Stade Lavallois

The club was founded in 1902 by Joseph Gemain, a passionate supporter of the sport of football.[1] 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.[2] 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 September 1923, the kit colour was changed again, to a bright orange strip.[3] 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.[4] By 1931, Laval had risen to the Division d'Honneur, the sixth level of French football.[4] 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, France's highest division of amateur football.[4]

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 Michel Le Milinaire manager.[4] 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.[4] Despite being classed as outsiders, the club managed to stay in the top-flight division, even qualifying for the UEFA Cup in 1983 after finishing a commendable fifth in the league. In Laval's first season in Europe, it knocked Dynamo Kyiv out of the competition, before being knocked out by Austria Wien.[4] 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.[4] In 2005, Laval became a SASP (Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle), roughly equivalent to going on the stock exchange. In the 2005–06 season, the club was relegated to the Championnat National. Laval remained in the third division for two seasons before managing promotion back to Ligue 2 after the 2008–09 season.[4]

In the 2021–22 season, Laval achieved promotion to Ligue 2 by winning the Championnat National.[5][6]

• Championnat National:

• Champions (1): 2021–22[6]

• Division d'Honneur (West):

• Champions (1): 1963–64[7]

• Coupe Gambardella:

• Champions (1): 1983–84[8]

• Coupe de la Ligue:

• Winners (2): 1982, 1984

As of 17 October 2023[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Maxime Hautbois 2 DF  FRA Kévin Perrot 3 DF  CGO Marvin Baudry 4 MF  FRA Jimmy Roye 6 MF  FRA Sam Sanna 7 DF  FRA Thibaut Vargas 8 MF  FRA Kevin Tapoko 9 FW  FRA Junior Kadile 10 MF  ALG Ryan Ferhaoui 11 FW  FRA Rémy Labeau (on loan from Lens) 12 DF  FRA Yasser Baldé 14 FW  GLP Jordan Tell 15 DF  SEN Djibril Diaw 17 FW  FRA François-Xavier Tamuzo

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  FRA Malik Tchokounté 19 FW  FRA Noa Mupemba 21 DF  TUN Amin Cherni 22 MF  FRA Titouan Thomas 23 DF  POR Yohan Tavares 25 DF  FRA Edson Seidou 27 MF  BEN Jordan Adéoti 28 MF  FRA Antonin Bobichon 30 GK  MLI Mamadou Samassa 31 DF  FRA Irvyn Lomami 35 DF  COD Peter Ouaneh 39 DF  FRA Anthony Gonçalves 40 GK  FRA Théo Chatelain