France
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French football
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The French football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Football Professionnel, which consists of two professional national divisions, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Both of the top divisions comprise 20 teams.
Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. The name lasted until 2002 before changing to its current name. Ligue 2 was founded a year after the creation of the first division in 1933 under the name Division 2 and has served as the second division of French football ever since. The name lasted until 2002 before switching to its present name. Below that are a number of leagues run by the Fédération Française de Football. At level 3 is the semi-professional Championnat National. Below that is the amateur Championnat de France amateur (level 4), which is divided into four parallel regional divisions, followed by the Championnat de France amateur 2 (level 5), which is divided into eight parallel regional divisions. Underneath that are many more regional leagues and divisions. |
The Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France , is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Federation. The cup competition is open to all amateur and professional football clubs in France, including clubs based in the overseas departments and territories. Some 7,422 clubs participated in the 2011–12 cup competition.
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