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Full name | Havre Athletic Club | |||
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Nickname(s) | Le Club Doyen (The Dean Club) Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky-and-Navy)[1] | |||
Founded | 1884 (sports club) 1894 (football section) | |||
Ground | Stade Océane | |||
Capacity | 25,178[2] | |||
President | Vincent Volpe | |||
Head coach | Didier Digard | |||
League | Ligue 1 | |||
2023–24 | Ligue 1, 15th of 18 | |||
Website | hac-foot.com | |||
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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.