Football in France
 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding articlein French.(October 2018)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| Football in France | |
|---|---|
 TheParc des Princesis the home ofParis Saint-Germain | |
| Country | France |
| Governing body | FFF |
| National team(s) | France (men)•France (women) |
| First played | 1863 |
| Registered players | 2.1 million[1] |
| Clubs | 18,194 |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Association footballis the most popular sport inFrance.[2][3]In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested.[4]TheFrench Football Federation(FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the country, both professional and amateur.[5][6]The federation organizes theCoupe de Franceand is responsible for appointing the management of themen's,women's,andyouthnational football teams inFrance.The federation gives responsibility ofLigue 1andLigue 2to theLigue de Football Professionnel(LFP) who oversee, organize, and manage the country's top two leagues. The LFP is also responsible for organizing theCoupe de la Ligue,the country'sleague cupcompetition. The French Football Federation also supervises theoverseas departments and territoriesleagues and hosts football clubAS Monaco,a club based in the independent sovereign state ofMonaco.In 2022, the FFF had 2.1 million licensees, 1.8 million players and 14,000 registered clubs, the second highest number of registered players inEuropeafterGermany.[1]
The first football club was introduced to France in 1863 as described in a newspaper article byThe Scotsman,which stated "A number of English gentlemen living in Paris have lately organised a football club... The football contests take place in theBois de Boulogne,by permission of the authorities and surprise the French amazingly. "[7]Modern football was introduced nine years later in 1872 by English sailors playing inLe Havrein 1872.[8]
Today, football in France is especially being played successfully by people of non-European origin, in particularpeople of Subsaharan originandpeople from North Africawho are overrepresented in theBanlieue.[9] The importance of players of non-European origin is also reflected in the composition of the French World Cup winning team where only six of the 23 players were of European descent.[10]
France is a football superpower; by its footballers playing around the world, according to theCIES Football Observatory,in 2023, France is the second country in the world behindBrazil,with the most footballers playing abroad with 1,033.[11]According toStatista,of the estimated 130,000 professional football players worldwide, 6,368 originated from France, the third highest number in the world afterBrazil(10,694) andMexico(9,223).[12]
League system[edit]
Ligue de Football Professionnel[edit]
The top two divisions of French football,Ligue 1andLigue 2,are governed by theLigue de Football Professionnel.The league is responsible for organizing, overseeing and managing the top two leagues and is also responsible for the 38 professional football clubs that contest football in France (18 in Ligue 1 and 20 in Ligue 2).[13][14][15]
Ligue 1 is the French professional league for football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of theFrench football league system.Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system ofpromotion and relegationwith Ligue 2. Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, currently rankedfifth in Europebehind the EnglishPremier League,SpanishLa Liga,ItalianSerie A,and the GermanBundesliga.Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the nameNationalbefore switching toDivision 1after a year of existence. The name lasted until 2002 before switching to its current name. Thecurrent champions of FranceareParis Saint-Germain,who won a record twelfth title in2024.
Ligue 2 is the second division of French football. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system ofpromotion and relegationwith theChampionnat National.The league was created in 1934, a year after Ligue 1 and consisted of 23 clubs that were divided into two groups, Nord and Sud.
Ligue 1club Paris Saint-Germain ranked fourth place in the top ten most popular sports clubs on social media in the world as of 7 February 2024:[16]
| Rank | Football club | Country | Followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | Spain | 360.5 million |
| 2 | Barcelona | Spain | 318.8 million |
| 3 | Manchester United | England | 207 million |
| 4 | Paris Saint-Germain | France | 163 million |
| 5 | Juventus | Italy | 147.4 million |
| 6 | Manchester City | England | 139.7 million |
| 7 | Chelsea | England | 136.7 million |
| 8 | Liverpool | England | 131.6 million |
| 9 | Bayern Munich | Germany | 126.5 million |
| 10 | Arsenal | England | 99.2 million |
Championnat National[edit]
The Championnat National is the third division of French football. Though the league has several clubs that are members of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, it is not governed by the organization primarily because of the LFP's refusal to divide its profits into smaller shares, so they can collaborate with the many amateur clubs in the league to help them become professional. The French Football Federation moderates the league, which was founded in 1993 under the nameNational 1.Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system ofpromotion and relegationwith theChampionnat de France amateur.
