Le Havre AC

Le Havre Athletic Club is France's oldest club, founded in 1872, and for this reason called 'Le Doyen' (The Dean). It is famous for its youth academy, which revealed stars like Paul Pogba and Riyad Mahrez.

History

Le Havre Athletic Club was founded in 1872 as a multisport club due to British influence in the port city of Le Havre, in Normandy, being recognized as the oldest club in French football. Its colors, light blue and navy blue ('Ciel et Marine'), evoke the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In professional football, HAC built its history alternating between the first and second divisions of French football. It won the Coupe de France in 1959, a notable achievement for a club that played in the second division, and accumulated titles in the national second division, including the victorious Ligue 2 campaign in 2022-23, which returned it to the elite. The club's greatest strength is its celebrated youth academy, considered one of the best in France. From it came such names as Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez, Dimitri Payet, Steve Mandanda and Benjamin Mendy, consolidating Le Havre as one of the great talent incubators of European football. Since 2012, the club has played its home matches at the modern Stade Océane.