Première Ligue
Coupe de France Féminine | |
International cup(s) | UEFA Women's Champions League |
---|---|
Current champions | Olympique Lyonnais (17th) |
Most championships | Olympique Lyonnais (17) |
TV partners | |
Current: 2024–25 season |
The Première Ligue (French pronunciation: [pʁəmʒɛʁ liɡ]; sponsor name Arkema Première Ligue) is a professional women's association football league at the highest level of the French football league system, and is run by the Ligue féminine de football professionnel (LFFP). Its annual competition features twelve teams playing two series of round-robin matches from September to June, to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. The winners of the tournament are crowned champions of France, and contest the Trophée des Championnes match the following season. At the end of each season, the top three teams qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League, while the bottom two teams are relegated to the Seconde Ligue.
The Première Ligue is the latest iteration of a competition founded in 1975 by the French Football Federation (FFF) as the amateur Division 1 Féminine. Professionalism was introduced for the first time in the 2009–10 season. The competition was ranked the best women's league in Europe according to UEFA 2019–20 women's association club coefficients.[1] Olympique Lyonnais have won the league the most times (17), and also hold the record for consecutive wins (14).
History
The first women's association football league in France was founded in 1918 by the
In July 2022, it was announced that the Division 1 Féminine will feature in the FIFA 23 video game.[4]
Competition format
There are 12 clubs in the Première Ligue. During the course of a season, usually from September to June, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 22 games, though clubs are allowed to host "big" matches at the home venues of their male counterparts, such as when
Between the years 2001–2004, the league adopted a playoff system. The top four clubs in the league table were inserted into a playoff table following the completion of the season with the winner being crowned champions. From 1974 to 1992, the league consisted of several groups with the winners of each group entering a playoff phase to determine the champion.
European qualification
Until the 2019–2020 edition, only the top two teams in the Division 1 Féminine qualify for the round of 32 of the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Since the 2020–2021 edition, as determined by the UEFA women's coefficient, the winner of the Division 1 directly qualifies for the group stage of the UEFA Women's Champions League, whereas the second team qualifies for the second round and the third team qualifies for the first round. As of today, the winner of the Coupe de France féminine, the female equivalent of the Coupe de France, does not qualify for European competition.
Starting with the 2021–22 edition, as determined by the UEFA women's coefficient, the top three teams will qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Clubs
Team | 2023–24 | Location | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
AS Saint-Étienne | 7th | Saint-Étienne | Stade Etivallière |
Dijon FCO | 8th | Dijon | Stade Gaston Gérard |
En Avant Guingamp | 10th | Pabu | Stade de l'Akademi EA Guingamp |
FC Fleury 91 | 5th | Bondoufle | Stade Robert Bobin |
FC Nantes | 2nd (D2) | Nantes | Stade Marcel-Saupin |
Le Havre AC | 9th | Le Havre | Stade Océane |
Montpellier HSC | 6th | Montpellier | Centre d'entrainement Bernard Gasset |
Olympique Lyonnais | 1st | Lyon | Groupama OL Training Center |
Paris FC | 3rd | Paris | Stade Sébastien Charléty |
Paris Saint-Germain | 2nd | Saint-Germain-en-Laye | Stade Georges Lefèvre |
RC Strasbourg Alsace | 1st (D2) | Strasbourg | Stade Jean Nicolas Muller |
Stade de Reims | 4th | Bétheny | Stade Louis Blériot |
Previous winners
Top scorers
Included in the table below is a list of the top scorers of each season, starting from the 2001–02 season. Information for previous seasons unavailable.
Season | Goals scored | Player |
---|---|---|
2001–02 |
22 |
Marinette Pichon (Saint-Memmie Olympique) |
2002–03 |
26 |
Sandrine Brétigny (Lyon) |
2003–04 |
18 |
Claire Morel (Lyon) |
2004–05 |
38 |
Marinette Pichon (Juvisy) |
2005–06 |
36 |
Marinette Pichon (Juvisy) |
2006–07 |
42 |
Sandrine Brétigny (Lyon) |
2007–08 |
27 |
Laëtitia Tonazzi (Juvisy) |
27 |
Kátia (Lyon) | |
19 |
Saint-Brieuc )
| |
20 |
Laëtitia Tonazzi (Juvisy) | |
22 |
Eugénie Le Sommer (Lyon) | |
24 |
Lotta Schelin (Lyon) | |
25 |
Gaëtane Thiney (Juvisy) | |
34 |
Lotta Schelin (Lyon) | |
33 |
Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) | |
20 |
Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) Eugénie Le Sommer (Lyon) | |
31 |
Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) | |
22 |
PSG )
| |
16 |
PSG )
| |
22 |
Khadija Shaw (Bordeaux) | |
18 |
PSG )
| |
17 |
PSG )
|
Awards
In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medal players receive, the
See also
References
- ^ "Women's association club coefficients". UEFA. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Statut pro pour ces dames". L'Équipe. 6 March 2009. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ "Foot féminin, la lueur d'un statut professionnel". FootAmat. 14 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (20 July 2022). "Fifa 23 to add women's club football for first time". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Challenge de la meilleure joueuse de D1" (in French). French Football Federation. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Diani, Player of the Month for September". French Football Federation. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
External links
- (in French) Official website
- (in French) FootoFéminin
- (in French) Official YouTube channel