With the Coupe de France, all French territories are in the spotlight. Two overseas clubs are competing in the 32nd finals of this 108th edition of the competition. The Racing club Saint-Joseph (Regional 1), a club from Martinique, is welcomed to Corsica, Friday December 20, to face the Sporting club de Bastia (Ligue 2) in Furiani. Saturday December 21, the Saint-Denis Football Club (Regional 1), coming from Reunion, plays in Normandy, against Dives-Cabourg (National 3).
If the regulations of the oldest competition in French football give home field advantage to all teams playing two divisions below the other, this does not apply to overseas clubs. The regulations even oblige overseas representatives, from the round of 32 onwards, to play in France (or Corsica). The teams from Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte and even Guyana are therefore forced to travel systematically. A rule that causes frustration among the last two representatives.
“Overseas clubs must be treated fairly. At some point, they have the right to play at home“, chants Younoussa Abdihali, vice-president of FC Saint-Denis. “Equity is called into question when we cannot receive, confirms the vice-president of RC Saint-Joseph, Charles-Eric Privat It is discrimination in the sense that there is a difference in appreciation between overseas clubs and a club in France.“
It’s not just playing in front of your audience that’s the issue. “We accumulate handicapspointe Charles-Eric Privat. We have the plane, from Martinique to Orly, then from Orly to Bastia. We have a five-hour time difference to cope with, which is a second handicap. There is a 22 to 23 degree difference between Martinique and mainland France. That’s three handicaps, a lot for a federation which says it is there to put people in the same conditions of development.“
For overseas clubs, all amateurs, all costs are included, and a trip to France is particularly expensive. To compensate, the French Football Federation (FFF), in charge of the Coupe de France, has established specifications in favor of these teams. From the 32nd finals onwards, all expenses are covered 100% by the Federation for a delegation of up to 29 people from overseas territories.
“They are accommodated, overnight stays are covered, morning/noon/evening catering, transfers, travel as well.“, confirms Christophe Drouvroydirector of national competitions at the FFF. This represents, for this round, 70,000 euros for the Saint-Joseph team and 45,000 euros for the Saint-Denis team. During the last round, the Federation, for example, welcomed the Martinican club to Clairefontaine, “the temple” of French football.
Despite this aid, the Joséphains launched an online fundraiser for “help cover these expenses and offer our players the best conditions to surpass themselves“The RC Saint-Joseph delegation is larger than the 30 people covered this time by the Federation, and additional costs must be added, specifies Charles-Eric Privat: “With the temperatures in mainland France, we had to buy equipment, tights, scarves, parkas… This requires additional costs. The team that comes to Martinique does not have all these costs, it just has the travel.”
However, these clubs often have the necessary infrastructure. “We are able, in Reunion, to host Coupe de France matches. We have the Stade de l’Est [désormais appelé Stade Jean Ivoula]which has just been renovated and can accommodate 10,000 people. We have the logistical capabilities to accommodate metropolitan clubs“, affirms Younoussa Abdihali. Saint-Joseph can also rely on the Stade Pierre-Aliker, which already hosted the French team in 2005.
On the Federation side, we recall that these two islands have stadiums approved for the Coupe de France, but that this is not the case for all territories, such as Mayotte or Guyana.
“For the promotion and celebration of our sport, we must host these Coupe de France matches.”
Younoussa Abdihali, vice-president of FC Saint-Denisat franceinfo: sport
If overseas teams can sometimes count on a few supporters who have traveled or family who live nearby when they play in France, this remains a minority. “We also want to share these moments locally with our supporters“, assures the vice-president of FC Saint-Denis. “Every year, we ask that this rule evolve and that we can host matches. Nothing moves,” criticizes that of Saint-Joseph.
For the director of national competitions at the FFF, in charge of organizing the Coupe de France, Christophe Drouvroythis rule is based on calendar issues: “We exclude the principle of sending a Ligue 1 team, given the very tight schedules, to Martinique, Reunion Island, Polynesia, New Caledonia. For example, this week, Monaco played on Wednesday. We cannot say in Monaco, after the match: ‘You are flying to Reunion or Polynesia’.“
“From an organizational point of view, the match between Saint-Joseph and Bastia could have been played in Martinique. But if, instead of Bastia, it was PSG, that would not have been possible. the rule can be applied in all cases.”
Christophe Drouvroy, director of national competitions at the FFF and in charge of the organization of the Coupe de Franceat franceinfo: sport
The Federation says it is not working on a rule change, but is considering other solutions. “We are considering allowing overseas clubs to play, when there are two levels of difference, in the Paris region. Philippe Diallo asked us to work on this hypothesis and to try to anticipate as much as possible so that the matches can be played in Île-de-France. They could play in front of their audience“, explain Christophe Drouvroy.
An idea that does not appeal to Younoussa Abdihali, the vice-president of FC Saint-Denis: “This was done a few years ago, but we saw that there was a loss of supporters. We played almost in empty stadiums in Île-de-France.“Seeing PSG play in Guadeloupe, OM traveling to Reunion Island, or even Nantes discovering New Caledonia, is therefore not yet relevant.
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