Championnat National 2[edit]
The Championnat National 2 is the fourth division of French football and normally features 72 football clubs. Most clubs that participate in the league are amateur clubs, but a small number of clubs are semi-professional. The CFA consists of 72 clubs spread into 4 parallel groups of 18. It is open to the best reserve teams in France and amateur clubs in France, although only the amateur clubs are eligible for promotion to the Championnat National. The highest-placed amateur team in each pool are promoted, replaced by the 4 lowest-placed in the Championnat National.
Championnat National 3[edit]
The Championnat National 3 is the 5th division in French football and normally consists of 168 teams in 12 groups of 14 organised to align with theregional leagues.The twelve teams (both amateur and reserves of professional teams in higher divisions) that top their league are promoted to Championnat National 2. Relegation from Championnat National 3 is defined by both position in the group and the region the club belongs to. Normally, one club is relegated to each regional league that feeds that group.
Lower divisions[edit]
Some of regional leagues are organised and managed by theLigue du Football Amateur.The LFA, under the watch of the French Football Federation, is responsible for administering and federating the actions of the regional and district leagues.
Women's football[edit]
Division 1 Féminine[edit]
Division 1 Féminineis the top league forwomen's footballclubs in France. Division 1 Féminine is ranked the best league in Europe according toUEFA.The league was originally created in 1918 byAlice Milliatand ran for 12 successful seasons untilwomen's football was banned in France.The league was refounded in 1974 and officially reinstated in 1975.
It is contested by 12 clubs. The league operates on a system ofpromotion and relegationwith lower leagues and is governed by theFrench Football Federation.The league is known as D1 Arkema.Lyonhas won the most league titles at 16.
Lower divisions[edit]
Division 2 Féminineis the second-tier of French women's football, contested by 12 clubs. Relegation is toDivision 3 Féminine,contested by 24 fully professional clubs split into two groups. The fourth level is Régional 1 Féminine.
Overseas leagues[edit]
The leagues based in theoverseas departments and territories of Franceare run by their respective associations under the watch of the French Football Federation. Under the rules of the FFF, clubs in the leagues are allowed to participate in confederation competitions based on their regional locations. For example, the champion of theRéunion Premier Leagueis allowed inclusion into theCAF Champions League.
Cup competitions[edit]
The most important cup competition in France is theCoupe de France.However, several other national cups are targeted at clubs at different levels.
- TheCoupe de Franceis the premierknockoutcup competition in French football. It is open to all amateur and professionalfootballclubs in France, including clubs based in theoverseas departments and territories.The final is played at theStade de Franceand, during the2016–17 season,celebrated its 100th anniversary.
- TheCoupe de la Liguewas the second major cup competition in France. It was known outside France as the French League Cup and was aknockoutleague cup competition organised by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. Unlike the Coupe de France, it was only open to professional clubs who were members of the LFP. The competition was discontinued in 2020 to prevent fixture congestion.
- TheTrophée des Championsis played each July as a one-off match between the Coupe de France winners and the Ligue 1 champions.
- Regionalamateur leagues of France organise their own cup competitions that are run by the French Football Federation. For example, the Coupe Bourgogne only features amateur clubs that are based in the region ofBurgundy.
- Men's youth cups include theCoupe Gambardella,Coupe Nationale,and the Coupe Fédérale. The Coupe Gambardella cup competition held between the under-19s of the French football clubs. The Coupe Nationale holds dual competitions for the under-13 and under-15 teams of football clubs, while the Coupe Fédérale holds a national cup competition for under-16 teams.
- TheCoupe de l'Outre-Meris a football cup competition that was created in 2008. It was designed to have the national football teams of the overseas territories compete against each other
Women's[edit]
- TheCoupe de France féminine,a premier cup competition reserved exclusively for French football clubs. The competition is open to all professional and non-professional teams in the country.
