Handball (Women's League): after its "very good season", Mérignac wants to continue its development

Thanks to a high-flying final stretch with five straight wins, the MHB finished its season in a very fine ninth place. The Girondin club hopes for a new season of the same caliber but will have to succeed in its renewal

A grand finale to the season, with five consecutive wins and a historic ninth place since promotion to the first division in the 2019-2020 season. Mérignac concluded its 2024-2025 season brilliantly to secure its place in the Women's League, acquired on the penultimate day in its Pierre de Coubertin stadium against Sambre-Avesnois (33-31), ultimately relegated, after a sluggish first phase.

"At Mérignac Handball, it's always a tough little team. But they fought to stay up with heart, energy, and talent. We have a very young team that takes responsibility and clearly did what was necessary to stay up but also to show other clubs that they can compete with the biggest." These words are signed by the president of the MHB professional sector, Laurent Marronneaud, proud of his players' progress and who does not forget to salute the club's supporters and partners.

"We're the only team in the league to have drawn at halftime against Metz [12-12, 32-21 defeat, Editor's note], we beat Dijon [38-36], who were third at the time, we beat Chambray [31-32], who were also third at that time," he continues. "We finished ahead of Paris 92, who we beat twice and who had European ambitions. We had a very good season, perhaps even beyond what we could have hoped for. But the players did what was necessary to reach this level."

"We had a very good season, perhaps even beyond what we could have hoped for."

"It's been a more than successful season," confirmed captain Léa Lignières after the final match of the season against Paris 92 this Sunday (26-27). "It wasn't always easy, but the team showed self-sacrifice and solidarity. It's a great reward to finish in ninth place in the standings."

A place for which the MHB players would gladly re-sign next season. But the objective will remain the same: staying up. "Why? Because of our budgetary situation, which isn't the most important in the League, we have the smallest budget [€1.2 million], emphasizes Laurent Marronneaud. We want to try to change that and aim for mid-table. But for now, as things stand, we'll stick to staying up."

If the club wants to continue growing, it will have to continue developing on all fronts. "It's a whole, we need a sporting structure better suited to the highest level, a stand adapted to the ticketing level," begins the president. "It also means having a little more support, especially from the institutional side. We are one of the least supported clubs, apart from the City of Mérignac, which understands our needs. And we are always looking for patrons or partners."

Especially since the MHB is starting a new cycle, with the departure of its coach of five years Christophe Chagnard (read below) as well as eight players from the squad, including the Lylou sisters and Enola Borg but also the experienced pivot Anna Lacuey. Three arrivals have been made official among the professionals (plus five at the training center): Orlane Ahanda (26 years old) and goalkeeper Agathe Quiniou (24 years old), from Nantes, as well as the Spanish center-half Martina Capdevila Barbany (23 years old, 8 caps) who arrives from Granollers (Spanish first division).

"We're going to try to count on the arrival of one or two additional players," continues Laurent Marronneaud. "We have one important goal: to find the little gem to compensate for the departure of Enola Borg, which we didn't necessarily anticipate. We also didn't want to rush into the new coach's arrival so as not to impose too many players on him. We're trying to build the team with one or two arrivals who will allow him to implement his game plan." While the holidays are looming for the players, work continues behind the scenes to (already) launch the upcoming season.