“A penny is a penny little guys.” - Montage 20 Minutes

  • In the Coupe de France, tradition has it that professional clubs leave their share of the proceeds of the match to amateur clubs, even if nothing forces them to do so.
  • In the 32nd finals, two weeks ago, Trelissac had complained that OM decided to leave with their due.
  • Behind the controversy, this recipe story is not anecdotal for amateur clubs, who feel little supported on a daily basis.

Promised, the president of Granville does not ask the question. And his club (National 2), which faces OM in the 16th finals of the Coupe de France, Friday, will not make it a state affair if Jacques-Henri Eyraud still believes that it is thanks to the Marseillais that a soccer match could be organized in the region. No, Dominique Gortari does not really want to talk about recipe before "this beautiful party", while the opponent had done a lot of talking in the previous round by not leaving his share to Trélissac, as is customary.

“We have seen lately that more and more, professional clubs are leaving with their share. They don't have to leave it. What do you want to do ? "Questions Dominique Gortari, who specifies that OM had been generous when the two clubs met in 2016." Me, it is not the financial part that interests me the most about this match, continues -he. If they take everything, too bad. I will not argue. They are in their right, they will decide. "

Excuses from professional clubs for not leaving the recipe to amateurs via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/1u5cCPBWil

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) January 6, 2020

Until then, like him, the leaders of amateur clubs were content to shrug their shoulders, between bitterness and fatalism. And then those of Trélissac decided to put a little panache in all this, well helped by OM and its explanations "preposterous". This is how we ended up after the 32nd finals with a good controversy over the recipe.

A significant windfall for a semi-professional N2 club

We hadn't seen the quarrel coming, and yet we should perhaps have. Behind it, this story of recipe is far from anecdotal for amateur clubs. Winning the right to face a Ligue 1 is an event for an entire city, even a department, but it is also a financial windfall to see the future a little more calmly. Illustration with Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire (N2), who receives Monaco, Monday.

For this meeting, the small club of Loiret was graciously offered by the US Orléans to come and play in its Stade de la Source. The 7,300 seats quickly found takers, but the recipe is not announced either pharaonic, knowing that some 1,500 places are reserved for invitations. Nevertheless, 100,000 or 200,000 euros, that's always taken at this level. Jean-Bernard Legroux, one of the two co-presidents of the club:

It will help us, that's the least we will have to put us. Today our budget is 820,000 euros. We receive around 160,000-170,000 euros in grants, licenses, etc. It's 20%. The remaining 80% is private, that is to say us, the two presidents, our suppliers, our friends. "

So a helping hand is never trivial. Jean-Bernard Legroux does not yet know Monaco's intentions regarding the benefits of the evening. "They had to make their decision on Monday," he said. I hope they will leave it with us anyway. For them, half of the admissions to a match like this is really a drop. I don't see Monaco not giving up their share. "

Because in general, things go very well between pros and amateurs. The presidents of Granville and Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire have only fond memories of their previous meetings against elite clubs. In fact, more than these recipe stories in themselves, the important thing for them seems to be the problem that they symbolize: this feeling more and more significant of being abandoned by the professional world and the Federation French football.

"We need to lend a hand to amateur football, but it may not be everyone's vision"

“The Federation prides itself on having increased its endowments for the benefit of amateur clubs. Reality shows that this is completely false, "says Eric Thomas, the president of the French Association of Amateur Football (AFFA). Already, according to his calculations, the increase in allocations for the Coupe de France (+ 28% for last season, to the tune of 12 million euros) first benefited professional clubs (72%), then semi- professionals (N1, N2 and N3, 25%) and finally to regional and departmental clubs (3%).

He then explains, more generally: “Noël Le Graët spoke in December of 81.6 million euros allocated to amateur football, his treasurer of 100 million… For me, it is 16.5 million, thanks to the Fonds d aid to amateur football [FAFA]. I do not know of any other fund devoted to amateur football. For him, as for Jean-Bernard Legroux, the runoff does not work very well either in French football.

"We need to lend a hand to amateur football, but it may not be everyone's vision," said Dominique Gortari. Meanwhile, OM said Thursday night that the club was "ready to make a move" for Granville. "We are thinking about which. A penny is a penny, "added the second in Ligue 1. Sure that, the leaders of amateur clubs know this.

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