60 (1): 20. doi:10.3406/etnor.2011.1833.
4. ^ Archives municipales du Fort de Tourneville (Le Havre), statuts du HAC, fonds de Sanvic, R3 1 L.2.
5. ^ "France – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
6. ^ "Official | Le Havre promoted to Ligue 1". Get French Football News. 2 June 2023.
7. ^ "Effectif". Le Havre AC. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
8. ^ "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs on RSSSF". Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
9. ^ "Le Havre : Paul Le Guen manager général et entraîneur (off)" (in French). foot-national.com. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Le Havre AC.

* Official website (in French)

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Le Havre Athletic Club

* Players
* Managers

Club|

* History
* Women's team

Stadia|

* Stade Jules Deschaseaux
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Seasons|

* 1997–98
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Ligue 1

Clubs|

| 2025–26|

* Angers
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|

Former|

* Aix-en-Provence
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* Bordeaux
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* Club Français (defunct)
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Organisations|

* Ligue de Football Professionnel

Competition|

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Statistics and awards|

* Records
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Finances|

* Richest clubs:
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Associated competitions|

* Ligue 2
* Coupe de France
* Coupe de la Ligue (defunct)
* Trophée des Champions
* UEFA Champions League
* UEFA Europa League
* UEFA Conference League
* Anglo-Franco-Scottish Friendship Cup (defunct)

Category

* v
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* e

Championnat National 3 — Group F · 2023–24 clubs

* Alençon
* AG Caen
* ASPTT Caen
* SM Caen (res)
* Chatou
* Dieppe
* Dives-Cabourg
* Flers
* Le Havre (res)
* Houlgate
* Les Mureaux
* Oissel
* Quevilly-Rouen (res)
* Saint-Lô

* v
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* e

Football in France

French Football Federation (President: Philippe Diallo (interim)) Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President: Jean-Michel Aulas)

National and regional teams|

| Metropolitan|

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Unofficial|

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League system|

| Metropolitan|

* Men's
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|

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* French Guiana Régional 1
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Domestic cups|

| Metropolitan|

* Men's
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* Women's
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* Trophée des Championnes
* Youth
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|

Overseas|

* Coupe de Calédonie
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* Coupe de Mayotte
* Coupe de la Réunion
* Coupe de l'Outre-Mer
* Tahiti Cup

Other competitions|

* Coupe Manier (1897–1911)
* Coupe des Alliés (1915–18)
* CFA (1935–1971)
* Coupe Charles Drago
* Division 3 (1971–1993)
* Division 4 (1978–1993)
* Lafarge Foot Avenir
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Organizations|

* UNFP
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Lists / statistics|

* Football records in France
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By city|

* Paris

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template