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. In the beginning the team had women's and men's teams.
In 1988 the team won their first French Championship.
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.
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. 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. 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. In 2005 they were relegated administratively, and got a recruitment ban. In the 2007-08 season, the team was promoted again, but they were quickly relegated.
In the 2014-15 season, the club was promoted to the First League, and finished 6th the following season. In 2017 they managed to finish 4th despite injuries to key players Amanda Kolczynski and Ana Manaut.
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 2025–26 season
Goalkeepers 1 Tonje Haug Lerstad 21 Florence Bonnet 94 Catherine Gabriel Wingers RW 31 Sabrina Zazai 77 Emilie Bellec LW 11 Chloé Bellonnet 95 Zaliata Mlamali Line players 23 Pauline Robert 88 Camille Mandret
Back players LB 24 Charité Mumbongo 28 Ilona Di Rocco 43 Prunelle Kingue CB 7 Alizée Frécon-Demouge 18 Juliette Mairot RB 17 Celine Solstad 19 Iva Mladenovska
Transfers Transfers for the 2026-27 season
Joining Juliette Faure (CB) (from Brest Bretagne Handball) Julie Holm (RB) (from Thüringer HC) Luara Bastos (LW) (from Criciùma Handball) Ophélie Tonds (GK) (from Saint-Amand Handball)
Leaving Tonje Haug Lerstad (GK) (to Toulon Métropole Var Handball) Celine Solstad (RB) (to Fana Håndball) Zaliata Mlamali (LW) (to Zonzamas PlusCar Lanzarote) Iva Mladenovska (RB) (to Borussia Dortmund Handball)
European record Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate2021–22EHF European LeagueRound 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 31–26Quarterfinals SG BBM Bietigheim 23–29 20-30 43–592022–23EHF European LeagueRound 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 Catherine Gabriel Chloé Valentini Lucie Granier Clarisse Mairot 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 / Sakura Hauge
References
External links
Official website