Geoffroy-Guichard “too expensive” for Espaly against PSG

It was the magic of the Coupe de France that took place in Haute-Loire this weekend, just before Christmas. In the 32nd final, FC Espaly achieved a memorable feat Friday evening, in its Viouzou stadium, by eliminating Dijon. The players secured their qualification after an intense penalty shootout. The Espaviots are now heading towards the first round of 16 in their history in this competition, where they will face Paris-Saint-Germain and its stars!

“It’s just a dream, we feel immense happiness. »

“How to say…”begins the president of FC Espaly, Christian Perbet, who is searching for words to express his joy at the announcement of such a poster. “It's just a dream.” We were in a bar to watch the draw. And when it fell, the bar shook. Everyone was stunned that this was happening to us, because we tell ourselves that it always happens to others. And there, for once, it happens to us. It's incredible. We feel immense happiness”continued the president.

Geoffroy-Guichard too expensive

The Coupe de France match between Espaly (N3) and PSG, scheduled for Wednesday January 15, could be played at the Parc des Princes. As Espaly's stadium, Viouzou, was not suitable for hosting such a meeting, the club considered organizing the match at Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne. However, high rental costs make this option unlikely.

“Organizing this type of meeting at Geoffroy-Guichard against PSG, with the level of security that it requires, costs more than €200,000. »

“We are starting to look at where it would be possible to play this match in the area, either at the Massot stadium, I would love it to be at the Marcel-Michelin stadium in Clermont-Ferrand, or otherwise, failing that, at the Parc des Princes in Paris … Playing the match in Saint-Étienne, at the Geoffrey-Guichard stadium, would be too expensive for us. The cost of opening this stadium and filling it for a weekday game is shaping up to be a complicated economic equation. Organizing this type of meeting at Geoffroy-Guichard against PSG, with the level of security that it requires, costs more than €200,000. Money we don't have”said Christian Perbet for Zoomdici.

A difficult trip for Puy Foot

For its part, Puy Foot benefited from a more lenient draw, at least on paper. The Ponots will face the National 3 club, Dives-Cabourg (Normandy), on Wednesday January 15.

“Although it is a lower level club, the fact that we are playing away, far from our bases, makes this meeting difficult. This will surely be one of the trickiest tricks we have to play so far. Against Montpellier in the round of 32, the players were able to easily find sources of motivation to challenge a top-level team. On the other hand, this time, outside, in an atmosphere that will be completely hostile, we will have to stay focused so as not to foil.”reacted Puy Foot 43.