- Trophée des Championnes, an annual match between the league champions of Division 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. The league runners-up play if the same team won the league and the cup.
- Coupe Nationale
- Coupe Fédérale
- The Coupe National holds a youth cup competition for the under-14 teams, while the Coupe Fédérale holds cup competitions for the under-13 and under-16 teams.
Competition records[edit]
UEFA Champions League[edit]
The following teams have qualified for the last eight of theEuropean Cup / UEFA Champions League.
- Marseille(1989–90– Semi-finals,1990–91–Runners-up,1992–93–Champions,2011–12– Quarter-finals)
- Monaco(1993–94– Semi-finals,1997–98– Semi-finals,2003–04–Runners-up,2016–17– Semi-finals)
- Saint-Étienne(1974–75– Semi-finals,1975–76–Runners-up,1976–77– Quarter-finals)
- Lyon(2003–04– Quarter-finals,2004–05– Quarter-finals,2005–06– Quarter-finals,2009–10– Semi-finals,2019–20– Semi-finals)
- Reims(1955–56–Runners-up,1958–59–Runners-up,1962–63– Quarter-finals)
- Bordeaux(1984–85– Semi-finals,2009–10– Quarter-finals)
- Paris Saint-Germain(1994–95– Semi-finals,2012–13– Quarter-finals,2013–14– Quarter-finals,2015–16– Quarter-finals,2019–20–Runners-up,2020–21– Semi-finals)
- Nantes(1995–96– Semi-finals)
- Auxerre(1996–97– Quarter-finals)
UEFA Women's Champions League[edit]
- Lyon(Winners:2010–11,2011–12,2016–17,2017–18,2018–19,2019–20,2021–22.Runners-up:2009–10,2012–13.Quarter-finals:2020–21,2022–23.)
- Paris Saint-Germain(Runners-up:2014–15,2016–17.)
- Paris FC(Semi-finals:2012–13.Quarter-finals:2010–11.)
- Montpellier(Quarter-finalists:2009–10,2017–18.)
National teams[edit]
TheFrance national football teamrepresents France in international football.[17]France was one of the four European teams that participated at theinaugural World Cup in 1930and are one of eight national teams to have won the competition, which they did in 1998 when they hosted the Cup, defeatingBrazil3–0 in thefinal.They won their second world title 20 years later, after defeatingCroatia4–2 in thefinalof the2018 editionin Russia. France also won twoEuropean Championshipsin1984and2000,and hosted the tournament on three occasions, including their victorious 1984 campaign. Following France's2001 Confederations Cupvictory, they became the first national team to win the three most important men's titles organised byFIFA:theFIFA World Cup,theFIFA Confederations Cup,and theOlympic Tournament.This would be followed withArgentinaandBrazil's victories at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2016. France additionally went on to win aUEFA Nations Leaguetitle in2021.
TheFrance women's national football teamrepresents the country in internationalwomen's football.France initially struggled on the international stage failing to qualify for three of the firstFIFA Women's World Cupsand the six straightUEFA European Championshipsbefore reaching the quarter-finals in the1997 edition of the competition.However, since the beginning of the newmillennium,France have become a mid-tier national team and one of the most consistent inEurope,having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in2003and reaching the quarter-finals in the last three consecutive European Championships. They also hosted the2019 Women's World Cup,reaching the quarter-finals.
TheFrance national youth football teamsconsists of age-specific national teams beginning with theFrance national under-16 football teamand ending with theFrance national under-21 football team.Since the coaching tenure ofAimé Jacquet,there is an unwritten rule amongsenior national teamcoaches that players called up to the national team must have had prior international experience with the under-21 team.
