A year later, the Blues find the Parc des Princes. As in September 2024 and a sad defeat (1-3) against Italy in the League of Nations, the French team will crowd the usual lawn of Paris Saint-Germain this Tuesday evening (8:45 pm) to receive Iceland, the second opponent of its qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup launched Friday by a victory against Ukraine (0-2).
But this time, their absence from the Stade de France, where they have not evolved since March and a successful success on Croatia (2-0; 5-4 TAB), is not linked to the holding of the Paralympic Games in Saint-Denis.
As of April, the French Football Federation (FFF) initiated that the Blues would play their three qualifying home games for Iceland, but also Azerbaijan (October 10) and Ukraine (November 13), at the Parc des Princes. The reason? The imbroglio around the change of dealer of the Stade de France.
At the time, the FFF had not reached a contractual agreement with GL Events, then in exclusive negotiations with the State to resume the management of the Vinci-Bouygues consortium, at the place of the place since the start of its construction in 1995.
Still selling places
“Due to the uncertainty about the change of concession at the Stade de France in August 2025, and the agenda constraints of international matches, we were obliged to provide the UEFA the stadiums for the qualifying matches of the 2026 World Cup”, explained the president of the FFF, Philippe Diallo. If 13 cities were candidates, Paris had obtained the organization of the three -color triptych.
The first of the three meetings in the capital has not for the time being complete. Contacted this Sunday, the FFF explains that there are still 5,000 places on sale on its website for Tuesday’s match. The Federation is counting on a full speaker on Tuesday evening.
Beyond the fall, will the Blues return to the Stade de France? “Very willingly,” slipped Philippe Diallo in June. This will depend on the outcome of the negotiations between the Federation, which considered itself to be cheated financially by the previous lease and which wishes in particular to be associated with the governance of the enclosure, and GL Events. “The big games of the Blues are intended to be held at the Stade de France,” insisted in May the President and CEO of the Branch Sites of the Lyon company, Christophe Cizeron.
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