"This is not the right time" to consider a Ligue 1 with 18 clubs, said in an interview with
L'Équipe
the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) Noël Le Graët, in response to the idea launched by his Ligue counterpart Vincent Labrune.
“It can't be done right away.
This is not the right time, reacted Mr. Le Graët.
It would be necessary to carry out a financial study, to question the television channels.
It still makes matches less.
You can't say like that: “I throw a coin in the air and, depending on which side it falls on, it's yes or no.
"This can make a mess with TVs," he explains, while the TV rights contracts run until 2024.
The boss of the LFP, Vincent Labrune, said he wanted "to open a debate on the number of clubs participating in L1 and L2".
“We need to redesign the format of our competitions.
It is mandatory, otherwise we will die of boredom in terms of entertainment and exhaustion in terms of investments, ”judges the former president of Marseille in an interview with the
Journal du Dimanche
.
But Noël Le Graët recalls that "the calls for tender were made with 20 clubs".
“At the television level, we don't really know who is broadcasting us ... Are the television channels ready to broadcast fewer matches and at what price?
he asks himself.
Now is not necessarily the best time.
There is the Covid, TV contracts with 20 clubs ... It doesn't happen like that.
If this must be done, it is preparing for a future call for tenders, ”insists the boss of the FFF.
Then president of the League, Noël Le Graët had already tested this formula of a narrow elite in 1997. But for the current president of the FFF, "it deserves more reflection".
“In the past, we have often talked about a return to 18 in L1.
This never succeeded because the resistance of the clubs was too strong.
You ask two additional clubs to go down to Ligue 2 ... A few weeks ago, when we were in difficulty, some wanted to play at 22, ”adds Le Graët.
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