Overseas departments national teams[edit]
The followingoverseas departmentnational teams act asfeeder teamsfor theFrance national football team.All teams are run by their respective federation under the authority of the French Football Federation.
| National team | Elo Ranking | Manager | Stadium | Member Association(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Guiana | 159 |  Ghislain Zulémaro
|
Stade de Baduel | CONCACAFandCFU |
| Guadeloupe | 91 | Roger Salnot
|
Stade René Serge Nabajoth | CONCACAFandCFU |
| Martinique | 115 | Theodore Antonin
|
Stade d'Honneur de Dillon | CONCACAFandCFU |
| Réunion | 138 | TBD | Stade Jean-Ivoula | CAF |
| Saint Martin | 193 | Andy Gerard
|
TBD | CONCACAFandCFU |
As an overseas department of theFrench Republic,each national team is not a member ofFIFA,therefore they are not eligible to enter theWorld Cup.However, since inhabitants of the overseas departments are French citizens, players are eligible to play for theFrance national football team.Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and French Guiana are associate members ofCONCACAFand are full members of theCaribbean Football Union,and are thus eligible for all competitions organized by both, while Réunion are associate members ofCAF.Indeed, according to the status of the FFF (article 34, paragraph 6):"[...]Under the control of related continental confederations, and with the agreement of the FFF, those leagues can organize international sport events at a regional level or set up teams in order to participate to them."
A special rule of theCONCACAF Gold Cuponly allows players to join the team if they have not played for France during the previous five years. On the other hand, any player joining the team is allowed to join the France national team afterward with no time restrictions.
The use ofoverseas departmentplayers has been extremely beneficial for the France national team.Lilian ThuramandBernard Lama,who were born inGuadeloupeandMartinique,respectively, were a part of the winning team at the1998 FIFA World Cup.Also on the team wereThierry HenryandBernard Diomède,who, though born in metropolitan France, were descendants of parents from overseas departments. Currently,Florent Malouda(French Guiana),William Gallas,Mikaël Silvestre,Michaël Ciani(Guadeloupe),Nicolas Anelka(Martinique), andGuillaume HoarauandFlorent Sinama Pongolle(Réunion) are members of the national team who either hail from or whose families hail from the overseas departments.
French football stadiums[edit]
Stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or higher are included.
| # | Image | Stadium | Capacity | City | Region | Home Team | Opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Stade de France | 81,338 | Saint-Denis | Île-de-France | France national football team | 1998 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 2 | |
Stade Vélodrome | 67,394 | Marseille | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Olympique de Marseille | 1937 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 3 | 
|
Parc Olympique Lyonnais | 59,186 | Décines-Charpieu | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Olympique Lyonnais | 2016 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 4 |  |
Stade Pierre-Mauroy | 50,157 | Villeneuve-d'Ascq | Hauts-de-France | Lille OSC | 2012 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 5 | |
Parc des Princes | 48,583 | Paris | Île-de-France | Paris Saint-Germain FC | 1972 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 6 |  |
Matmut Atlantique | 42,115 | Bordeaux | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | FC Girondins de Bordeaux | 2015 | UEFA Category 4 stadium |
| 7 |  |
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard | 41,965 | Saint-Étienne | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | AS Saint-Étienne | 1931 |
List of club owners[edit]
 | This section needs to beupdated.(February 2024) |
Ligue 1[edit]
 |
| Club | Owner(s) | Estimated combined net worth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brest | Denis Le Saint
|
Fruits and Vegetables | |
| Clermont |  Ahmet Schaefer
|
||
| Le Havre |  Vincent Volpe
|
||
| Lens | Joseph OughourlianAmber Capital |
Investments | |
| Lille |  Merlyn Partners
|
Investments | |
| Lorient | Loïc FéryBill Foley |
300 M€ | Investments |
| Lyon | Eagle Football Holdings LLCJohn Textor |
||
| Marseille | Frank McCourt
|
1,2 Mds$ | Sport investments |
| Metz | Bernard Serin
|
Steel Products | |
| Monaco |  Dmitry Rybolovlev
|
7,4 Mds$ | Specialized chemicals, investments |
| Montpellier | Laurent Nicollin
|
150 M€ | Waste management |
| Nantes |  Waldemar Kita
|
170 M€ | Optical |
| Nice |  Jim Ratcliffe
|
Chemical industries | |
| Paris |  Qatar Sports InvestmentsArctos Partners |
9.0 B$[citation needed] | Gas & oil |
| Reims | Jean-Pierre Caillot
|
Transport | |
| Rennes | Francois Pinault
|
23 Mds€ | Luxury |
| Strasbourg | Clearlake Capital Group
|
||
