TV rights, Ligue 2 programming, supporters… The major projects awaiting Vincent Labrune, re-elected at the head of the LFP

French football, whose image has been tarnished in recent weeks, and its governing body, the Professional Football League, will have to face several challenges to get back on its feet.

Vincent Labrune will return to his seat as head of French professional football for the next four years. The election for the next president of the Professional Football League (LFP) – which pitted him against Cyril Linette – was held on Tuesday, September 10, and the former president of Olympique de Marseille was largely re-elected, with 14 votes out of 17.

The projects for the 2024-2028 term promise to be numerous and sometimes complicated. From the incredible episode of the TV rights of Ligue 1, granted to DAZN, whose turmoil is still in the news, to the anger of Ligue 2 club supporters towards beIN Sports regarding the scheduling of matches during the week, there is no shortage of challenges. Here is a quick overview.

TV rights: piracy, DAZN subscription price… A need for clarification

This is probably the most decisive step in restoring some of the shine to Ligue 1 McDonald’s. The saga of the allocation of TV rights for the period 2024-2029, finally recovered by DAZN for 400 million euros per year (plus a poster for beIN Sports for 100 million euros per year), has left indelible marks. The streaming service, which announced on Monday, September 9, that it was readjusting its prices, is struggling to find its audience. Worse, the subscription price, considered excessive by many supporters and football fans, has led to a significant increase in piracy via IPTV systems or loops on platforms such as Telegram.

Candidate Cyril Linette made a commitment during the campaign to “to convince DAZN to lower its price as quickly as possible”in order to avoid a “disaster”. “DAZN made a mistake in its commercial policy. They went for a price that rather reflects their English culture”he explained in particular. Having been largely defeated, he will not have to take charge of this thorny issue. He had also announced that he would give up his seat on the board of directors if he was not elected president.

Ligue 2: Resolving the programming issue

Starting this season, the Ligue 2 matchday multiplex is no longer scheduled on Saturday evening, but on Friday evening. A major change for supporters, who, in addition to the difficulties in organizing themselves to go and support their team when it plays away, poses a problem for getting to the stadium after work at the end of the week. In fact, the atmosphere was particularly tense during the first days after this change decided during the summer, when the clubs’ season ticket campaigns had already begun.

“Football is on the weekend” And “beIN Sports kills Ligue 2”could be read on two banners displayed in the kops of the Saint-Symphorien stadium, during Metz-Bastia, on August 19. Incidents and violence suffered by beIN Sports teams have also been reported. In recent days, the National Supporters Association (ANS) and the broadcaster – “which invests 40 million euros per season”according to its branch director, Florian Houzot – have started dialogue, but the ball should return to the court of the clubs and the LFP.

Supporters: Re-establishing a constructive dialogue

Reading the previous point, we can measure the effort to be made, both on the side of the League and the different groups of supporters. Before the election to the LFP, the National Association of Supporters sent the candidates a questionnaire with five main themes. Among these, we find the disciplinary measures taken against groups of supporters, one of the latter’s hobby horses. The objective is to seek to reduce closed-door matches – complete or partial – and suspensions affecting clubs and their fans.

Along the same lines, prefectural decrees and travel bans are in the crosshairs. The idea of ​​the ANS is to arrive at more individualized sanctions in the event of an infraction, so as not to make them weigh on clubs that are increasingly financially fragile, or to penalize all of a club’s supporters for the faults of a few. Another point of contention, the use of smoke bombs and other pyrotechnic devices, should also come back on the table.

What about timeshare?

Concern about the phenomenon of timeshare ownership is growing a little more each season. Investment funds are buying majority or minority shares in French clubs, sometimes calling into question the very identity of these clubs. The revolt of Strasbourg supporters, who saw the American consortium BlueCo, which notably owns Chelsea, take the reins in the summer of 2023, has not subsided.

“Last year we were waiting to see what would happenexplained Maxime, spokesperson for the main Strasbourg supporters group, the UB90, to AFP at the beginning of August. Now we see that our concerns have been confirmed. We are no longer independent and the project is no longer sporting, but focused on financial assets that serve other interests. We have become a line in an account.”

Questions of better supervision of this phenomenon, which will probably become more pronounced in the years to come, and of increased vigilance on the solidity of shareholders, will arise. This season, no fewer than nine of the 18 teams involved are part of a multi-ownership (Strasbourg, Lyon, Toulouse, PSG, Monaco, Nice, Lens, Lorient, Clermont).