Hockey in France
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Les Bleus after the Games: Dohmen, Yves-du-Manoir and the Belgian school
— CULTFrench hockey has gone through a transformation over the past eight years that no other European country has matched. The Fédération Française de Hockey (FFH) has coordinated the national programme since 2024 from the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes, the only venue to host both the 1924 and 2024 Olympic Games and the federation's permanent base since Paris 2024. A national competition structure with Saint-Germain HC, Stade Français, Lille MHC, CA Montrouge Hockey 92 and Racing Club de France at the top carries hockey in and around Paris and Lille. Saint-Germain HC, with seven French national titles, is one of the few French clubs with regular Euro Hockey League experience, while Stade Français, founded in 1903 with more than twenty titles, is the most decorated men's team of all time.
What systemically sets France apart is the "Belgian school" within the national squad. Almost the entire core plays its club hockey in the Belgian Honor Division: Victor Charlet at Waterloo Ducks, François Goyet and Timothée Clément at La Gantoise, Gaspard Xavier at Racing Club de Bruxelles. This structural crossing produces a tactical vocabulary closer to that of reigning world champion Belgium than that of any other national side. In addition, INSEP (Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance) provides a scientifically framed preparation programme in which biomechanics, mental coaching and recovery protocols reinforce each other.
Under head coach John-John Dohmen, appointed in February 2025 as Fred Soyez's successor, France is implementing a systematic professionalisation. Dohmen broke the Belgian cap record with 481 international caps for the Red Lions and brought Olympic gold and a world title with him when he stopped playing after Paris 2024. Alongside him, Spain Olympian Ramon Sala works as assistant and Dutch ex-international Jeroen Hertzberger as forwards coach — a staff that mixes Belgian, Spanish and Dutch hockey DNA. The breakthrough in Bhubaneswar 2018, where France as world number 20 beat reigning Olympic champion Argentina 5-3, proved to be the start of a rise that in 2026 ranks tenth in the FIH ranking. At the World Cup, France plays Pool B in Wavre, with the opener against co-host Belgium.
More about France
— LAYERSNational women's team
ranked 16 FIHComing soon
National men's team
ranked 10 FIHLes Bleus play their World Cup under head coach John-John Dohmen, the Belgian cap record holder (481 internationals) and Olympic champion who swapped his playing career for a coaching role at the French federation after Paris 2024. Captain François Goyet leads the midfield, defender and penalty-corner specialist Victor Charlet is one of the most feared drag flickers in the world, and forward Timothée Clément, FIH Young Player of the Year 2021-22, brings explosiveness in the circle.
What sets France apart is the Belgian school within the national team, combined with scientific preparation at INSEP and a coaching staff with Belgian, Spanish and Dutch DNA. At the 2026 World Cup France sits in Pool B in Wavre, the same city where many internationals play their weekly club hockey. The opening match on 15 August against co-host Belgium is more than a match: it is the test case of whether the French rise since Bhubaneswar 2018 now truly connects with the established world order.
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