Championnat National: Difference between revisions

Championnat National
Organising body	FFF
Founded	1993; 32 years ago
Country	France
Confederation	UEFA
Number of clubs	18
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Ligue 2
Relegation to	Championnat National 2
Domestic cup(s)	Coupe de France
International cup(s)	Europa League (via cups)
Current champions	Red Star (3rd title) ; (2023–24)
Most championships	Red Star (3 titles)
TV partners	Canal+ Sport
Website	Official site
	Current: 2024–25 Championnat National

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 14:37, 26 October 2024

The Championnat National (English: French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Ligue 2 and the Championnat National 2, the fourth division of French football.

Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 34 games each, totalling 306 games in the season. Most games are played on Fridays and Saturdays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.

The National was founded in 1993 by the French Football Federation and served as a base league for clubs on the brink of becoming professional or falling to the amateur levels. The league is annually composed of professional and semi-professional clubs or amateur clubs. The matches in the league attract on average between 2,500 and 6,000 spectators per match.

Competition format

There are 18 clubs in the Championnat National. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion and promoted to Ligue 2. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship or for relegation, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The first and second place finisher are also promoted to the second division, while the six lowest placed teams are relegated to the Championnat National 2 and the four winners of the four groups from Championnat National 2 are promoted in their place until 2023–24 season.

Current clubs

For the 2024–25 season.

Stadiums and locations

Location of teams in 2023–24 National

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Bourg-Péronnas	Bourg-en-Bresse	Stade Marcel-Verchère	11,400
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173
Concarneau	Concarneau	Stade Francis-Le Blé Stade du Moustoir	15,931 18,110
Dijon	Dijon	Stade Gaston Gérard	15,995
GOAL FC	Chasselay	Stade Ludovic Giuly	5,000
Le Mans	Le Mans	MMArena	25,000
Nancy	Nancy	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Orléans	Orléans	Stade de la Source	7,000
Paris 13 Atletico	Paris (Paris 13)	Stade Sébastien Charléty	20,000
Quevilly-Rouen	Rouen	Stade Robert Diochon	12,018
Rouen	Rouen	Stade Robert Diochon	12,108
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,005
Versailles	Paris (Paris 16)	Stade Jean-Bouin	19,904
Valenciennes	Valenciennes	Stade du Hainaut	25,172
Villefranche	Villefranche-sur-Saône	Stade Armand Chouffet	3,500

Championnat National table of honours

Season	Group A Winner	Group B Winner	Other promoted teams
1993–94	En Avant de Guingamp	LB Châteauroux	Amiens SC and Perpignan FC
1994–95	FC Lorient	SAS Épinal	Stade Poitevin and CS Louhans-Cuiseaux
1995–96	Stade Briochin	Sporting Toulon Var	Association Troyes AC and AS Beauvais Oise
1996–97	ES Wasquehal	Nîmes Olympique
Season	Champions	Runner Up	Third place
1997–98	AC Ajaccio	CS Sedan Ardennes	US Créteil-Lusitanos (not promoted)
1998–99	CS Louhans-Cuiseaux	US Créteil-Lusitanos	Gazélec Ajaccio (not promoted)
1999–2000	AS Beauvais Oise	FC Martigues	Angers SCO
2000–01	Grenoble Foot 38	Amiens SC	FC Istres
2001–02	Clermont Foot	Stade de Reims	ASOA Valence and Toulouse FC (4 clubs promoted this season)
2002–03	Besançon Racing Club	Angers SCO	FC Rouen
2003–04	Stade de Reims	Stade Brestois 29	Dijon FCO
2004–05	Valenciennes FC	ASOA Valence (not promoted due to financial problems)	FC Sète 34
2005–06	Chamois Niortais	Tours FC	FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin
2006–07	Clermont Foot (2)	US Boulogne	Angers SCO
2007–08	Vannes OC	Tours FC	Nîmes Olympique
2008–09	FC Istres	Stade Lavallois	AC Arles
2009–10	Evian Thonon Gaillard	Stade de Reims	ES Troyes AC
2010–11	SC Bastia	Amiens SC	En Avant de Guingamp
2011–12	Nîmes Olympique (2)	Chamois Niortais	Gazélec Ajaccio
2012–13	US Créteil-Lusitanos	FC Metz	CA Bastia
2013–14	US Orléans	US Luzenac	Gazélec Ajaccio
2014–15	Red Star	Paris FC	FC Bourg-Péronnas
2015–16	Strasbourg	Orléans	Amiens
2016–17	Châteauroux	Quevilly	Paris FC (Promotion Play-Off)
2017–18	Red Star (2)	Béziers	Grenoble
2018–19	Rodez	Chambly	Le Mans
2019–20	Pau^[a]	USL Dunkerque	US Boulogne
2020–21	SC Bastia (2)	Quevilly-Rouen	Villefranche
2021–22	Laval	Annecy	Villefranche
2022–23	Concarneau	Dunkerque	Red Star
2023–24	Red Star (3)	Martigues	Chamois Niortais (not promoted)
2024–25	TBD	TBD	TBD

^ Championship not awarded due to season being terminated early.^[1]

References

^ "FFF : Pas de titre en National, les Lyonnaises championnes" (in French). foot-national.com. 11 May 2020.

