Still pending, the Champions Trophy between Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco should finally be held in Qatar. Good news for the League, which will pocket a nice check in this affair.
From year to year, the Champions Trophy becomes a real headache for clubs and the LFP. If previously, this national competition between the winner of Ligue 1 and that of the Coupe de France (or the second in the championship if the winner of the Cup is the same) took place during the summer before the launch of the season, the The situation has changed since Covid in particular. Last season, the meeting between Paris and Toulouse was for example played on January 3 at the Parc des Princes, which caused a lot of ink to flow knowing that PSG had played this competition in its own stadium. It must be said that the League is having more and more difficulty finding buyers for its Champions Trophy. If this match has returned to France in recent years, it has often been contested abroad, such as in Israel, China, Morocco, Canada or the USA, during the 2010s.
3 million euros in the coffers of the LFP
A fashion which should continue this season, since according to L'Équipe, the match between PSG and Monaco will be played on January 5, 2025 in Doha, Qatar. A blessing for the League, which will pocket 3 million euros in this affair. A welcome check for the company chaired by Vincent Labrune, which is experiencing an unprecedented crisis due to the fall in TV rights this season. By turning again to its preferred partner, namely Qatar, which already finances part of Ligue 1 via the investment of beIN Sports, the LFP could face some criticism. Especially since the LFP board of directors, which will meet this Monday, will change the calendar to make this match possible on that date.
Change of calendar for PSG and Monaco
To do this, the LFP will simply postpone the L1 Monaco-PSG match, which was scheduled for the beginning of January, to December 18, between an L1 day on the 15th, with a PSG-OL in particular, and the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France on the 21st. Enough to make the calendar heavier around the winter break, which should not please Luis Enrique too much. But knowing that the relocation of this Champions Trophy to Qatar suits everyone, whether it is the LFP or the PSG, no one will find too much to complain about…
