Girondins de Bordeaux launched into a sprint for survival

Administratively relegated to the fourth division, the historic French football club could continue its fall if it fails to complete its squad for National 2 in the coming days.

Football championships have resumed in France, but not for the Girondins de Bordeaux. The club is playing a different kind of match, behind the scenes, after a summer spent more in front of committees than on the pitch. The Girondins have been administratively demoted to National 2 by the DNCG, the financial policeman of French football.

Having been relegated to the fourth division, the Girondins no longer have a squad since they have abandoned their professional status, thus releasing all their players. On Friday, August 23, there were only seven players still registered in the squad on the club’s official website. Not enough to field a team, while the second day of N2 should have seen the Girondins team travel to Vendée, to Poiré-sur-Vie. The match was postponed, as was that of the first day. But while the Girondins had requested not to start their championship on the fourth day, this was refused by the French Football Federation.

They will therefore have to be able to face Stade Poitevin on August 30 or 31 for the third day of the championship, as the club itself confirmed this Friday. To do this, they only have until Monday August 26 to form a team, the time of the regulatory deadline of four days for the FFF to approve the signatures (article 89 of the general regulations of the Federation).

The constraints are drastic: pressed for time due to its multiple unsuccessful appeals, the Bordeaux club can only field two players recruited outside the transfer window, which closed on July 15, per match in National 2. A large part of the squad will therefore have to be made up of free players, a rare commodity.

The Girondins no longer have the right to make a mistake, while other swords of Damocles hang over their heads. If they fail to present a team for the third day, they could be considered as forfeited for the match. The National 1 and 2 regulations only allow two forfeits maximum per season before a case of “general forfeit” synonymous with last place without forgetting various fines.

In addition to its “flagship” team, Bordeaux must also field a reserve team and at least “two 11-a-side youth football teams“, specifies the competition regulations, at the risk of starting the season with points behind (three per obligation not respected). The reserve has been confirmed in National 3 and must play its first match on Sunday in a derby against Stade Bordelais… on condition of having enough players to line up by then.

For the youth teams, the uncertainty remains, as the training center was officially closed on July 26 and the French Football Federation confirmed on Wednesday, August 21, the general withdrawal of the under-19 and under-17 teams that were playing at the national level.

Among the questions, the stadium issue is also at the center of the debates. The club no longer has the means to pay the rent of the Matmut Atlantique (4.7 million euros per season), a stadium where the Girondins have been residents since 2016. The Bordeaux club did not respond to requests from franceinfo: sport on the subject. The metropolis, owner of the stadium, also has no “official communication for the moment”. The headlong flight of one of the historic clubs of French football continues at a rapid pace. Waiting for answers in the hope of finding solutions to its slow agony.