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| Full name | Le Mans Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | MUC 72 Les Mucistes Les Sang et Or (The Blood and Golds) | ||
| Founded | 12 June 1985; 40 years ago (1985-06-12) | ||
| Ground | Stade Marie-Marvingt | ||
| Capacity | 25,064 | ||
| Chairman | Thierry Gomez | ||
| Manager | Patrick Videira | ||
| League | Ligue 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Championnat National, 2nd of 17 (promoted) | ||
| Website | lemansfc.fr | ||
Le Mans Football Club (French pronunciation:[ləmɑ̃]; commonly referred to asLe Mans FC) is aFrench professionalfootball club based inLe Mans. The club competes inLigue 2 from2025–26, the second tier of French football after promotion fromChampionnat National in2024–25. The club was founded in 1985 as a result of a merger under the nameLe Mans Union Club 72 (abbreviated asMUC 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, theStade Marie-Marvingt, which opened in January 2011.[1] The stadium is based in the interior of theCircuit de la Sarthe, a famous circuit in the city.
The club were controversially relegated from2019–20 Ligue 2 when the season was terminated early due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Le Mans Sports Club were founded in 1900, but it was not until 1908 that afootball club existed within it. Le Mans qualified for theChampionnat 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 ofUnion 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 the2003–04 season, the club achieved promotion toLigue 1 for the first time, but were immediately relegated. Le Mans returned to the first division for the2005–06 season and successfully remained in the league for the next four seasons. The club suffered relegation back to Ligue 2 in the2009–10 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 the2010–11 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 left, and relegation was only narrowly avoided. The club survived by appeal an attempt by DNCG to relegate them toChampionnat National. The followingseason they were relegated on the field, and a long summer of legal battles saw them liquidated and reforming inMaine (province) Division d'Honneur as an amateur club.[2]
Promotion toChampionnat de France Amateur 2 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 newChampionnat National 2 was obtained in2016–17, 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 winningGroup D and being promoted to the2018–19 Championnat National, the club would achieve a third consecutive promotion after successfully overcomingGazélec Ajaccio in theLigue 2 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.[3]
The club were in 19th place in Ligue 2 when the season was terminated early due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. 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 toChampionnat National.[4]
On 17 May 2025, Le Mans secured promotion toLigue 2 from next season after win againstFC Versailles 2–0 in Final matchweek and return to second tier after five years absence.
In August 2025, Tennis championNovak Djokovic became a co-owner of Le Mans FC. The acquisition was made through the Brazilian consortiumOutField, alongsideFormula 1 driversFelipe Massa andKevin Magnussen, as well asGeorgios Frangulis, CEO of the OakBerry brand.[5][6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Below are the notable former players who have represented Le Mans and its predecessors inleague 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, seeCategory:Le Mans FC players
Arnaud DenisLudovic Baal
Dagui Bakari
Ismaël Bangoura
Marko Baša Régis Beunardeau Willy BolivardLaurent BonnartGrégory CerdanSébastien Corchia
Daniel CousinMathieu CoutadeurVincent CréhinJoffrey CuffautThomas Dasquet
Tulio De MeloStéphane Diarra
Moussa DoumbiaDidier DrogbaTom Duponchelle Romain Dupont
Dan Eggen
Patrick Ekeng EkengJames Fanchone Thibault FerrandYannick FischerThierry FrogerEric GarcinAntônio GéderGervinhoGrafite
Hamza HafidiYohan HautcoeurThorstein Helstad
Roland LamahPierre LemonnierAnthony Le TallecCyriaque Louvion
Modibo Maïga
Daisuke MatsuiDidier OvonoFabrice PancratePierre Patron Olivier PédémasYohann Pelé Christian PenaudLaurent PeyreladeYoann PoulardRéginald RayRomaricStéphane SamsonMorgan Sanson
Stéphane SessègnonJacques Songo'oMamadou SoroFredrik StrømstadFrédéric ThomasOlivier ThomasOlivier ThomertPatrick Van KetsAlexandre Vardin Stéphen Vincent
Hassan YebdaZito
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