The puzzle continues. Where and when will the Coupe de France final be played? At the end of May, work as part of the Grand Paris Express is planned over several days in Île-de-France which will impact the final initially scheduled for May 23.
For three months, the FFF has been trying to find solutions. “We had an important meeting on this subject with state services yesterday (Wednesday), indicated Jean-François Vilotte, general director of the FFF during the Comex debriefing carried out this Thursday. We could play on Saturday evening at the Stade de France without any difficulty. But the State’s response due to the work and transport as part of the Grand Paris Express plan is to only play on Friday evenings. Two stadiums have also applied for the final to be played on Saturday evening, that of Pierre Mauroy in Lille and the Groupama Stadium in Lyon. But today, for simple reasons, none of these locations can be decided at this time. »
Lyon and Lille, not possible fallback solutions for the time being
The obstacle to the validation of the Stade de France on Friday evening is linked to the presence of Olympique Lyonnais in the Coupe de France and the Europa League. The C3 final takes place on Wednesday May 20 in Istanbul (Turkey) so it would not be possible for OL, in the event of a Europa League final, to play the Coupe de France final two days later (a minimum of three days is required between two official matches).
The location of the final in Lille on Saturday 23 is not possible due to the presence of RC Lens in the competition, with a round of 16 in Troyes. Same thing for the location of the final at Groupama Stadium with OL, still in the running, who will host Laval at the same stage of the competition. “We have noted with all state services that none of the other hypotheses today can be resolved,” insists Jean-François Vilotte. They will perhaps be, possibly, after the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and after the first decisive matches in the Europa League. »
Furthermore, the Coupe de France has found one of the broadcasters for the next four seasons. BeIN Sports won 53 of the 63 matches in the competition (except the 10 best posters) for an amount of 36 million euros, almost three times more than currently. Lot A of the 10 most beautiful posters has not yet found a buyer.
