why OL will play their 32nd in December

OL players qualified for the Coupe de France final (Photo by Olivier CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)

Unlike previous years, OL will play their 32nd Coupe de France final in December. A novelty due to the formats of the European Cups, among others.

For all League 1 clubs, this will be a little novelty in the calendar. Unlike recent seasons (except 2021 with the upcoming World Cup), the French elite teams will enter the Coupe de France in December, and not, as is customary, in January.

Previously, OL players went on vacation after a day of the championship, and resumed with a 32nd final. This time, we will have to travel to Valenciennes to challenge the Entente Feignies-Aulnoye, resident of National 2, before the holidays. The trap could then be to think about Christmas before its time, and therefore not to be fully engaged in the meeting.

Keep league matches on weekends

Asked by The Team to explain the reasons for this change in calendar, Christophe Drouvroydirector of competitions for the Federation, first highlighted the Ligue 1 program. Indeed, the objective was to devote the weekends to the championship. This implies that from the round of 16, all rounds, apart from the final, will take place during the week. The round of 16, for example, will take place on Wednesday January 15. However, it was impossible to plan the 32nd round ten days before the next round due to organizational concerns.

The new formulas for the European Cups have had a major impact, since the last two days of the classification phases will take place at the end of January, effectively blocking dates. “We had no latitude for the 16th“, clarified the leader of the FFF. This is not a major upheaval in itself, even if it could have some repercussions on the results of Ligue 1 teams when they enter the competition.