Coupe de France: the health crisis complicates the calendar

A real puzzle.

The cessation of the amateur championships for a period of at least a month because of the health crisis worries the French football federation, which is already considering different calendars for the Coupe de France, the 6th round of which was to take place over the weekend. last end.

Like the previous edition which ended late on July 24 with the victory in the final of PSG at the expense of Saint-Etienne (1-0), the Coupe de France 2020-2021 will experience difficulties to achieve its goals. due to an already busy schedule, which can be explained by the resumption of L1 only at the end of August but also by the holding of the Euro which will start on June 11, 2021.

Even if the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, gave a reassuring speech in an interview with the Parisian ("The elimination of the Coupe de France is not at all on the agenda for the moment. We will find good solutions, we have time. ”), the new schedule will be very difficult to work out.

Race against time

If the Old Lady's matches take priority over those of the amateur championships, it will be necessary to place in December a few matches postponed from the 5th round, including that between Le Mée (R1) and the Red Star (Nat.), Plus the 6th round, the 7th round (which was to take place the weekend of November 21 and 22) and the 8th round (the weekend of December 12 and 13), synonymous with the entry into the running this year of the L2 formations and also of the 5 clubs ultramarines.

The representatives of Guyana and Martinique will receive the metropolitan training courses while the representatives of Guadeloupe, Reunion and Mayotte will travel to metropolitan France.

The teams from New Caledonia and Polynesia have canceled their participation in the competition due to logistical difficulties related to the health situation.

A race against time will therefore be waged to set all these matches in the last month of the year so that the 32nd final with the entry into the running of L1 clubs can take place as planned, from Friday January 1. to Sunday January 3.

If this is not possible, the situation will be very delicate because the round of 16 and round of 16 are also scheduled for January and the vacant dates linked to the removal of the Coupe de la Ligue have already been used.

It would then be necessary to renegotiate the calendar with the professional clubs.

Not easy.