In recent hours, Philippe Diallo, President of the French Football Federation, has announced a forthcoming revolution in French soccer. According to L’Equipe, one of the forthcoming changes could be the introduction of play-offs at the end of the season to decide the Ligue 1 champion.
“To spice up a Championship whose suspense is stale due to the overwhelming dominance of PSG every season, the idea of creating play-offs, along the lines of the Top 14 or the Arkema Première Ligue, has been mooted.
At the end of the regular season, which will determine who qualifies for the Champions League, the future champion would be decided after a mini-tournament with knockout matches between the top four teams, with semi-finals and a final.”
It could be an idea, as it works in several competitions. There will undoubtedly be those in favor, in order to regain a little more suspense when PSG simply seem “too strong” over a full season. It’s worth noting that increased competition can also come from the work of other clubs.
There are also those who see an “injustice” in this system and a lack of interest during the season, since first place generally only gives “one” opponent a little lower down the standings at the start of the play-off.
There’s also the concern about adding matches, at a time when we’re hoping to see French clubs go far in European competitions. This season, we’re delighted to see PSG able to regain some strength before the Champions League final against Inter Milan on May 31.
There will be plenty of debate, and every position can be defended. Now is the time for discussions to take place between the decision-makers. Nothing has been decided yet.
