Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP)
Without having obtained a resumption of the season, the president of Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas announced Wednesday wanting to organize two friendly tournaments in July at the Parc OL, a male and a female, opposing "probably" eight teams on a at two weeks.
"We are going to organize two tournaments," said Aulas during a press conference, the day after the order of the Council of State dismissing OL, which called for a restart of the Ligue 1 season stopped in cause of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I already had lunch with the regional prefect, Pascal Mailhos, last Friday. The idea is to be the first to be able to organize matches. PSG and OL are directly interested, for boys and girls, because we are the two clubs qualified for the Men's and Women's Champions Leagues, "he said.
The women's D1 was also stopped before its end, the Lyonnaises winning a 14th consecutive championship title.
"We are planning a tournament for the boys for one or two weeks, probably of eight teams divided into two groups, which would make it possible to have a certain number of preparation matches."
"We are planning the same thing with the women's team. If possible in August, we would do a first, that of bringing our American team, OL Reign, to participate in this competition. We have already taken contacts with international clubs, "added the manager.
This idea is claimed by the sports director Juninho "to allow us to prepare for the most important matches of the year, the final of the League Cup and the Champions League", which the authorities hope to organize in the current of summer, said Aulas.
Qualified for European men's competitions continuously since 1997, OL finished 7th in Ligue 1 according to the final classification decided by the Professional Football League (LFP).
The club is now forced to win the final of the League Cup against Paris SG to compete in the Europa League next season, or succeed in winning the C1 to get a ticket for the next edition.
© 2020 AFP