52-486: Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard ( French pronunciation: [soʃo mɔ̃beljaʁ] ; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux ) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard . The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Championnat National , the third tier of French football , after having been administratively relegated from Ligue 2 in the 2022–23 season, despite
104-455: A Trophée des champions match between FC Nantes and AS Monaco. The stadium's current capacity is 20,005. The following table lists the honors of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, updated as of January 1, 2010, in various official competitions at the national and international levels, as well as in youth competitions. In friendly tournaments, the club won the Coupe Peugeot in 1931 and was a finalist in
156-411: A UEFA Nations League title in 2021 . The France women's national football team represents the country in international women's football . France initially struggled on the international stage failing to qualify for three of the first FIFA Women's World Cups and the six straight UEFA European Championships before reaching the quarter-finals in the 1997 edition of the competition . However, since
208-576: A 9th place finish. Sochaux plays its home matches at the Stade Auguste Bonal , located within the city. Sochaux was founded by Jean-Pierre Peugeot, a prominent member of the Peugeot family , and is one of the founding members of the first division of French football. The club has won both Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France twice and have also won the Coupe de la Ligue . Sochaux's last honour came in 2007 when
260-413: A French car manufacturing company. Peugeot sought to create a football club for the leisure time of the company's workers. He installed Louis Maillard-Salin as the club's first president, and made Maurice Bailly the club's first manager. Bailly was also a member of the team. Sochaux played its first match on 2 September 1928 against the reserve team of local club AS Montbéliard . The club was inserted into
312-459: A result, in the first season after the war , Sochaux suffered relegation after finishing in last place with only 15 points. Sochaux spent only one season in the second division and returned to Division 1 for the 1947–48 season . The club spent the next 13 seasons playing in Division 1 with its best finish coming during the 1952–53 season when the club finished runner-up to champions Stade Reims . In
364-586: A stranglehold on the region easily disposing of local rivals AS Montbéliard and AS Valentigney . In June 1930, Montbéliard decided to merge with Sochaux to form the club that exists today. The following month, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. With Peugeot being a strong advocate for professionalism, Sochaux were among
416-535: Is also reflected in the composition of the French World Cup winning team where only six of the 23 players were of European descent. France is a football superpower; by its footballers playing around the world, according to the CIES Football Observatory , in 2023, France is the second country in the world behind Brazil , with the most footballers playing abroad with 1,033. According to Statista , of
468-462: Is demoted to National by the DNCG (National Directorate of Management Control), for not having presented balanced accounts. Chinese real estate group Nenking , who unofficially take the reins of the club, following the economic problems encountered by Tech Pro, inject money into the coffers to save him from relegation. Nenking also appoint Samuel Laurent to the position of general director. In April 2020,
520-538: Is open to the best reserve teams in France and amateur clubs in France, although only the amateur clubs are eligible for promotion to the Championnat National. The highest-placed amateur team in each pool are promoted, replaced by the 4 lowest-placed in the Championnat National. The Championnat National 3 is the 5th division in French football and normally consists of 168 teams in 12 groups of 14 organised to align with
572-562: Is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the country, both professional and amateur. The federation organizes the Coupe de France and is responsible for appointing the management of the men's , women's , and youth national football teams in France . The federation gives responsibility of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) who oversee, organize, and manage
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#1733106234858624-458: Is the second division of French football. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Championnat National . The league was created in 1934, a year after Ligue 1 and consisted of 23 clubs that were divided into two groups, Nord and Sud. Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain ranked fourth place in the top ten most popular sports clubs on social media in the world as of 7 February 2024: The Championnat National
676-508: Is the third division of French football. Though the league has several clubs that are members of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, it is not governed by the organization primarily because of the LFP's refusal to divide its profits into smaller shares, so they can collaborate with the many amateur clubs in the league to help them become professional. The French Football Federation moderates the league, which
728-570: Is to Division 3 Féminine , contested by 24 fully professional clubs split into two groups. The fourth level is Régional 1 Féminine. The leagues based in the overseas departments and territories of France are run by their respective associations under the watch of the French Football Federation. Under the rules of the FFF, clubs in the leagues are allowed to participate in confederation competitions based on their regional locations. For example,