External links

Official Site (in French)

[2] Championship not awarded due to season being terminated early.^[1]

[1] "FFF : Pas de titre en National, les Lyonnaises championnes" (in French). foot-national.com. 11 May 2020.

[a]

[1]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}
 {{Infobox football league
-| logo       =
+| logo       =Championnat National.png
 | pixels     = 180px
 | country    = France
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 | domest_cup = [[Coupe de France]]
 | confed_cup = [[UEFA Europa League|Europa League]] (via cups)
-| champions  = [[US Concarneau|Concarneau]] (1st title)
+| champions  = [[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]] (3rd title)
-| most successful club = {{nowrap|[[Clermont Foot|Clermont]], [[Nîmes Olympique|Nîmes]], [[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]], [[SC Bastia|Bastia]]<br/>(2 titles each)}}
+| most successful club = Red Star (3 titles)
-| season     = [[2022–23 Championnat National|2022–23]]
+| season     = [[2023–24 Championnat National|2023–24]]
 | tv         = [[Canal+ Sport (French TV channel)|Canal+ Sport]]
 | website    = [http://national.fff.fr Official site]
-| current    = [[2023–24 Championnat National]]
+| current    = [[2024–25 Championnat National]]
 |name=Championnat National}}
-The '''Championnat de France National''' ({{lang-en|French National Championship}}), commonly referred to as simply '''National''' or '''Division 3''', serves as the third division of the [[French football league system]] behind [[Ligue 1]] and [[Ligue 2]]. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of [[promotion and relegation]] with Ligue 2 and the [[Championnat National 2]], the fourth division of [[French football]].
+The '''Championnat National''' ({{langx|en|French National Championship}}), commonly referred to as simply '''National''' or '''Division 3''', is the third division of the [[French football league system]] behind [[Ligue 1]] and [[Ligue 2]]. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of [[promotion and relegation]] with Ligue 2 and the [[Championnat National 2]], the fourth division of [[French football]].
 Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 34 games each, totalling 306 games in the season. Most games are played on Fridays and Saturdays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Competition format==
-There are 18 clubs in the Championnat National. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then [[goal difference]], and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion and promoted to Ligue 2. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship or for relegation, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The first and second place finisher are also promoted to the second division, while the six lowest placed teams are relegated to the [[Championnat National 2]] and the four winners of the four groups from Championnat National 2 are promoted in their place until 2023–24 season.
+There are 18 clubs in the Championnat National. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head points, then [[goal difference]], and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion and promoted to Ligue 2. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship or for relegation, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The first and second place finisher are also promoted to the second division, while the six lowest placed teams are relegated to the [[Championnat National 2]] and the four winners of the four groups from Championnat National 2 are promoted in their place until 2023–24 season.
 == Current clubs ==
-''For the 2023–24 season.''
+''For the 2024–25 season.''
-=== Stadia and locations ===
+=== Stadiums and locations ===
 {{Location map+ |France |width=415|float=right
 |caption=Location of teams in '''2023–24 National''' |places=
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=48.685    |long=-1.3556   |label=<small>[[US Avranches|Avranches]]</small>|position=bottom}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=43.29  |long=5.57  |label=<small>[[Aubagne FC|Aubagne]]</small>|position=bottom}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=45.873270 |long=4.769281  |label=<small>[[GOAL FC]]</small> |position=bottom}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=50.72  |long=1.61  |label=[[US Boulogne|Boulogne]]|position=right}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=46.18777  |long=5.213466  |label=<small>[[Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01|Bourg-Péronnas]]</small>|position=top}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=46.8103   |long=1.6911    |label=<small>[[LB Châteauroux|Châteauroux]]</small>|position=bottom}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=47.06     |long=-0.8783   |label=<small>[[SO Cholet|Cholet]]</small> |position=top}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=47.8761   |long=-3.9178   |label=<small>[[US Concarneau|Concarneau]]</small> |position=bottom}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=47.2906   |long=5.0428    |label=<small>[[Dijon FCO|Dijon]]</small>|position=bottom}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=47.2906   |long=5.0428    |label=<small>[[Dijon FCO|Dijon]]</small>|position=top}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=48.1744   |long=6.4512    |label=<small>[[SAS Épinal|Épinal]]</small>|position=bottom}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=45.873270 |long=4.769281  |label=<small>[[GOAL FC]]</small> |position=bottom}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=48.014911 |long=0.193153  |label=<small>[[Le Mans FC|Le Mans]]</small> |position=right}}
-{{Location map~ |France| lat=43.416042 |long=5.214526 |label=<small>[[Marignane Gignac Côte Bleue FC|Marignane GCB]]</small> |position=right}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=48.6955   |long=6.210687  |label=<small>[[AS Nancy|Nancy]]</small>|position=left}}
