The descent into hell continues for Chamois Niortais, relegated to D1, the 9th French division by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine league
It was one of the other soap operas of the summer in the relegation department. In addition to that of Bordeaux which finished in National 2, the Niort club was also in the League’s sights.
It’s all down to one vote… At 13 against 12, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine league voted to demote the Niort club to D1, the 9th French division. A new blow for the Chamois Niort team, which was still playing in Ligue 2 during the 2022-2023 season. Ligue 2 that they almost regained, last season the club coached by Philippe Hinschberger came close to promotion with a third place in the national league behind Red Star and Martigues after a great season.
But this summer, Niort has been through an ordeal, descending the divisions one by one. After filing for bankruptcy this summer, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine league ruled on the Chamois case this Tuesday. The club could not go back beyond the regional 3 level, the league finally decided for D1. The club will start from departmental box 1 like Limoges in 2020 and Libourne in 2024, two other teams in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region who had to file for bankruptcy.
A difficult decision to accept
As he said on the microphone of France Bluefor the former Chamois coach Phillippe Hinschberger the pill is hard to swallow: “For me, it’s relentlessness, it would have been better to let the Chamois die completely, I thought that the role of a football league was to support its clubs, the Chamois who, let’s remember, are celebrating their 100th anniversary next year.”
