deprived of the Stade de France in the fall, where can the Blues play their future matches?

The French football team is looking for a stadium from the fall of 2023. The federation must find a fallback solution since the Stade de France will be unavailable. It first hosts several Rugby World Cup matches in September. It will then be under construction in early 2024, before the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A consultation intended to the elected representatives of the territories and to the presidents and general managers of the clubs which have sports arenas of more than 25,000 places, likely to accommodate the Blues, ended Thursday, April 12.

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The French football team has six games to play, including a Euro qualifier in Germany against Ireland, as well as five friendlies. The most obvious solution remains Marseille and its Vélodrome, the second largest stadium in the country with 67,000 seats. The city applied almost without thinking, according to Sébastien Jibrayel, deputy to the mayor of Marseilles sports delegatebecause the France team has its habits in the OM arena. “We are still in a stadium where the twelfth man (the supporters) is not just empty words. We remember during Euro 2016 the enthusiasm of this twelfth man, who is unique in France”.

A “dress rehearsal” for Bordeaux before the Olympics

Marseille wishes to host as many matches as possible, but the preferred hypothesis is rather a selection of several stadiums by the federation. This would allow cities that never receive the Blues to see Kylian Mbappé and his band land, like Le Mans for example. “To have the opportunity to welcome this team which made us dream a few months ago during the World Cup, it’s extraordinary, it’s a dream that can come true”, hope Nordine Arik, sports assistant for the city of Le Mans and former professional boxer, who sees it as a golden opportunity.

Bordeaux also begins to dream of welcoming the French team, which only came to the Matmut Atlantique once, almost eight years ago and, according to Mathieu Hazouard, sports assistant for the Bordeaux town hall, to be chosen would be a sort of dress rehearsal: “It seemed natural to us to submit our candidacy even though in addition, in the summer of 2024, as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we will host men’s and women’s football events”.

Toulouse also offers and makes the Stadium available for a match, in March 2024. This consultation also makes it possible to apply to receive matches from the French women’s team and hopes.