-{{Location map~ |France| lat=43.4053 |long=5.0475 |label=<small>[[FC Martigues|Martigues]]</small> |position=left}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=43.8377777|long=4.36083333|label=<small>[[Nîmes Olympique|Nîmes]]</small>|position=top}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=46.3258333|long=-0.4605555|label=<small>[[Chamois Niortais F.C.|Niort]]</small>|position=bottom}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=47.8337   |long=1.9686    |label=<small>[[US Orléans|Orléans]]</small>|position=bottom}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=48.912259 |long=2.334251  |label=<small>[[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]]</small> |position=top}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=48.832222 |long=2.355556|label=<small>[[Paris 13 Atletico]]</small> |position=right}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=49.42891  |long=1.042371  |label=<small>[[US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole|Quevilly-Rouen]]</small>|position=right}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=49.439999 |long=1.100000  |label=<small>[[FC Rouen|Rouen]]</small>|position=top}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=47.512311 |long=6.811345  |label=<small>[[FC Sochaux Montbéliard|Sochaux]]</small>|position=bottom}}
-{{Location map~ |France |lat=49.439999 |long=1.100000  |label=<small>[[FC Rouen|Rouen]]</small> |position=top}}
+{{Location map~ |France |lat=50.318925 |long=3.626847  |label=<small>[[Valenciennes FC|Valenciennes]]</small>}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=48.8053 |long=2.135 |label=<small>[[FC Versailles 78|Versailles]]</small>|position=left}}
 {{Location map~ |France |lat=46.0      |long=4.7072    |label=<small>[[FC Villefranche|Villefranche]]</small>|position=left}}
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 ! Capacity
 |-
-|{{sort|Avranches|[[US Avranches|Avranches]]}}
+|{{sort|Bourg-en-Bresse|[[Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01|Bourg-Péronnas]]}}
-|[[Avranches]]
+|[[Bourg-en-Bresse]]
-|[[Stade René Fenouillère]]
+|[[Stade Marcel-Verchère]]
-| align="center" | 2,000
+| align="center" | 11,400
 |-
 |{{sort|Châteauroux|[[LB Châteauroux|Châteauroux]]}}
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 | align="center" | 17,173
 |-
-|{{sort|Cholet|[[SO Cholet|Cholet]]}}
+|{{sort|Concarneau|[[US Concarneau|Concarneau]]}}
-|[[Cholet]]
+|[[Concarneau]]
-|[[Stade Pierre Blouen]]
+|[[Stade Francis-Le Blé]]<br>[[Stade du Moustoir]]
-| align="center" | 9,000
+| align="center" |15,931<br>18,110
 |-
 |{{sort|Dijon|[[Dijon FCO|Dijon]]}}
@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 |[[Stade Gaston Gérard]]
 | style="text-align:center;" | 15,995
-|-
-|{{sort|Épinal|[[SAS Épinal|Épinal]]}}
-|[[Épinal]]
-|[[Stade de la Colombière]]
-| style="text-align:center;" | 8,000
 |-
 |{{sort|GOAL|[[GOAL FC]]}}
 |[[Chasselay, Rhône|Chasselay]]
 |Stade Ludovic Giuly
-| style="text-align:center;" | 600
+| style="text-align:center;" | 5,000
 |-
 |{{sort|Le Mans|[[Le Mans FC|Le Mans]]}}
@@ Line 97: / Line 92: @@
 |[[MMArena]]
 | align="center" | 25,000
-|-
-|{{sort|Marignane GCB|[[Marignane Gignac Côte Bleue FC|Marignane GCB]]}}
-|[[Marignane]]
-|Stade Saint-Exupéry
-| align="center" |1,500
-|-
-|{{sort|Martigues|[[FC Martigues|Martigues]]}}
-|[[Martigues]]
-|[[Stade Francis Turcan]]
-| align="center" |8,290
 |-
 |{{sort|Nancy|[[AS Nancy Lorraine|Nancy]]}}
@@ Line 112: / Line 97: @@
 |[[Stade Marcel Picot]]
 | align="center" |20,087
-|-
-|{{sort|Nîmes|[[Nîmes Olympique|Nîmes]]}}
-|[[Nîmes]]
-|[[Stade des Costières]]
-| style="text-align:center;" |18,482
-|-
-|{{sort|Niort|[[Chamois Niortais F.C.|Niort]]}}
-|[[Niort]]
-|[[Stade René Gaillard]]
-| style="text-align:center;" |10,886
 |-
 |{{sort|Orléans|[[US Orléans|Orléans]]}}
@@ Line 128: / Line 103: @@
 |style=text-align:center;|7,000
 |-
-|{{sort|Red Star|[[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]]}}
+|{{sort|Paris 13 Atletico|[[Paris 13 Atletico]]}}
-|[[Paris]] {{small|([[Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Ouen]])}}
+|Paris {{small|([[13th arrondissement of Paris|Paris 13]])}}
-|[[Stade Bauer]]
+|[[Stade Sébastien Charléty]]
-| style="text-align:center;"| 10,000
+| align="center" | 20,000
+|-
+|{{sort|Quevilly-Rouen|[[US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole|Quevilly-Rouen]]}}
+|[[Rouen]]
+|[[Stade Robert Diochon]]
+| style="text-align:center;"|12,018
 |-
 |{{sort|Rouen|[[FC Rouen|Rouen]]}}
@@ Line 145: / Line 125: @@
 |{{sort|Versailles|[[FC Versailles 78|Versailles]]}}
 |[[Paris]] {{small|([[16th arrondissement of Paris|Paris 16]])}}
+|[[Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris)|Stade Jean-Bouin]]
-|[[Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris)|Stade Jean-Bouin]]{{efn|[[Stade de Montbauron]] is not of sufficient standard for Championnat National. [[FC Versailles 78|Versailles]] will play their games at [[Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris)|Stade Jean-Bouin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.footamateur.fr/national-le-fc-versailles-78-a-choisi-de-jouer-au-stade-jean-bouin/|title=National. Le FC Versailles 78 a choisi de jouer au stade Jean Bouin|publisher=footamateur.fr|language=fr|date=28 June 2022}}</ref>}}
 | align="center" | 19,904
+|-
+|{{sort|Valenciennes|[[Valenciennes FC|Valenciennes]]}}
+|[[Valenciennes]]
+|[[Stade du Hainaut]]
+| style="text-align:center;" |25,172
 |-
 ||{{sort|Villefranche|[[FC Villefranche Beaujolais|Villefranche]]}}
@@ Line 231: / Line 216: @@
 |[[2022–23 Championnat National|2022–23]]||'''[[US Concarneau|Concarneau]]'''||[[USL Dunkerque|Dunkerque]]||[[Red Star FC|Red Star]]
 |- style="text-align:center;"
-|[[2023–24 Championnat National|2023–24]]||'''TBD'''||TBD||TBD
+|[[2023–24 Championnat National|2023–24]]||'''[[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]]''' (3)||[[FC Martigues|Martigues]]||[[Chamois Niortais F.C.|Chamois Niortais]] (not promoted)
+|- style="text-align:center;"
+|[[2024–25 Championnat National|2024–25]]||'''TBD'''||TBD||TBD
 |}
 {{noteslist}}

