In search of solutions to reinvent French professional football in the midst of a health crisis, Vincent Labrune, the president of the Professional Football League, brought up the idea of a Ligue 1 with 18 clubs.
A proposal as recurring as it is divisive.
DECRYPTION
This is an idea put forward by Vincent Labrune, the new president of the Professional Football League, Sunday in the columns of the
JDD
, Sunday.
To save sport, also hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, why not go back to a Ligue 1 with 18 clubs rather than the current 20?
If the hypothesis is extremely debated, it is because it has long divided the supporters of a tight elite and those of a championship open to medium-sized clubs.
Noël Le Graët, president of the FFF (French Football Federation), had nevertheless allowed this passage from 20 to 18 clubs in 1997. Today, the boss of French football simply does not want to hear about it: "It deserves more It would be necessary to carry out a financial study, to question the television channels. This still makes matches less, "he said in an interview with
L'Equipe
.
For him, "the moment is not necessarily the best chosen".
"There is the Covid, TV contracts with 20 clubs ... It is not done like that. If it must be done, it is preparing for a future call for tenders", retorts the president of the FFF.
"The more the elite, the better"
Didier Deschamps, his coach, on the contrary approved on Monday the idea of Vincent Labrune: "I am one of those who think that the more the elite is tightened, the better. It would be to pull French football up. Today sees the calendars with streaks that we have never seen before: from weeks to three matches with the Champions League every week. It's complicated. To have four Championship matches less, going to 18 clubs , it goes in the direction of the elite ", he declared in a press conference before admitting" that by saying that, I will not make only friends, but Ligue 1 must go in this meaning".
An opinion shared by Virginie Phulpin, sports editorialist of Europe 1, for whom the idea is wise: "With the health crisis, the stands as empty as the cash registers, the defaults of the broadcaster Mediapro and the worrying results of the French clubs in the European Cup, Vincent Labrune does not have much choice, he is obliged to initiate reforms, "she believes.
"When he talks about reinventing the model of French football, he is right, we have to act.
A measure not sufficient?
In order to favor the Blues for "their" World Cup, the club calendar had been reduced to 18 from 1997-1998 to 2001-2002.
"It certainly served the France team, but it didn't take the French clubs to the roof of Europe. I don't know if it's the miracle solution, but today there are too many As a result, the clubs are dispersed, the players are exhausted and injured, and we end up with some posters that interest no one, barely those who play them, ”laments Virginie Phulpin.
>> Find all of Virginie Phulpin's sports editorials in podcast and replay here
For the columnist, tightening the championship would allow clubs to feel more concerned: "There will be more at stake in each match and the level could go up. It would amount to privileging quality rather than quantity".
But she believes that such a change could not happen alone: "The paradox today is that there are too many matches but few people see them. The football offer on TV is too expensive, too dispersed , the public does not follow at any cost and result, many go through illegal streaming and it kills football ".
She therefore proposes to look into the idea of Jean-Michel Aulas, president of Olympique Lyonnais, who would like to create a "football Spotify".
But Virgine Phulpin is convinced of it;
a Ligue 1 to 18 will not on its own make it possible to raise the level: "Football is a game, a philosophy. Today in Ligue 1 we play so as not to lose and if the clubs played rather to win that would change everything. Vincent Labrune cannot decide on his own to set up a new state of mind, but if, when talking about reinventing the football model, we also talk about the game, it will already be a step, "she concludes.