LNH Division 1, doing business as Starligue and currently known as Liqui Moly Starligue for sponsorship reasons, is the premier men's professional

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

league in France. It is administered by the

Ligue Nationale de Handball The ''Ligue Nationale de Handball'' () is a governing body established in 2004 to administer French men's professional handball autonomously from the national federation (FFHB). It has jurisdiction over the country's top two men's divisions, a cup ...

, under delegation from the

French Handball Federation The French Handball Federation () (FFHB) is the national team handball, handball association in France. Founded on 1 September 1941, FFHB organizes handball and beach handball within France and represents France internationally. It sorts under the ...

. Founded in 1952, it is currently contested by 16 teams.

Montpellier Handball Montpellier Handball, formerly named Montpellier Agglomération Handball, is a professional handball club from Montpellier, France. Montpellier is the only French club to ever have won the EHF Champions League. History The team was founded as ...

is the most successful club with 14 titles, and the club which won the most consecutive titles is

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

with 11 between 2015 and 2025. The champion and the vice-champion are directly qualified for the group phase of the

EHF Champions League The EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men's com ...

. The winners of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

and the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

are qualified for the European League. If the winner of (one of) these cups is also the champion, the place(s) are attributed in terms of the Division 1 ranking. Since 2016, the league has had a title sponsor. Discount retail chain

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

was the first, paying €1 million per season for the rights (with the exception of the final season, a short term extension signed during the COVID-19 crisis). It was succeeded in 2021 by lubricant manufacturer Liqui Moly.

Clubs

2024–25 Teams

2020-21 Teams Results: * US Ivry & Tremblay Handball * Saran Loiret HB & Grand Nancy MHB ---- 2021-22 Teams Results: * Saran Loiret HB & Grand Nancy MHB * US Ivry & Sélestat Alsace HB ---- 2022-23 Teams Results: * Sélestat Alsace HB & Istres Provence Handball * Saran Loiret HB & Dijon Métropole Handball ---- 2023-24 Teams Results: * Dijon Métropole Handball & Saran Loiret HB * Tremblay & Istres Provence Handball ----

Winners

Performance by club

Statistics

EHF coefficients

The following data indicates French coefficient rankings between European handball leagues. ;Country ranking: EHF League Ranking for 2022/23 season: *1. (''1'') Handball-Bundesliga (145.00) *2. (''3'')

Liga ASOBAL Liga Asobal is the premier professional handball league in Spain. It was founded in 1958 with the name of División de Honor, changing its name to the current name in 1990. The Liga ASOBAL, which is played under EHF rules, currently consists of ...

(121.50) *3. (''2'') LNH Division 1 (104.33) *4. (''5'')

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

(94.17) *5. (''7'') Håndboldligaen (87.33) ;Club ranking: EHF Club Ranking as of 20 May 2023: * 4.

(671) * 7.

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

(565) * 13.

HBC Nantes Handball Club Nantes is a professional handball club team from Nantes, France, that plays in the LNH Division 1. Crest, colours, supporters Naming history Club crest File:Logo HBCNantes 2000.GIF, Logo in the 2000s(-2011) File:NantesLOGO.p ...

(460) * 33.

USAM Nîmes The United Autonomous Unions of Madagascar (USAM) is a national trade union center in Madagascar. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's lar ...

(175) * 34. Fenix Toulouse (172)

References

External links

Official website
{{Top sport leagues in France 1 Professional sports leagues in France