Thomas Seneke, Media 365: Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2023 at 8:51 pm.
Nobody really understood, in 2002, why Ligue 1 went from 18 clubs to 20 clubs, but this system was quickly criticized and held for a while. It probably won’t be stretching again anytime soon.
On the eve of the resumption of the French League, With Nice-Lille opening on Friday evening, there will only be nine matches in the day, as the First Division was reduced from 20 to 18 clubs (there will only be three matches on Sundays at 3pm instead of four). It is the resurgence of the formula that was actually used from 1997 to 2002. Just over 20 years later, why did the LFP decide to use this option again? According to the authority, it is planned to better distribute television broadcasting rights, but also to facilitate the calendar, especially in light of the Champions League reform that will enter into force next season.
The return of the barrage between the sixteenth and the winner of the playoffs in the second division
The question does not arise in England, Spain or Italy, but we hope to reap the rewards in the European Cup against our glorious neighbours, by adopting this German system. Or the Portuguese, to be a little more realistic and why not warm up the real… The good news is the return of the play-off between the 16 in Ligue 1 and the winner of the qualifiers in Ligue 2 (between the teams ranked 3 to 5) in which there will be four more runs This season, in order to reduce the waiting room also to 18 clubs – which would be the first time and would also make it possible to move towards the creation, in the long term, of a true professional Ligue 3 instead of the National.
But then why did the president of the League at that time, Noel Le Graet, already in 1997 decide to reduce the stake? Pretty much for the same reasons. And for what result? Slightly fewer goals per game than in recent years, less than 2.5. At the European level, Monaco reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1998 and OM to the final of the UEFA Cup in 1999. It was interesting at the beginning, much less at the end: it is difficult to say a really different direction, therefore, compared to the following seasons Which was often too boring for French football. But in the context of the 2020s, who knows…
