According to the sports daily The Teamthe FFF and the LFP will launch the Ligue des Espoirs at the beginning of October 2024. A new competition in parallel with the amateur championships, of which AJ Auxerre would be a part.
According to an article by The Teampublished this Tuesday, July 2, a new football competition will see the light of day: the Ligue des Espoirs. Faced for several years with a reduction in the playing time of young professionals and the reform of the championships (most of the reserves now play in N3), French trainers have launched the idea of a new format.
Concretely, 16 clubs (Toulouse, Monaco, Saint-Etienne, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, PSG, Paris FC, Ajaccio, AuxerreNice, Bordeaux, Rennes, Caen, Le Havre and OM) will be involved from October, on six dates, in addition to the semi-finals and the final.
Matches on Mondays
The formula still needs to be worked on, but the matches will last 90 minutes, without extra time (directly penalty shootouts), with the aim of giving the youngsters maximum playing time. The matches would take place on Monday at 2:30 p.m., on a grass pitch and without an audience for logistical reasons. Only the last four and the final will be played in front of spectators.
This competition is similar in concept to the one set up in Portugal, with young people aged 18 to 20 and the possibility of having four professionals aged over 23 play.
This does not mean, however, that reserve teams will withdraw from amateur championships. The system is complementary.
AJ Auxerre unveils its pre-season schedule with five friendly matches including one against Stade de Reims
Florent Leybros
