The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, has proposed a revolutionary change to the structure of French football. The proposal aims to replace Ligue 1 with a club-owned structure similar to England's Premier League. Of all the changes that could be made to the game on the continent, this is perhaps one that those gambling with Litecoin online would not have predicted as we approach the end of the season.
Ligue 1, France's top-flight league, falls under the jurisdiction of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP). However, in recent years, LFP has faced financial difficulties. It lags behind other major European leagues in revenue generation and lost its domestic streaming deal with DAZN in April.
In response to these challenges, Diallo set up three groups in March to help decide the future of French football. His proposal involves a new system where clubs would own their respective leagues while still allowing final say from the federation over them.
Philippe Diallo, President of the French Football Federation, said:
"We’re moving from a non-profit association model to a commercial structure."
Under this new system, domestic leagues would be run by an independent entity responsible for organising and marketing matches. A CEO reporting directly to a board would oversee operations instead of an elected president. Each club would have one vote.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and the federation itself will also have stakes. CVC had previously invested approximately $1.7 billion into LFP Media - Ligue 1’s commercial and broadcasting arm - back in 2022.
The proposed changes are expected to be discussed by the French Senate on June 10th, before moving on to the National Assembly for final approval later this year.
Philippe Diallo, President of the French Football Federation, added:
"The creation of LFP Media has left the LFP almost an empty shell. This proposal would see the LFP disappear as its functions are absorbed by the new company."
Ligue 1 has been struggling to keep up with the other top five European leagues - the Premier League, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and LaLiga - more and more in recent years.
In the 2022-23 season alone, Deloitte found that while the Premier League led the commercial race with $7.43 billion in revenue, Ligue 1 lagged behind in fifth place with just $2.53 billion.
The media rights situation hasn't helped either. Amazon Prime and Canal+ did not renew their contracts after three seasons as media partners for Ligue 1. The league also lost its deal for the 2024-25 season before striking a now-defunct agreement with DAZN for roughly $455 million annually.
In contrast to the faltering of French football's media deals, which bring in about $130 million each year from Qatari broadcaster beIN SPORTS, the Premier League's media rights agreements generate more than $2.2 billion per year.
The proposed changes by Diallo aim to address these issues and put French football back on track towards financial stability and global competitiveness.
