Le Havre Athletic Club (French pronunciation: [lə ɑvʁ]; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest French football club. Le Havre is one of the oldest French football clubs, but the oldest is Standard Athletic Club of Paris. Le Havre plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football, and plays its home matches at the Stade Oceane.
Le Havre made its football debut in France's first-ever 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, but has participated in the league 24 times; its last stint being during the 2008–09 season. 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.
This page also has a version in other languages : Гавр (russian)