La Berrichonne is not doing well, to put it mildly. A little more weighed down by the catastrophic match against Aubagne (2-7), the sporting record is starving. Red lantern with five points from the first non-relegation (Paris 13) to the break (17e9 points, 2 wins, 3 draws), Berri is suffering at the bottom of the standings, unable to win matches for more than three months.
Legal recovery not for now
Financially either, the state of affairs is not rosy. President Benjamin Gufflet affirms that “the situation is not desperate” and he is looking “all possible solutions” to get out of the rut. He only considers the legal redress mentioned by the NR as a solution of last resort: “We are working hard to implement rapid and concrete solutions in this rescue mission which began almost a year ago. Meetings with local partners, club councils and elected officials are continuing and giving us a lot of hope despite a complicated economic context. »
Opening of capital. This is one of the avenues on which Benjamin Gufflet and his team are working. Everyone, local or further afield, was offered the opportunity to participate in the club's capital, with a minimum amount of €3,000. “Around fifteen candidates have already come forward, this proves a sign of interest”, representing a sum of approximately €50,000: “This is just the beginning. »
The objective is to rebuild positive equity and avoid possible cash flow gaps.
Judicial recovery. The Châteauroux commercial court was not contacted for judicial recovery of Berrichonne Football. The clerk confirmed this to us in person. This procedure always constitutes a possibility of financially getting the club out of trouble but nothing has been started and nothing will be done by the end of 2024. The enormous difference between an average company and a professional football club is due to automatic relegation to the lower division which accompanies a recovery among footballers.
Possible scenarios for Berrichonne
- Maintenance in National. The most encouraging hypothesis but very unlikely halfway through. A significant improvement in sporting and financial results is essential.
- Relegation to N2. Berri is doing well sportingly but not financially, legal redress is necessary, synonymous with a descent to N2 with loss of professional status. The opposite is also true: finances improve, not sporting results, Berri finishes in one of the last two places in National and finds itself relegated to N2. The SASP remains in charge of the team.
- Relegation to N3. In the event of double sporting and financial relegation, Berri would play in N3 during the 2025-2026 season.
- Relegation to regional. As happened in Sedan two years ago or in Niort last season, a judicial liquidation is declared and the club starts again from the regional level, often the lowest in R3. It is the association which manages in this case.
Industrial tribunal. La Berrichonne lost to physiotherapist Christophe Raite (2018-2019 season), who is claiming €250,000 in compensation. Three files are in progress or to come, a former intendant, Bruno Allègre and Manu Imorou. In total, if we add everyone's requests, around €1.5 million is at stake. As a reminder, the debt that the club must repay (Urssaf, PGE, suppliers) is announced at more than €2 million. €, reimbursements being spread over a long period.
Averous. Remaining very discreet on the subject recently, Gil Avérous spoke on the telephone with Benjamin Gufflet. The resigning Minister of Sports and mayor of Châteauroux, told the NR to be “ more worried about the sporting situation than the financial one…”. The president of Berrichonne and the mayor are to meet at greater length on January 13 during a meeting which promises to be important for the future.
Players. After a week of training, the players are on vacation this Friday, December 20 until the resumption (set for January 2). Cris, who returned to Brazil with his family, suggested to the dissatisfied players that they come forward and possibly leave Berrichonne during this off-season. No one has come forward to our knowledge.
Which means that apart from Noa Cervantes, the player loaned by Troyes, who seems to have permanently left the club (no official confirmation), the squad should be the same at the start of January. Remember that Berrichonne is prohibited from recruiting professionals by the DNCG. Two young amateurs took part in the week's sessions without knowing if they will be there on January 2. Furthermore, announced by the AfricaFoot site as a possible recruit for CA Tunis, Wilson Samaké, the player loaned by Rennes, should remain at Berrichonne, the club specifies. “I hope that the athlete will help us without further delay because without him nothing will be possible,” comments Benjamin Gufflet.
Training center building. This is a development avenue for Berri. The club plans to buy from Scalis the training center building on avenue de La Châtre, the accommodation of which has been underused since the disappearance of the training center. Laure Manaudou's former lawyer, Didier Poulmaire, specialized in the recovery of clubs in difficulty (Sochaux for example or Biarritz in rugby), is leading this file. The idea is not to pay cash but to consider a transaction which would take the form of a trust contract, an operation which allows the transfer of property or rights.
General assembly. During the general meeting of shareholders on Thursday evening, to which the press was not invited, the accounts closed last June were presented. “Accounts in balance, with debt under control. » If there was talk of judicial recovery within an assembly which no longer has power as a minority shareholder, it was ultimately decided to wait a few more weeks to activate this lever.
The funny presidential evening
Benjamin Gufflet will long remember his evening of Friday December 13 at Gaston-Petit. After presenting his 2025 project to possible future partners, he witnessed in the presidential gallery the first catastrophic period of Berrichonne against Aubagne (0-3). If we did not see him again in his place subsequently, it was not due to the indigence of the spectacle put on by his team but to a series of annoyances: “At the start of the second period, I went see the supporters to apologize to them after the first 45 minutes. » Barely arrived, Aubagne scored a fourth goal…: “Security then contacted me to report a problem in the Intermarché stand where the elevator used by people with reduced mobility was broken. » A lady in a wheelchair remained stuck like this for almost two hours (!) until the firefighters intervened. Fortunately she had her phone with her which helped to reassure her somewhat. Once this matter was unraveled, and given the extent of the correction received by his team (2-7), the president improvised a small meeting with the sports coordinator, the coach and his assistant. There are days it would be better to stay in bed…
Toy collection thanks to socios
For several weeks, the socios of Berrichonne, helped by individuals and brands from Châteauroux Métropole, have embarked on a toy collection. This Friday, December 20, in the presence of two players, Ferris N'Goma and Doua Dembélé, in the socios office, the entire collection was given to Didier Patureau de Mirand and Marie Rety, president and director of Solidarité Accueil , the association which will be responsible for distribution to children from families in difficulty for whom it provides accommodation and monitoring.
The delivery of the toys took place this Friday in the socios' premises in Gaston-Petit.
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