History
It was in 1872 that a group of British residents formed Le Havre Athletique. which played a hybrid form of football, a cross between rugby and soccer, called "combination". Le Havre can therefore be said to be the origin of rugby union in France.
Association football began being played on a regular basis in 1894, so technically FC Mulhouse could be considered the first French football team being established in 1893 (however, they were a German team at the time). Le Havre currently play in Ligue 2 of the French league and their home stadium is Stade Océane.
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 is famous for its notable youth investment program which develops and nurtures young (often local) talent, 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 Ibrahim Ba, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Lassana Diarra and Vikash Dhorasoo.
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. The first two were arbitrated by FIFA, who ordered Newcastle United and ACF Fiorentina to pay training compensation.
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 Oxford and Cambridge.
Read more about this topic: Le Havre AC
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