| Toulouse | RedBird Capital Partners
|
Investments |
Ligue 2[edit]
| Club | Owner(s) | Estimated combined net worth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajaccio | Alain Orsoni
|
||
| Amiens | Bernard Joannin
|
Retail | |
| Angers | Saïd Chabane
|
||
| Annecy | Sebastien Faraglia
|
||
| Auxerre |  James Zhou
|
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| Bastia | Familles Luiggi et Ferrandi
|
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| Bordeaux |  Gérard Lopez
|
Investments | |
| Caen | Oaktree Capital
|
Investments | |
| Concarneau | |||
| Dunkerque |  Amissos / Yildirim
|
||
| Grenoble | Stéphane Rosnoblet
|
Supermarket | |
| Guingamp | Noël Le Graët
|
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| Laval | Laurent Lairy
|
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| Paris FC | Pierre Ferracci Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company Allirajah Subaskaran Noah Football Group
|
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| Pau | Bernard Laporte-Fray
|
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| Quevilly | Michel Mallet
|
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| Rodez | Pierre Olivier Murat
|
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| Saint-Étienne | Roland RomeyerBernard Caïzzo |
||
| Troyes |  City Football Group
|
Sport investments | |
| Valenciennes | Sport Republic
|
National[edit]
| Club | Owner(s) | Estimated combined net worth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chateauroux | United World GroupAbdullah bin Mossad
|
Sport Investments | |
| Dijon | Olivier Delcourt
|
||
| Le Mans | Thierry Gomez
|
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| Nancy | Chien Lee
|
Sport Investments | |
| Nîmes | Rani Assaf
|
Telecommunications | |
| Niort | Ethan Hanouna
|
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| Red Star | 777 Partners
|
||
| Sedan |
|
||
| Rouen |
|
||
| Sochaux | Romain Peugeot
|
||
| Versailles | Alexandre Mulliez
|
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ab"Le budget et les chiffres clés".French Football Federation.Archived from the original on 9 June 2022.Retrieved22 August2022.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)(the last successful archive is 2021 statistics: 1.9 million licensees, 1.8 million players and 15,000 clubs.) - ^"Popular sports in France".Archivedfrom the original on 22 October 2021.Retrieved2 May2021.
- ^"Sport in France".Topend Sports.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2021.Retrieved7 June2016.
- ^TGM Research."TGM Euro Survey in France 2024".TGM Research.Retrieved28 June2024.
- ^"A French paradox: multicultural celebrities are popular, but so is Le Pen".The Independent.January 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 24 February 2015.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^"France's Aversion To Its National Soccer Team".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 10 January 2020.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^The Scotsman newspaper, 22 December 1863, page 8
- ^"History of Football".Ifhof.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2 September 2013.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^"La place du sport dans les quartiers populaires".Impulsion.Archivedfrom the original on 24 October 2023.Retrieved14 October2023.
- ^"Who Wins When France Claims the World Cup?".The Athletic. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023.Retrieved14 October2023.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^"Brazil breaks ranking record of exported players. France rank second, England fourth".26 September 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2023.Retrieved26 September2023.
- ^"Number of men's professional soccer players worldwide in 2021, by country of origin".26 September 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2023.Retrieved26 September2023.
- ^"In France Paris St. Germain Is A League Apart".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 12 November 2020.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^Inti Landauro and William Horobin (25 October 2013)."Top French Soccer Clubs Call Tax Strike".The Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2016.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^WSC Daily."When Saturday Comes – Victory for French fans over TV scheduling".Wsc.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 22 July 2018.Retrieved21 December2014.
- ^https://jobsinfootball.com/blog/most-supported-football-clubs-in-the-world/
- ^"France's Aversion To Its National Soccer Team".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 10 January 2020.Retrieved21 December2014.
External links[edit]
- Official website– FFF
French Football Federation(President:Philippe Diallo(interim))Ligue féminine de football professionnel(President:Jean-Michel Aulas) | |||||||
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