LNH Division 1
Men's professional handball league in France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LNH Division 1, doing business as Starligue and currently known as Liqui Moly Starligue for sponsorship reasons, is the premier men's professional handball league in France. It is administered by the Ligue Nationale de Handball, under delegation from the French Handball Federation. Founded in 1952, it is currently contested by 16 teams.
Current season, competition or edition: 2025–26 LNH Division 1 | |
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| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 (as Nationale 1) |
| First season | 1952–53 |
| Administrator | LNH |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | France |
| Confederation | EHF |
| Most recent champion | PSG (12th title) (2024–25) |
| Most titles | Montpellier (14 titles) |
| Broadcaster | beIN Sports |
| Relegation to | LNH Division 2 |
| Domestic cups | Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Trophée des Champions |
| International cups | EHF Champions League EHF European League |
| Official website | LNH.fr |
Montpellier Handball is the most successful club with 14 titles, and the club which won the most consecutive titles is Paris Saint-Germain 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 winners of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue 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 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).[1] It was succeeded in 2021 by lubricant manufacturer Liqui Moly.
Clubs
2024–25 Teams
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Rank 23-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pays d'Aix Université Club | Aix-en-Provence | Complexe sportif du Val de l'Arc Arena du Pays d'Aix |
1,650 6,004 |
8th |
| Cesson Rennes | Cesson-Sévigné | Glaz Arena | 4,500 | 11th |
| Chambéry | Chambéry | Le Phare | 4,400 | 6th |
| Chartres Métropole | Chartres | Halle Jean-Cochet | 1,200 | 12th |
| US Créteil | Créteil | Palais des Sports Robert Oubron | 2,500 | 14th |
| Dunkerque | Dunkerque | Stade des Flandres | 2,400 | 10th |
| Istres | Istres | Halle polyvalente | 2,000 |  2nd VAP (D2) |
| US Ivry | Ivry-sur-Seine | Gymnase Auguste-Delaune | 1,500 | 13th |
| Limoges Handball | Limoges | Palais des Sports de Beaublanc | 5,516 | 5th |
| Montpellier | Montpellier | Palais des sports René-Bougnol Sud de France Arena |
3,000 8,000 |
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| Nantes | Nantes | Palais des Sports Halle XXL de la Beaujoire |
5,000 9,000 |
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| USAM Nîmes | Nîmes | Le Parnasse | 3,391 | 7th |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Paris | Stade Pierre de Coubertin Halle Georges Carpentier |
3,402 4,300 |
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| Saint Raphaël | Saint-Raphaël | Palais des sports J-F Krakowski | 2,000 | 9th |
| Fenix Toulouse | Toulouse | Palais des Sports André Brouat | 4,200 | 4th |
| Tremblay | Tremblay-en-France | Palais des sports | 1,020 | 1st VAP (D2) |
Squads of previous seasons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2020-21 Teams
Results: 2021-22 Teams
Results: 2022-23 Teams Results: 2023-24 Teams Results: |
Winners
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Performance by club
| Rank | Club | Titles | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montpellier Handball  | 14 | 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| 2 | Paris Saint-Germain | 12 | 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 3 | Union sportive d'Ivry | 8 | 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1983, 1997, 2007 |
| 4 | Stade Marseillais UC | 7 | 1965, 1967, 1969, 1975, 1984, 1994, 1996 |
| 5 | Stella Sports Saint-Maur | 6 | 1968, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 |
| 6 | USM Gagny | 5 | 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987 |
| 7 | Paris UC | 4 | 1956, 1959, 1962, 1974 |
| USAM Nîmes | 4 | 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993 | |
| 9 | ASP Police Paris | 2 | 1954, 1955 |
| ASPOM Bordeaux | 2 | 1957, 1958 | |
| 11 | Villemomble Sports | 1 | 1953 |
| AS Mulhouse | 1 | 1960 | |
| Bataillon de Joinville | 1 | 1961 | |
| Cercle Sportif Laïc Dijon | 1 | 1973 | |
| Racing Club de Strasbourg | 1 | 1977 | |
| Union sportive de Créteil | 1 | 1989 | |
| Vénissieux HB 85 | 1 | 1992 | |
| Stade olympique de Chambéry | 1 | 2001 | |
| Dunkerque HGL | 1 | 2014 | |
| Total | 73 | 1953–2025 | |
Statistics
EHF coefficients
The following data indicates French coefficient rankings between European handball leagues.
EHF League Ranking for 2022/23 season:[2]
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EHF Club Ranking as of 5 September 2025:[3]
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See also
- Other domestic competitions:
- Handball in France:
- LNH Division 2 (ProLigue), lower echelon of France handball
- LFH Division 1 Féminine (Ligue Butagaz Énergie), the corresponding women's competition
- LFH Division 2 Féminine (D2F)
- List of handball clubs in France