“It must have been a party, we almost regret qualifying” The struggle of amateur clubs to organize Coupe de France matches against professional teams

US Bolbec, FC Serquigny-Nassandres, AG Caen, AF Virois: these four Norman amateur clubs have in common that they have faced professional teams in the Coupe de France in recent seasons. Behind the sporting epic and the festivities of a gala meeting, a party somewhat spoiled by financial and security constraints.

“We were asked for 84,000 euros to play at the Ornano stadium ” The revelation of Kévin Beaufils shocked and outraged part of the Football world last week. For the president of US Bolbec, the joy of historic qualification for the 8th round of the Coupe de France quickly faded behind the hassle of organizing the match against SM Caen.

As the Seinomarine club's ground is not approved to accommodate a Ligue 2 player, the French Football Federation asked it to find another base. Its leaders tried the Océane stadium in Le Havre, but impossible, the HAC playing the next day against Angers in Ligue 1. They then fell back on the Pavilly ground, validated by the FFF… before backpedaling. “The prefecture prohibits us from playing on the grounds of Bolbec, Pavilly, Yvetot or others due to a problem of hooliganism between the supporters of Caen, Rouen and Le Havrelaments Philippe Beaufils, responsible for sponsorship.

Finally, faced with the impasse, the match will be played at the Ornano stadium, but the organization will fall to the professional club, which will only open a small part of its stadium. A stand will be dedicated to the Bolbecais, who will however have to travel 100 km to enjoy “their match”. “The players sold themselves dearly to get this place and we are taken hostage, protests Philippe Beaufils.

We will be penalized for everything. We're going to go play at their place, we're not going to get the recipe. We almost regret having passed the tour. Here we are, when it should be a celebration! We wonder if it's still worth playing the Coupe de France.

Philippe Beaufils, sponsorship manager at US Bolbec

A month ago, FC Serquigny-Nassandres (R2) found themselves in a similar configuration. Qualified for the first time in its history in the 7th round of the national competition, the European club inherited En Avant Guingamp (L2). An immense joy followed by the stress of the organization, within a tight schedule.

“Between the time of the draw and the choice of land, four days passed, including a weekend and a public holiday, relates Christophe Valentin, president. We learned the identity of our opponent on Wednesday at 11 a.m., two hours later, Guingamp called us to ask us where we were playing to book a hotel…“In summary, we are asking an amateur club to organize a professional match, without being really guided.”We were left to our own devices, no help from the League or the district“, laments the leader, who nevertheless notes the helping hand of a delegate”who took personal initiative“to help them.

Fortunately, the FCSN maintains privileged contacts with the “neighboring” club of Lisieux. Even if the first wish was to play in Eure, the president therefore decided to relocate his meeting to the city of Sainte-Thérèse. Once the ground has been found, Christophe Vincent and the club volunteers are not at the end of their troubles.

“We have to manage the ticketing ourselves, secure the stadium, hold meetings, park opposing supporters, so that the Guingamp bus and the officials' vehicles can park inside the stadium. We had to call on a security company, find mobile toilets for opposing supporters…“In short, the specifications of the FFF and the prefecture are”very heavy“, et “everything is very complicated” for an amateur club.

They want the French Cup to be accessible to everyone but it becomes complicated when we get to the 7th round. There are constraints that only an N2 or N3 club can resolve.

Christophe Vincent, president of FC Serquigny-Nassandre

Despite the 5-0 defeat, the FCSN still had its memorable moment. 35 km from home, but with his supporters, young people and volunteers. A total of 1,900 spectators attended the match and the EAG agreed to leave the ticket revenue. Around 10,000 euros which will largely cover the costs incurred, in addition to the 6,000 euros paid by the federation for presence in the 7th round of the competition.

Last season, Guingamp had already made a Norman club happy: AG Caen. Finally, happiness…”It remains a good memory… for those who did not experience the organizationremembers Bruno Belas, co-president. I am a volunteer, I spent 80% of my time for three weeks organizing the match“.

Security constraints prevented the meeting from taking place in the Venoix stadium, the usual lair of the Caennaise Avant-Garde. The only solution according to the manager: play at the Ornano stadium. “SM Caen asked us for 50,000 euros, but it was an unthinkable sum. The town hall intervened and we found an arrangement“However, the club still left some feathers, or rather money.

“In barely ten days, we didn't have time to organize it properly, we only gathered 2,000 spectators and we didn't get back on our feet“, regrets the Caen manager. The club did not cover its costs, so much so that with its accounts in the red, the DNCG – financial policeman of French football – pronounced an administrative demotion against it at the end of the season Fortunately, the town hall guaranteed the debts and the club was able to remain in N3.

The regulations are becoming so heavy that they are becoming incoherent. Where it should be a celebration, it is not normal for it to become a constraint for an amateur club.

Bruno Belas, co-president of AG Caen

Newly elected at the head of the Normandy League, Romain Féret shares the wrath of the clubs. “We have a federation stuck to regulatory principles which are not in line with the realities of our communities.he laments. The observation is today, it widens the distance between the pros and the amateurs even more“.

The new football boss in the region concedes, “Othere is a lot of delay in infrastructure in Normandy“However, he believes that it is “time for football to come back to earth“. “We close a field because it is missing a meter of length, we invalidate a stadium because the cap of the dugout is too close to the line while this same field hosted a training course for the French women's team , this is not possible!“

Should the League come into play to support these amateur clubs who achieve historic successes in the Coupe de France, until they obtain the holy grail of challenging the pros? Romain Féret delivers a very Norman response: “I would say no because it is a federal competition, but yes because it is our clubs“. We will judge on the evidence next season.

In Vire, president Christophe Lécuyer has experience in organizing high-level matches. Its Pierre Compte stadium has several times hosted pre-season meetings subject to risks such as Caen – Le Havre, Caen – Rennes, Caen – Guingamp. He also took his team to the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France.

“What I take away from this is that contrary to the adage, in the Coupe de France, you have to put the cart before the horse.affirms President Virois. Understand, it is necessary to anticipate a possible qualification and why not a confrontation with a professional club. “It's not being arrogant, it's being forward-looking“, he continues.

Christophe Lécuyer learned his lesson the hard way. In December 2022, AF Virois must host SM Caen in the 8th round of the Coupe de France. The club decides to install a temporary stand with 600 seats. Validated initially by the FFF, it was revoked two days before the match when all the tickets had been sold. A postponement of the match is decided.

Ultimately, the match will be played at d'Ornano. Vire will lose it on the field but will win it on the green carpet, thus winning the right to face Nantes, defending champion. Here again, the meeting takes place in the Caen area, the club spending a total of several tens of thousands of euros to organize these oppositions. “Great moments“, even if the club “did not capitalize as much as he would have liked” on these two gala meetings.

Granville and Avranches had done it, filling Ornano in 2016, 2017 and 2020. But the opponents were then called Paris and Marseille, a completely different caliber. But for important but smaller matches, should we create an intermediate stadium capable of accommodating 3 to 4,000 spectators? The question had already been asked around ten years ago but had remained unanswered, raising questions about the city having to welcome it.

Having become the nerve center of Norman football with the installation of the League HQ and the regional hope center, Lisieux could claim it. “Why not Houlgatesuggests Christophe Lécuyer. If the region is willing to invest a few more million to back it up with the Normandy Sports Center (CSN)“. The tone is playful but the idea is worth exploring.