780-521: The 1938–39 season , Ross and several players departed the club to play and manage abroad due to the onset of World War II . The non-deserters were, subsequently, called into action to fight with the French Army , which ultimately caused the club to limit its aspiring ambitions. During war-time, in an effort to survive financially, Sochaux formed an interim merger with local rivals AS Valentigney . The club, known as FC Sochaux-Valentigney , participated in
832-418: The 2010 edition of the competition. The academy has produced several notable talents, such as Yannick Stopyra , El-Hadji Diouf , Jérémy Ménez , Bernard Genghini and Benoît Pedretti , among others. The club were a regular in the top flight, until relegation in 2014. Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard was founded in 1928 under the name Football Club Sochaux by Jean-Pierre Peugeot, a director of Peugeot ,
884-515: The France national football team . All teams are run by their respective federation under the authority of the French Football Federation. As an overseas department of the French Republic , each national team is not a member of FIFA , therefore they are not eligible to enter the World Cup . However, since inhabitants of the overseas departments are French citizens, players are eligible to play for
936-501: The France national football team . Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and French Guiana are associate members of CONCACAF and are full members of the Caribbean Football Union , and are thus eligible for all competitions organized by both, while Réunion are associate members of CAF . Indeed, according to the status of the FFF (article 34, paragraph 6): "[...]Under the control of related continental confederations, and with
988-407: The France national under-16 football team and ending with the France national under-21 football team . Since the coaching tenure of Aimé Jacquet , there is an unwritten rule among senior national team coaches that players called up to the national team must have had prior international experience with the under-21 team. The following overseas department national teams act as feeder teams for
1040-564: The Ligue du Football Amateur . The LFA, under the watch of the French Football Federation, is responsible for administering and federating the actions of the regional and district leagues. Division 1 Féminine is the top league for women's football clubs in France. Division 1 Féminine is ranked the best league in Europe according to UEFA . The league was originally created in 1918 by Alice Milliat and ran for 12 successful seasons until women's football
1092-503: The Stade Auguste Bonal in Montbéliard. The stadium was constructed in 1931 and opened on 11 November of that same year. The facility was previously known as Stade de la Forge . In July 1945, the club changed the stadium's name to its current version. It is named after Auguste Bonal, the former sports director of the club, who after refusing to co-operate with the Germans during World War II,
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#17331062348581144-657: The Trophée Joan Gamper in 1989. French Championship (2) French Ligue 2 (2) French National 3 (2) French Cup (2) French League Cup (1) Coupe Gambardella (3) Coupe Charles Drago (3) Coupe Peugeot (1) UEFA Cup UEFA Intertoto Cup Alps Cup Mohammed V Cup (1) Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Below are
1196-423: The regional leagues . The twelve teams (both amateur and reserves of professional teams in higher divisions) that top their league are promoted to Championnat National 2. Relegation from Championnat National 3 is defined by both position in the group and the region the club belongs to. Normally, one club is relegated to each regional league that feeds that group. Some of regional leagues are organised and managed by
1248-513: The 38 professional football clubs that contest football in France (18 in Ligue 1 and 20 in Ligue 2). Ligue 1 is the French professional league for football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system . Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Ligue 2. Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, currently ranked fifth in Europe behind
1300-530: The English Premier League , Spanish La Liga , Italian Serie A , and the German Bundesliga . Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. The name lasted until 2002 before switching to its current name. The current champions of France are Paris Saint-Germain , who won a record twelfth title in 2024 . Ligue 2
1352-667: The Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard SASP (Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle) officially became the property of the Nenking Group . "This sale to the group whose founding president is Mr. Zhong Naixiong comes in accordance with the agreements previously made with Ledus" and Frankie Yau become president. On 28 June 2023, the DNCG confirmed the administrative relegation of Sochaux to Championnat National due to their financial crisis. Sochaux plays its home matches at
1404-617: The France national team. Lilian Thuram and Bernard Lama , who were born in Guadeloupe and Martinique , respectively, were a part of the winning team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup . Also on the team were Thierry Henry and Bernard Diomède , who, though born in metropolitan France, were descendants of parents from overseas departments. Currently, Florent Malouda (French Guiana), William Gallas , Mikaël Silvestre , Michaël Ciani (Guadeloupe), Nicolas Anelka (Martinique), and Guillaume Hoarau and Florent Sinama Pongolle (Réunion) are members of
1456-500: The French amazingly." Modern football was introduced nine years later in 1872 by English sailors playing in Le Havre in 1872. Today, football in France is especially being played successfully by people of non-European origin, in particular people of Subsaharan origin and people from North Africa who are overrepresented in the Banlieue . The importance of players of non-European origin
