Will the end of zero-minute weekends on the pitch soon be here for young players with high potential? That’s the idea behind the creation of the “Ligue des Espoirs” announced by L’Équipe on Tuesday, July 2. It will be set up starting in October and will bring together sixteen French clubs from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2: Toulouse, Monaco, Saint-Etienne, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, PSG, Paris FC, Ajaccio, Auxerre, Nice, Bordeaux, Rennes, Caen, Le Havre and OM.
The matches will take place on Monday
Six matches will be played, before the semi-finals and the final. The format is supposed to meet the challenge of clubs that have promising young players in their squads who are still too tender to play at the highest level as starters, often downgraded to the bench or even in the stands. The schedules are such that this situation sometimes deprives them of playing time with the reserve teams or in the U19 national championship. This is why the matches of this Ligue des Espoirs will take place on Monday.
READ ALSO. Market: Khéphren Thuram joins Juventus Turin
The formula has therefore attracted PSG, which eliminated its reserve team several years ago, and which will therefore be able to offer playing time to certain elements who are too strong in the U19s, but blocked by competition in the A team.
