vs. Le Havre. 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,. 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. 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. == Club culture ==