Le Mans Football Club (; commonly referred to as Le Mans FC, formerly referred as Le Muc) is a French association football club based in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

. The club was founded in 1985 as a result of a merger under the name Le Mans Union Club 72. In 2010, Le Mans changed its name to Le Mans FC to coincide with the re-modeling of the club, which includes moving into a new stadium, MMArena, which opened in January 2011. The stadium is based in the interior of the famous circuit in the city. The club were controversially relegated from

2019–20 Ligue 2 The 2019–20 Ligue 2 (referred to as the Domino's Ligue 2 for sponsorship reasons) season was the 81st season since its establishment. The season was suspended indefinitely on 12 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 28 April 2020, the F ...

when the season was terminated early due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

History

Le Mans Sports Club were founded in 1900, but it was not until 1908 that a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

club existed within it. In 1910, Le Mans qualified for the Championnat de la France in 1910, but were heavily overturned by Saint-Servan. Gaining a huge reputation up to World War I, Le Mans SC plunged into obscurity by World War II before joining the war league in 1942. The football section of Union Sportive du Mans was founded in 1903. The current club was formed as a result of a merger between Union Sportive du Mans and Le Mans Sports Club, on 12 June 1985. Upon its foundation, former football player Bernard Deferrez was installed as manager. Le Mans UC spent the majority of its infancy in Ligue 2. In the 2003–04 season, the club achieved promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

for the first time, but were immediately relegated. Le Mans returned to the first division for the 2005–06 season and successfully remained in the league for the next four seasons. The club suffered relegation back to Ligue 2 in the 2009–10 season. Midway through the campaign, on 2 December 2009, Le Mans announced that it was changing its name from Le Mans Union Club 72 to Le Mans FC. Le Mans moved to the MMArena midway through the 2010–11 season, comfortably in the promotion spots for a return to Ligue 1, but a bad run sees them finish 4th, missing promotion on goal difference. The failure to achieve promotion is costly, as the club sees its payroll limited by the DNCG. Many players leave, and relegation is only narrowly avoided. The club survives by appeal an attempt by DNCG to relegate them to

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

they are relegated on the field, and a long summer of legal battles sees them liquidated and reforming in

Maine (province) Maine () is one of the traditional provinces of France. It corresponds to the former County of Maine, whose capital was also the city of Le Mans. The area, now divided into the departments of Sarthe and Mayenne, counts about 857,000 inhabita ...

Division d'Honneur as an amateur club. Promotion to

Championnat de France Amateur 2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

was achieved on the first attempt, and promotion from that division was only narrowly missed in 2014–15 and 2015–16. On the third attempt, promotion to the new

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

was obtained in 2016–17, when Le Mans finished as one of the best runners up in the competition. Le Mans was promoted for the second season in a row winning

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA Wo ...

and being promoted to the

2018–19 Championnat National The 2018–19 Championnat National season was the 21st season since the establishment of the Championnat National, which serves as the third division of the French football league system. Team changes To National Promoted from National 2 * M ...

, the club would achieve a third consecutive promotion after successfully overcoming Gazélec Ajaccio in the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue ...

relegation play-off final with a 3-2 aggregate score, swapping places with the Corsican club who, only three years before had been members of the top-flight themselves. The club were in 19th place in Ligue 2 when the season was terminated early due to the

. Despite the club supporting an LFP proposal which would have seen Ligue 2 operate temporarily with 22 clubs, meaning they would stay in the division, the FFF ruled on 27 May 2020 that they were to be relegated to

Players

Current squad

''As of 30 November 2022''

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Le Mans and its predecessors in

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and international competition since the club's foundation in 1985. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club. ''For a complete list of Le Mans players, see :Le Mans FC players'' * Ludovic Baal *

Dagui Bakari Dagui Orphie Bakari (born 6 September 1974) is a retired Ivorian football striker. In 2004 he had a trial at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, however a permanent deal never materialised. Career statistics References External ...

Ismaël Bangoura Ismaël Bangoura (born 2 January 1985) is a Guinean former footballer who played as a forward. Although his primary position is striker, Bangoura has also played as a winger and attacking midfielder. Club career Early career Bangoura bega ...

Marko Baša Marko Baša ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Баша, ; born 29 December 1982) is a Montenegrin retired professional footballer who played as a centre back. Club career Lille On 23 June 2011, Baša returned to France after three years in Russia with L ...

* Régis Beunardeau * Laurent Bonnart * Grégory Cerdan * Sébastien Corchia * Daniel Cousin *

Mathieu Coutadeur Mathieu Coutadeur (born 20 June 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Ajaccio. Club career Coutadeur played for his hometown club Le Mans between 2005 and 2009. He played an important role in Le Mans' 2 ...

* Tulio De Melo *

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

* Dan Eggen * Patrick Ekeng Ekeng * James Fanchone * Yannick Fischer * Thierry Froger * Eric Garcin * Gervinho * Grafite * Yohan Hautcoeur *

Thorstein Helstad Thorstein Helstad (born 28 April 1977) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Helstad was born in Hamar, and started his career in his local club FL Fart where he at age 16 scored two goals against Løt ...

* Roland Lamah * Anthony Le Tallec *

Modibo Maïga Modibo Maïga (born 3 September 1987) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Al-Jeel and the Mali national team. He has also played for Stade Malien, Raja Casablanca, Le Mans, Sochaux, West Ham United, Queens Park ...

Daisuke Matsui is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for YSCC Yokohama. He played for Japan national team. His wife is Japanese actress Rosa Kato. Club career Early years In 2000, Matsui graduated from and began his professional career with Kyo ...

* Didier Ovono *

Fabrice Pancrate Fabrice Dimitri Pancrate (; born 2 May 1980) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Career in France Pancrate started his professional career in CS Louhans-Cuiseaux, Louhans-Cuise ...

* Olivier Pédémas * Yohann Pelé * Christian Penaud * Yoann Poulard * Romaric * Stéphane Samson * Morgan Sanson * Stéphane Sessègnon *

Jacques Songo'o Jacques Celestin Songo'o (born 17 March 1964) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the current goalkeeper coach of the Cameroon national team. He spent the vast majority of his professional career ...

Fredrik Strømstad Fredrik Strømstad (born 20 January 1982) is a Norwegian football player. Career In 2002, he was loaned to Bærum SK and helped them win promotion to the Norwegian First Division. He signed for the French club Le Mans Union Club 72 on June 13, ...

* Frédéric Thomas * Olivier Thomas *

Olivier Thomert Olivier Thomert (born 28 March 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger who currently plays for French amateur club Claye Souilly Sports. He made nearly 200 appearances in the top flight of French football. Care ...

* Patrick Van Kets * Hassan Yebda * Zito

Former managers

Honours

* Division d'Honneur Ouest ** Winners: 1961, 1965 * Division d'Honneur Maine **Winners: 2014 *

Coupe Gambardella The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their s ...

** Winners:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Mans Fc Association football clubs established in 1985 1985 establishments in France Football clubs in Pays de la Loire Ligue 1 clubs