ESBF Besançon
| ESBF Besançon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Entente sportive Besançon féminin | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Arena | Palais des sports Ghani-Yalouz | ||
| Capacity | 3,380 | ||
| President | Daniel Hournon | ||
| Head coach | Jérôme Delarue | ||
| League | French Women's First League | ||
| 2024–25 | 5th | ||
| Club colours | |||
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| Website Official site | |||
ESBF Besançon is a French women's handball club based in Besançon. They play in the French Women's First League.
History
Formation
The club was founded as Entente sportive bisontine in 1970 after HBC Besançon had dispanded.[1] In the beginning the team had women's and men's teams.
In 1988 the team won their first French Championship.[2]
Separating the Women's team and domestic dominance
In 1992 the club president Jacques Mariot decided to split the men's and women's team.[3]
The club was dominating in French handball between 1995 and 2005 together with Metz Handball. In this period they on 3 national championships, and finished 2nd in the other 7 seasons.[2] They also won the Coupe de France four times and the Coupe de la Ligue twice, as well as the EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 2003.[1] The 2003 French team that won the World Championship had several players from ESBF Besançon, including Valérie Nicolas, Sophie Herbrecht, Raphaëlle Tervel, Véronique Pecqueux-Rolland, Myriame Said Mohamed and Sandrine Delerce.
Economic difficulties
After 2003 the club began to have economic difficulties, and their star players began to leave.[2] In 2005 they were relegated administratively, and got a recruitment ban. In the 2007-08 season, the team was promoted again, but the were quickly relegated.[4][5]
In the 2014-15 season, the club was promoted to the First League,[2] and finished 6th the following season. In 2017 they managed to finish 4th despite injuries to key players Amanda Kolczynski and Ana Manaut.[1]
Honours
- French Women's First League:
- Gold: 1988, 1998, 2001, 2003
- Bronze: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2018
- Coupe de France:
- Winner: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
- Coupe de la Ligue:
- Winner: 2003, 2004
- EHF Cup Winners' Cup:
- Winner: 2003
Current squad
- Squad for the 2024–25 season
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Transfers
- Transfers for the 2025–26 season
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European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | EHF European League | Round 3 | CB Atlético Guardés | 34–23 | 30–24 | 64–47 |
| Group stage (Group A) |
Mosonmagyaróvári KC SE | 34–24 | 30–38 | 2nd place | ||
| Sola HK | 32–39 | 27–34 | ||||
| RK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 28–27 | 31–26 | ||||
| Quarterfinals | SG BBM Bietigheim | 23–29 | 20-30 | 43–59 | ||
| 2022–23 | EHF European League | Round 3 | Super Amara Bera Bera | 32–29 | 27–24 | 59–53 |
| Group stage (Group A) |
Molde Elite | 35–32 | 41–29 | 3rd place | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 21–31 | 27–30 | ||||
| Siófok KC | 30–21 | 18–20 | ||||
Former notable players
- Veronique Pecqueux-Rolland
- Valerie Nicolas
- Joanne Dudziak
- Sophie Herbrecht
- Marion Limal
- Raphaelle Tervel
- Sandrine Delerce
- Laura Glauser
- Stephanie Fiossonangaye
- Myriame Said Mohamed
- Carmen Amariei
- Anamaria Stecz
- Judit Pőcze
- Marina Gresset Khatkova
- Sofya Berdovich
- Mouna Chebbah
- Svetlana Antic
- Stanka Bozovic
- Samira Hasagic
- Nabila Tizi
- Soka Smitran
- Ine Karlsen Stangvik
References
- ^ a b c "Presentation Générale" (in French). ESBF Besancon. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d "SquadLFH – Besançon, cet historique de l'élite" (in French). French Women's First League. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ "Joyeux Anniversaire, l'ESBF!". 4 May 2022.
- ^ "Handzone - LBE Le CNOSF dit non à Issy et Besançon samedi 1 août 2009 : Stats et infos" (in French). handzone.net. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ "Handzone - LBE Besançon quitte l'élite mardi 4 août 2009 : Stats et infos" (in French). handzone.net. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
External links
- Media related to Entente Sportive Bisontine Féminin at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website