Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (), also referred to as Stade Laval or simply Laval, is a French association football club based in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

in western France. The club was formed on 17 July 1902 and currently plays in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), 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 ...

, the second level of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

. Laval plays its home matches at the

Stade Francis Le Basser Stade Francis Le Basser is a multi-use stadium in Laval, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Stade Lavallois Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (), also referred to as Stade Laval or simply ...

located in the city.

History

The club was founded in 1902 by Joseph Gemain, a passionate supporter of the sport of football. Émile Sinoir was installed as the club's first president. At that time, players were supplied with red tops and black shorts and matches were played at Senelle, a district of Laval. Laval's first official match was against nearby

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

. In 1903, the club participated in the Breton championship for the first time, and the red and black strip was changed for a green and white combination. In 1918, the kit colour was changed again, to a bright orange strip. In 1930, the club began playing at the Stade Jean Yvinec, named in honour of a former player who died at the age of 26. By 1931, Laval had risen to the Division d'Honneur, the sixth level of

. The club continued to rotate between the amateur leagues before finally winning the Division d'Honneur in 1964, which propelled the club to the

Championnat de France amateur 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, Ligue ...

, France's highest division of amateur football. The following season, Laval surprisingly won the league in its debut season. With the club heightening its ambitions, new aspirations came about and Laval named former club player and

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

Michel Le Milinaire manager. The president was Henri Bisson. Together, the two made Laval into one of the best clubs in France. In 1976, Laval reached the top division of French football, thus becoming a professional team for the first time in the club's history. Despite being classed as outsiders, the club managed to stay in the top-flight division, even qualifying for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in 1983 after finishing a commendable fifth in the league. In Laval's first season in Europe, it knocked

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

out of the competition, before being knocked out by Austria Wien. This would prove to be the club's only European experience. In 1989, the club was relegated to the second division, after 13 years in the elite division. In 2005, Laval became a SASP (Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle), roughly equivalent to going on the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

. In the 2005–06 season, the club was relegated to the

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, t ...

. Laval remained in the third division for two seasons before managing promotion back to

after the 2008–09 season. In the 2021–22 season, Laval achieved promotion to Ligue 2 by winning the Championnat National.

Honours

: ::*''Champions'' (1): 2021–22 *

Division d'Honneur Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

(West): ::*''Champions'' (1): 1963–64 *

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 sk ...

: ::*''Champions'' (1): 1983–84

Current squad

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Laval in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1902. ''For a complete list of Stade Laval players, see :Stade Lavallois players''. * Raymond Keruzoré *

Claude Le Roy Claude Le Roy (born 6 February 1948) is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Senegal and Ghana national teams. He was most recently the manager of the Togo national team. Ma ...

Jean-Marc Furlan Jean-Marc Furlan (born 20 November 1957) is a French football manager and former player who played as a defender. Club career Born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Furlan started his career at Bordeaux, where he signed his first professional contract i ...

Erwin Kostedde Erwin Kostedde (born 21 May 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career The son of a German mother and an African-American father, Kostedde was the first black player to play for West Germany, and was the t ...

Pierre Aubameyang Pierre-François Aubameyang (also spelled Aubame-Eyang; born 29 May 1965) is a Gabonese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career at French clubs Stade Lavallois and Le Havre. At international level, ...

* Frank Leboeuf *

Mickaël Madar Mickaël Madar (born 8 May 1968) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Madar played for the France national football team. Madar works as a football pundit on Fre ...

François Omam-Biyik François Omam-Biyik (born 21 May 1966) is a Cameroonian football manager and former player who works as assistant manager of Cameroon. Omam-Biyik also has French nationality. A forward, he was one of the most important players of the Cameroo ...

Ousmane Dabo El Hadji Ousmane Dabo (born 8 February 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Dabo played for Rennes, Inter Milan, Vicenza, Parma, Monaco, Atalanta, Lazio, Manchester City and New England Revolution. He ...

* Eugène Dadi *

Lionel Pérez Lionel Pérez (born 24 April 1967 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Gard) is a retired French professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper and more recently was a goalkeeping coach at Stevenage Borough, following his retirement from the game in 200 ...

* Jérôme Leroy * Lilian Nalis *

Franck Haise Franck Haise (born 15 April 1971) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 1 club Lens. As a player, he was a midfielder. Early life Haise was born in Mont-Saint-Aignan, Seine-Maritime. Coach ...

Djimi Traoré Djimi Traoré (born 1 March 1980) is a former professional footballer and was an assistant coach for Seattle Sounders FC. He played as a left back or centre back. Born in France, Traoré was a member of the Malian national team and at club l ...

* Régis Le Bris *

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. Born in France, he is a former ...

* François Zoko *

Mehdi Lacen Medhi Gregory Giuseppe Lacen ( ar, مهدي لحسن; born 15 March 1984) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Laval, he spent most of his professional career in Spain, repre ...

Hassan Yebda Hassan Yebda ( ar, حسان يبدة; born 14 May 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. During his professional career, he played in France, Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, representing a host of clubs ...

Fahid Ben Khalfallah Fahid Ben Khalfallah ( ar, فهيد بن خلف الله; born 9 October 1982) is a retired professional footballer who last played for and was head coach of Australian side Nunawading City. Born in France, he represented the Tunisia national ...

Francis Coquelin Francis Joseph Coquelin (; born 13 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Villarreal. He has also featured for Valencia, Arsenal, Lorient, SC Freiburg and Charlton Athletic in his care ...

Romain Hamouma Romain Hamouma (born 29 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Ajaccio. Career On 20 June 2022, after having played for Saint-Étienne for ten years, Hamouma joined newly-promoted Ligue 1 s ...

* Anthony Losilla * Nicolas Pallois * Christian Bekamenga * Serhou Guirassy *

Hugo Boumous Adnan Hugo Boumous (born 24 July 1995) is a French-Moroccan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG. He is known for his playmaking ability and link-up play. He had won golden ...

Wesley Saïd Wesley Saïd (born 19 April 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Lens. He is a former France youth international, having represented his country from under-16 to under-21 level. Club career Renne ...

Nordi Mukiele Nordi Mukiele Mulere (born 1 November 1997) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the France national ...

* Yvan Neyou * Yoane Wissa *

Oumar Solet Oumar Mickaël Solet Bomawoko (born 7 February 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg. Club career Laval Solet developed through the Stade Laval academy. He made his debu ...

Mehdi Boudjemaa Mehdi Boudjemaa (born 7 April 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as midfielder for Turkish club Hatayspor. Career On 19 February 2019, Boudjemaa signed his first professional contract with En Avant de Guing ...

Managers

References

{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1902 1902 establishments in France Sport in Mayenne

Ligue 1 clubs