v t e Championnat National
2024–25 clubs	Aubagne Boulogne Bourg-Péronnas Châteauroux Concarneau Dijon Le Mans Nancy Nîmes Orléans Paris 13 Atletico Quevilly-Rouen Rouen Sochaux Valenciennes Versailles Villefranche
Former clubs	Alès Alfortville Amiens Angers Angoulême Annecy Arles Avranches CA Bastia SC Bastia Bayonne Beaucaire Beauvais Belfort Besançon Béziers Bordeaux Borgo Bourges 18 Brest Calais Cannes Carquefou Cassis Carnoux Charleville Chambly Châtellerault Cherbourg Cholet Clermont Colmar Colomiers Créteil Drancy Dunkerque Entente SSG Épinal Evian TG Évry Fréjus Saint-Raphaël Gap Gazélec Ajaccio GOAL FC Grenoble Gueugnon Guingamp Hyères Istres La Roche-sur-Yon Laval Le Poiré-sur-Vie Le Puy Les Herbiers Libourne St-Seurin Louhans-Cuiseaux Luçon Lusitanos Luzenac Lyon La Duchère Marignane GCB Marseille Consolat Martigues Metz Moulins Mulhouse Niort Noisy-le-Sec Pacy Paris FC Pau Plabennec Stade Poitevin Raon-l'Étape RC France Red Star Reims Rodez Romorantin Roye Saint-Denis Saint-Leu Saint-Priest Sedan Sète Stade Briochin Strasbourg Thouars Toulon Toulouse Tours Trélissac Troyes Uzès Valence Vannes Villemomble Viry-Châtillon Wasquehal Yzeure
Seasons	1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25