Seven French titles, and a first team staring at the eighth tier
The French Football Federation executive committee has refused to reinstate Bordeaux in National 2. Sud-Ouest broke the news on Thursday night. The drop to Regional 1 stands.
The Comex had been called into an emergency meeting to rule on Bordeaux’s case. The day before, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari had written to FFF president Philippe Diallo, asking him to look at what could be done given the club’s place in French football.
The answer was no. A federation source quoted by L’Equipe said putting Bordeaux back in would have wrecked the credibility of the DNCG and blown up the principle of equal treatment between clubs.
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Two weeks late, and everything changes
The root of the case is timing. The expected buyers, Sparta Capital and Park Bench, did raise the 10 million euros needed to balance the books. They just did it two weeks after the deadline.
The DNCG punished them accordingly and sent the club down to the sixth tier. Bordeaux challenged that ruling with the CNOSF, then took it to the Paris administrative court. Both bodies backed the decision. The club also tried to start again in National 2 rather than Regional 1, but that went nowhere.
Gerard Lopez has spent 70 million euros and will not spend another cent
The fallout is immediate. Sparta Capital and Park Bench had already warned they would walk away if the relegation to Regional 1 was confirmed. So the club remains in the hands of Gerard Lopez, who has put in 70 million euros since arriving in 2021 and has no intention of adding to it.
With no buyer and no funding, Bordeaux are now heading towards liquidation proceedings. The sporting rights would then return to the association chaired by Jean-Louis Triaud.
The FFF still has to tell the Nouvelle-Aquitaine league at what level the first team can start the 2026-2027 season. In cases like this, a restart in Regional 2 or Regional 3 is common.
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