Djibril Ouziad

Le Havre

Full name	Le Havre Athletic Club
Nicknames	Le Club Doyen (The Dean Club) Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky-and-Navy)
Short name	HAC
Founded	1884; 142 years ago (1884) (sports club) 1894; 132 years ago (1894) (football section)
Stadium	Stade Océane
Capacity	25,178
Owner	Blue Crow Sports Group
President	Jeff Luhnow
Head coach	Didier Digard
League	Ligue 1
2025–26	Ligue 1, 14th of 18
Website	hac.football
Home colours
Current season

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.

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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.

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. They would also win the following year, with the final being a "re-match" of the forfeited 1899 final.

The club has a youth investment program,^{[citation needed]}. A large amount of young players have gone on to play 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.

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!"

As of 16 September 2026

No. Pos. Nation Player 5 DF  ALG Ahmed Touba (on loan from Panathinaikos) 6 MF  FRA Junior Mwanga 7 MF  MAR Amir Richardson (on loan from Fiorentina) 9 FW  NGR Josh Maja 10 MF  SUI Felix Mambimbi 12 DF  DEN Elias Jelert (on loan from Galatasaray) 14 MF  SEN Rassoul Ndiaye 15 DF  JPN Ayumu Seko 16 GK  BEL Arnaud Bodart (on loan from Lille) 17 MF  JPN Kaito Mizuta 19 FW  FRA Joan Tincres 20 DF  FRA Djibril Ouziad 23 DF  FRA Vincent Sasso 24 MF  CIV Guy-Noël Zohouri

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 FW  TAN Mbwana Samatta 26 MF  FRA Simon Ebonog 27 FW  FRA Enzo Koffi 29 DF  FRA Stephan Zagadou 30 FW  JPN Sōta Nakamura (on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima) 32 DF  FRA Timothée Pembélé 38 FW  CIV Rayan Fofana (on loan from Lens) 44 MF  FRA Ismaïl Bouneb 50 GK  FRA Paul Argney 77 GK  COD Lionel Mpasi 78 MF  FRA Daren Mosengo 93 GK  FRA Gauthier Gallon — FW  FRA Élysée Logbo

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 — FW  FRA Noam Obougou (at Nancy until 30 June 2027)

• 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

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

Name and Nationality		Position
Jean-Michel Roussier		President
Christopher Sargent		Vice-President
Steve O'Connor		Technical director
Ashton Smith		Sporting director
Bruce Fallon		Sports coordinator
Didier Digard		Head coach
Bryan Bergougnoux		Assistant coach
Gauthier Duchert		First-team coach
Christophe Hoarau		Goalkeeper coach
Jean Luc Pierrot		Video analyst
Stéphane Meunier
Corentin Rousseau
Jules Delacroix		Doctor
Auguste LeBlanc		Academy Goalkeeping Co-ordinator
Grégory Proment		Academy manager

• Official website (in French and English)
• Le Havre AC at UEFA
• Media related to Le Havre AC at Wikimedia Commons