Coupe de France: with the resumption of amateur clubs, the questions we ask ourselves

Joy but a lot of doubts.

This is the feeling of several players and managers that we contacted after the announcement of the resumption of the Coupe de France for amateurs.

The satisfaction of resuming a magical competition for amateur football brings back smiles for these football enthusiasts who have been deprived of a match for three months.

But the conditions of resumption challenge the leaders who are worried about the good progress of this 104th edition of the Old Lady.

Is it reasonable to compete in the Coupe de France?

Everyone will have their opinion on the matter.

The president of the Federation, Noël Le Graët, obtained satisfaction by convincing the government that this edition could come to an end thanks to a sanitary protocol worthy of the pros for all the matches of amateur clubs.

These were not consulted by the FFF but the latter had discussions with the presidents of the Leagues.

Despite this drastic health protocol, doubts remain when we speak of a possible reconfinement in the coming weeks.

Many also wonder why an exception is made for the Coupe de France when amateur clubs in other sports are at a standstill.

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Amateur football is shared on this occasion.

In Ile-de-France, the majority of clubs still in contention for the 6th round are rather favorable.

“We're happy to play games again and not to train for nothing.

Like Damien Boudjemaa, the attacking midfielder of Lusitanos Saint-Maur (N2), the amateur players, weaned from the match for three months, wanted to resume competition as quickly as possible.

"It is very good news to be able to continue our great adventure in the Coupe de France," said Youssef Mountabih, president of Villejuif (R2).

The Cup remains magical for an amateur club but it will be very important to respect the instructions.

A meeting on this subject is scheduled for Wednesday at the League of Paris-Ile-de-France.

What is the interest for amateur clubs?

The Coupe de France is the favorite competition for amateur players.

It allows you to live beautiful human adventures with the possibility of confronting professional players in the event of a good journey.

It is also an opportunity for some players to show their individual qualities in a high-profile competition with the hope of landing a pro contract.

Amateur clubs can benefit from significant revenues in times of health crisis.

Participation in the 7th round brings in 7,500 euros then 15,000 euros in the 8th round and 30,000 euros in the round of 16.

The amount rises to 50,000 euros in the round of 16.

“We avoid professional clubs in the 7th and 8th round as well as in the 32nd round so that leaves prospects, thinks Damien Boudjemaa.

This amateur table without a pro team gives you an additional chance to go as far as possible in the competition.

"

To avoid long trips, the clubs will play their 6th, 7th and 8th rounds in their League.

The draw has already been made.

In Ile-de-France, the 9 winners of the 6th round will compete against each other in the 7th round, except the winner of the Mitry-Mory - Fleury (N2) duel who will travel to Bourgogne Franche-Comté against Valdahon Vercel or Pontarlier.

In the end, 2 or 3 representatives from Ile-de-France will still be in the running at the time of the draw for the 32nd finals which will bring together the 31 metropolitan clubs and the 3 overseas clubs (Martinique, Guyana and Mayotte).

What are the health risks for players?

Amateur clubs played their last league game three months ago.

With the confinement and then the curfew, training has been greatly reduced, especially for teams working at regional and departmental level.

Participating in a high-stakes match with the key to qualifying for the next Coupe de France round gives rise to fears of injury.

"There are muscular or tendon risks if the clubs have not done anything for three months because the bodies have not been solicited during this period of time, specifies Julien Lugier, the physical trainer of FC 93 Bobigny Bagnolet Gagny (N2 ).

Personally, I am not worried about our players because they were serious and diligent, they even trained individually during confinement.

Afterwards, there is still a question because the match is a benchmark to know where we are, and we have not played any game for a long time.

"

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The health protocol put in place by the FFF was considered very serious by the Interministerial Crisis Council (CIC) which validated it.

This protocol requires a PCR test before resuming training, three days before the game and an antigen test on the day of the game.

The presence of a doctor on the day of the meeting to control these tests is mandatory.

In the event of a positive test, the match could be canceled.

These tests will be settled by the amateur clubs thanks to the money collected from the 7th round.

For the 6th round, the Federation is considering an aid.

A decision will be made in the coming days.

"This has a cost and requires a large organization to set up to recover the vital cards of the players," indicates Christian Quillay, the president of Mée (R1).

On match day alone, it will take two hours to get the 25 club members tested for antigen.

"

How are the clubs going to organize themselves?

The 6th round and the late 5th round games are going to arrive very quickly, the weekend of January 30 and 31.

“We only have a little over a week to organize this match but we will manage,” says Christine Pereira, president of FC Conflans.

I'm currently busy finding a doctor for match day.

"

The government would not have allowed all amateur clubs to benefit from a derogation in order to be able to train at night all over France.

And this is problematic because the players would have liked to have had more training sessions within the next ten days in order to be better prepared for the game.

Due to the 6pm curfew, most teams could only practice on weekends as players work during the week.

A problem of fairness will also remain on certain matches such as the late fifth round between Le Mée (R1) and Red Star (Nat.).

“It's the commotion of the fight since this morning (

Editor's note: Tuesday

).

On paper, we had a one in 100 chance of winning against the Red Star, but given the current conditions against a team that has been training and played 15 games for four months, we have a one in 1 million chance, says Abdellah Oubbana. , the trainer of Mée.

This is going to be a butcher's shop!

There is a form of inequality.

In addition, if we win, we will play Ivry again the following Wednesday.

We feel that we have to play this match at all costs.

"