The Ligue de Football Professionnel, commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France and Monaco. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Football Federation. The current president of the league is Vincent Labrune. It is headquartered in Paris.
Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the country, both professional and amateur. The federation organizes the Coupe de France and is responsible for appointing the management of the men's, women's, and youth national football teams in France. The federation gives responsibility of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) who oversee, organize, and manage the country's top two leagues. The LFP is also responsible for organizing the Coupe de la Ligue, the country's league cup competition. The French Football Federation also supervises the overseas departments and territories leagues and hosts football club AS Monaco, a club based in the independent sovereign state of Monaco. In 2022, the FFF had 2.1 million licensees, 1.8 million players and 14,000 registered clubs, the second highest number of registered players in Europe after Germany.
The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and Championnat National. Contested by 48 clubs, the Championnat National 2 operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Championnat National and Championnat National 3, the fifth division of French football. Seasons run from August to May, with teams in the three groups will playing 30 games each. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Championnat National, and the Championnat National 2. Usually contested by 154 clubs, the Championnat National 3 operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Championnat National 2 and the regional leagues of the Division d'Honneur, the sixth division of French football. Seasons run from August to May, with teams in eleven groups playing 26 games each totalling 2002 games in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
Malian Première Division is the top division of football in Mali. Having been created in 1966, it is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The league has been professional since 2004. The official name is Ligue 1 Orange Mali for sponsorship reasons.
The Olympique Lyonnais Reserves & Academy are the reserve team and academy of French club Olympique Lyonnais. The reserves squad play in the Championnat National 3, the fifth division of French football and the second highest division the team is allowed to participate in. Lyon have won the reserves title of the Championnat de France Amateur six times. They have won in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2009, and 2010.
Football Club d'Annecy is a French football club based in the town of Annecy, Haute-Savoie. The team plays its home matches at the Parc des Sports, where the club and its predecessor have been based since 1964. It currently competes in the Ligue 2.
Alexandre Armand Lacazette is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains Ligue 1 club Lyon. He plays mainly as a striker, but has also been deployed as a second striker and wide forward.
The Paris Saint-Germain Academy is the youth system of both Paris Saint-Germain's men's and women's teams. Managed by the Association Paris Saint-Germain, the academy was officially established in 1975, but has been developing young talents since the club's foundation in 1970. The academy now has centres in several countries around the world. Likewise, PSG began developing youth players for the women's section in 2012, with the academy officially opening in 2023. Campus PSG in Poissy is currently the training facility and home ground of both sections.
The Algerian Basketball Championship, now called the Super Division and formally known as the ABC Super Division, is the pre-eminent men's basketball league in Algeria. National 1 is contested by 16 teams, with the two lowest-placed teams relegated to the Second Division and replaced by the two playoff winners. From 1963 onwards, MC Alger and WA Boufarik both dominated. Darak El-Watani won 11 titles but no longer exists.
The 2012 Coupe de France final was the 94th final of France's most prestigious football cup competition. The final took place on 28 April 2012 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and was contested between Lyon and Quevilly. The winner of the Coupe de France is guaranteed a place in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League with the club's appearance being dependent on whether it qualifies for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. The final was broadcast live on France 2.
Raphaël Calvet is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championnat National club Versailles.
The RC Strasbourg Alsace Academy, officially the Racing Mutest Académie, is the youth academy of French football club RC Strasbourg Alsace. It was founded in 1972.
Stefan Bajic is a French professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Bristol City.
The Championnat National U19 is the highest tier of under-19 football in France. Organized by the French Football Federation, it is contested by 56 clubs that are split into 4 groups.
The Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), also known as the Challenge Jules‒Rimet, was the highest tier of amateur football in France from 1935 to 1971. It was organized by the French Football Federation.
Warren Zaïre-Emery is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team.
The 2022–23 Championnat National 2 was the 25th season of the fourth tier in the French football league system in its current format. This season the competition was contested by 64 clubs split geographically across four groups of 16 teams. The teams included amateur clubs and the reserve teams of professional clubs. The competition started on 20 August 2022 and completed on 3 June 2023.
The 2022-23 Championnat National 3 is the sixth season of the fifth tier in the French football league system in its current format. The competition is contested by 168 clubs split geographically across 12 groups of 14 teams. The teams include amateur clubs and the reserve teams of professional clubs. The competition starts on 28 August 2022 and is scheduled to end on 4 June 2023.
