The oldest French football competition could be saved in-extremis, according to the French Football Federation.
The 2021 Coupe de France will therefore be held in a different configuration from other years because of the coronavirus.
Europe 1 deciphers the organization of the competition for you.
The Coupe de France will indeed take place in 2021, confirmed a source close to the French Football Federation.
But it will take place in an unprecedented format because of the health restrictions linked to the coronavirus.
The competitions committee finally succeeded in finding a compromise to save the oldest of the French meetings.
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The competition will be organized as follows: amateurs and professionals will each play on their own and will meet only in the round of 16.
After matches between them, from mid-January until the end of January, 17 amateur clubs will be qualified.
On the professional side, the 20 Ligue 2 clubs will also play a round between them.
The ten winners will then be opposed to the 20 Ligue 1 clubs. A total of 15 professional teams will qualify.
For the round of 16, which will begin at the end of February if the health context allows it, there will therefore be 32 teams.
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A major challenge for the French Football Federation
The French Football Federation should formalize this new format on Thursday afternoon.
The Coupe de France remains a major stake for the FFF.
From a symbolic point of view, first of all, because it is the great celebration of football, but also from a financial point of view.
The competition generates no less than 35 million euros.
A sum that is not negligible in this period troubled by the Covid-19.