Championnat National

Championnat National

Organising body	FFF
Founded	1993 (1993)
Country	France
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	18
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Ligue 2
Relegation to	Championnat National 2
Domestic cup(s)	Coupe de France
International cup(s)	Europa League (via cups)
Current champions	Concarneau (1st title) (2022–23)
Most championships	Clermont, Nîmes, Red Star, Bastia (2 titles each)
TV partners	Canal+ Sport
Website	Official site
Current: 2023–24 Championnat National

The Championnat de France National (Template:Lang-en), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Ligue 2 and the Championnat National 2, the fourth division of French football.

Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 34 games each, totalling 306 games in the season. Most games are played on Fridays and Saturdays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.

The National was founded in 1993 by the French Football Federation and served as a base league for clubs on the brink of becoming professional or falling to the amateur levels. The league is annually composed of professional and semi-professional clubs. The matches in the league attract on average between 2,500 and 6,000 spectators per match.

History

In 2022, There were rumours of Ligue 3 being founded. Indeed, following the reform of the LFP to pass Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to 18 clubs, these next two seasons, eight professional clubs will go down from Ligue 2 to National (4 relegations instead of 3). At the end of the 2023–24 season, the number of professional clubs, currently six (Red Star FC, Le Mans FC, LB Châteauroux, US Orléans, USL Dunkerque and AS Nancy Lorraine), will therefore be greater than the number of amateur clubs. Which is the essential argument for the passage of National 1 in Ligue 3 with a management that would be transferred from the Fédération Française de Football à la Ligue du Football Professionnel.

Competition format

There are 18 clubs in the Championnat National. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion and promoted to Ligue 2. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship or for relegation, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The first and second place finisher are also promoted to the second division, while the six lowest placed teams are relegated to the Championnat National 2 and the four winners of the four groups from Championnat National 2 are promoted in their place until 2023–24 season.

Current clubs

For the 2023–24 season.

Stadia and locations

Avranches

Châteauroux

Cholet

Dijon

Épinal

GOAL FC

Le Mans

Marignane GCB

Martigues

Nîmes

Niort

Orléans

Red Star

Sochaux

Rouen

Versailles

Villefranche

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Location of teams in 2023–24 National

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Avranches	Avranches	Stade René Fenouillère	2,000
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173
Cholet	Cholet	Stade Pierre Blouen	9,000
Dijon	Dijon	Stade Gaston Gérard	15,995
Épinal	Épinal	Stade de la Colombière	8,000
GOAL FC	Chasselay	Stade Ludovic Giuly	600
Le Mans	Le Mans	MMArena	25,000
Marignane GCB	Marignane	Stade Saint-Exupéry	1,500
Martigues	Martigues	Stade Francis Turcan	8,290
Nancy	Nancy	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Nîmes	Nîmes	Stade des Costières	18,482
Niort	Niort	Stade René Gaillard	10,886
Orléans	Orléans	Stade de la Source	7,000
Red Star	Paris (Saint-Ouen)	Stade Bauer	10,000
Rouen	Rouen	Stade Robert Diochon	12,108
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,005
Versailles	Paris (Paris 16)	Stade Jean-Bouin	19,904
Villefranche	Villefranche-sur-Saône	Stade Armand Chouffet	3,500

Championnat National table of honours

Season	Group A Winner	Group B Winner	Other promoted teams
1993–94	En Avant de Guingamp	LB Châteauroux	Amiens SC and Perpignan FC
1994–95	FC Lorient	SAS Épinal	Stade Poitevin and CS Louhans-Cuiseaux
1995–96	Stade Briochin	Sporting Toulon Var	Association Troyes AC and AS Beauvais Oise
1996–97	ES Wasquehal	Nîmes Olympique
Season	Champions	Runner Up	Third place
1997–98	AC Ajaccio	CS Sedan Ardennes	US Créteil-Lusitanos (not promoted)
1998–99	CS Louhans-Cuiseaux	US Créteil-Lusitanos	Gazélec Ajaccio (not promoted)
1999–2000	AS Beauvais Oise	FC Martigues	Angers SCO
2000–01	Grenoble Foot 38	Amiens SC	FC Istres
2001–02	Clermont Foot	Stade de Reims	ASOA Valence and Toulouse FC (4 clubs promoted this season)
2002–03	Besançon Racing Club	Angers SCO	FC Rouen
2003–04	Stade de Reims	Stade Brestois 29	Dijon FCO
2004–05	Valenciennes FC	ASOA Valence (not promoted due to financial problems)	FC Sète 34
2005–06	Chamois Niortais	Tours FC	FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin
2006–07	Clermont Foot (2)	US Boulogne	Angers SCO
2007–08	Vannes OC	Tours FC	Nîmes Olympique
2008–09	FC Istres	Stade Lavallois	AC Arles
2009–10	Evian Thonon Gaillard	Stade de Reims	ES Troyes AC
2010–11	SC Bastia	Amiens SC	En Avant de Guingamp
2011–12	Nîmes Olympique (2)	Chamois Niortais	Gazélec Ajaccio
2012–13	US Créteil-Lusitanos	FC Metz	CA Bastia
2013–14	US Orléans	US Luzenac	Gazélec Ajaccio
2014–15	Red Star	Paris FC	FC Bourg-Péronnas
2015–16	Strasbourg	Orléans	Amiens
2016–17	Châteauroux	Quevilly	Paris FC (Promotion Play-Off)
2017–18	Red Star (2)	Béziers	Grenoble
2018–19	Rodez	Chambly	Le Mans
2019–20	Pau	USL Dunkerque	US Boulogne
2020–21	SC Bastia (2)	Quevilly-Rouen	Villefranche
2021–22	Laval	Annecy	Villefranche
2022–23	Concarneau	Dunkerque	Red Star
2023–24	TBD	TBD	TBD

External links

• Official Site (in French)