Jean-Luc Boujon, edited by Alexis Rey-Millet 11:32 a.m., July 08, 2022
Villefranche en Beaujolais, a very small country club which does not even have an approved stadium, could move to Ligue 2, in place of the Girondins de Bordeaux, demoted to National 1. After its descent to Ligue 2 this season, the Girondins had been sanctioned with an additional demotion because of their financial record.
What if Beaujolais replaced Bordeaux in Ligue 2 football?
The Girondins, already sportingly relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the last season, were demoted to National (3rd division) by the FFF Appeals Committee.
The New Aquitaine club has indeed been sanctioned by the DNCG for insufficient financial guarantees.
A reality denied Thursday by Gérard Lopez, the president of the Girondins, who announced to appeal this decision.
In the meantime, there is a team that would see itself in Ligue 2 in place of Bordeaux: FC Villefranche-Beaujolais, a very small club that sees big and has just played the play-offs for accession to Ligue 2.
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FC Villefranche-Beaujolais, with its 3 million euro budget, is considered a small thumb of French football.
Located in a small town of 35,000 inhabitants at the foot of the vineyards, the club is nevertheless ahead of the big players in the National 1 championship, the equivalent of the 3rd division.
If a club must replace Bordeaux in Ligue 2, it is FC Villefranche-Beaujolais, believes its president Philippe Terrier.
"We are completely ready. We are ready to take on this rise. Sportingly, we have proven that we have the vocation to evolve in Ligue 2. We have made the play-offs two years in a row and we are preparing for the budget that we are going to present to the DNCG. So, we will be ready to attack Ligue 2 immediately", he explains.
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A doubled budget and a new stadium
The club gave all the guarantees to the football authorities: its budget would be doubled on the upper floor, and its stadium being too small, it would play its home matches in Gueugnon, 120 kilometers away.
An opportunity that does not fail to enthuse the supporters of FC Villefranche-Beaujolais.
"It would be nice. It would be great for the club. If the place comes up, we take it! We won't ask ourselves any questions and we'll play it hard, that's for sure! For the region, for Beaujolais, it's super important!", explains one of them.
Without waiting for the decision concerning Bordeaux, FC Villefranche-Beaujolais is therefore preparing to play in Ligue 2. What has only happened to it once in its history: during the 83-84 season, i.e. 39 years ago !