1508-562: The agreement of the FFF, those leagues can organize international sport events at a regional level or set up teams in order to participate to them." A special rule of the CONCACAF Gold Cup only allows players to join the team if they have not played for France during the previous five years. On the other hand, any player joining the team is allowed to join the France national team afterward with no time restrictions. The use of overseas department players has been extremely beneficial for
1560-507: The beginning of the new millennium , France have become a mid-tier national team and one of the most consistent in Europe , having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and reaching the quarter-finals in the last three consecutive European Championships. They also hosted the 2019 Women's World Cup , reaching the quarter-finals. The France national youth football teams consists of age-specific national teams beginning with
1612-625: The champion of the Réunion Premier League is allowed inclusion into the CAF Champions League . The most important cup competition in France is the Coupe de France . However, several other national cups are targeted at clubs at different levels. The following teams have qualified for the last eight of the European Cup / UEFA Champions League . The France national football team represents France in international football. France
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1664-600: The club, under the guidance of Alain Perrin , defeated favourites Marseille 5–4 on penalties in the 2007 Coupe de France Final . Sochaux's colours are gold and navy blue. Sochaux is known for its youth academy, which has regularly finished in the top ten rankings of youth academies in France (fourth in 2010). The most successful team in the academy is the under-19 team, which has won the Coupe Gambardella twice, in 1973 and 2007. In 2010, Sochaux finished runners-up to Metz in
1716-427: The country's top two leagues. The LFP is also responsible for organizing the Coupe de la Ligue , the country's league cup competition. The French Football Federation also supervises the overseas departments and territories leagues and hosts football club AS Monaco , a club based in the independent sovereign state of Monaco . In 2022, the FFF had 2.1 million licensees, 1.8 million players and 14,000 registered clubs,
1768-418: The estimated 130,000 professional football players worldwide, 6,368 originated from France, the third highest number in the world after Brazil (10,694) and Mexico (9,223). The top two divisions of French football, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 , are governed by the Ligue de Football Professionnel . The league is responsible for organizing, overseeing and managing the top two leagues and is also responsible for
1820-590: The first clubs to adopt the new statute and, subsequently, became professional. In the league's inaugural season , Sochaux finished 3rd in its group. The club's final position was later moved to 2nd after Antibes , the champions of the group, was disqualified from the league for suspected bribery. In the 1934–35 season , Sochaux captured its first league title finishing one point ahead of Strasbourg . Led by Uruguayan manager Conrad Ross, as well as captain Étienne Mattler , known as Le Lion de Belfort , and strikers Roger Courtois and Bernard Williams , Sochaux dominated
1872-676: The following season, a more experienced Sochaux returned to the final, where the club faced Nantes . Sochaux defeated Nantes 5–4 on penalties to win its first major title since winning the Coupe Drago 40 years previously. It did not take the club another 40 years to claim its next title as Sochaux were surprise winners of the Coupe de France in the 2006–07 season after defeating Marseille on penalties. Marseille were heavy favourites heading into match, mainly due to its 4–2 thrashing of Sochaux just 12 days before. However, Sochaux, led by Alain Perrin , stunned
1924-540: The league for over 20 years, regularly finishing in the top ten before falling down to Division 2 in the 1987–88 season . During Sochaux's 24-year run in the first division, the club played in European competitions four times. In the 1980–81 season, Sochaux surprised many by reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup . In the round, the club was defeated by Dutch club AZ 4–3 on aggregate. The club's successful play during this stint
1976-640: The league losing only four times. Two seasons later, the same team, with the addition of goalkeeper Laurent Di Lorto and the Swiss duo of André Abegglen and Maxime Lehmann, Sochaux won its first Coupe de France title. The club faced league rivals Strasbourg in the final and defeated the Alsatians 2–1 courtesy of goals from Williams and the Argentine Miguel Angel Lauri . Ross finished his career at Sochaux by winning another league title in 1938 . After
2028-493: The lowest level of league football in the Franche-Comté region and played its first league match three weeks later winning 12–1. Peugeot was among the first to advocate for the professionalisation of French football and, in 1929, went as far as to admit to paying his players, which was strictly forbidden during this time. The subsequent recruitment of several French internationals and players from abroad led to Sochaux gaining
2080-604: The nation and claimed its first Coupe de France title since 1937. In July 2015, Peugeot sold the team to Hong Kong company Ledus. In 2018 it was announced that Spanish club Alavés (whose owners had a stake in Ledus) was starting a partnership with Sochaux; however the agreement lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year. With Omar Daf as coach, FCSM win the last game of season against Grenoble Foot 38 and save his Ligue 2 place. Club finish 16th in Ligue 2 but
2132-465: The national team who either hail from or whose families hail from the overseas departments. Stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or higher are included. Bernard Williams (footballer) Bernard Williams (25 August 1908 – 2004) was an Irish professional footballer active in France during the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Dublin , Williams played as a striker for Sochaux between 1932 and 1947, winning
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2184-669: The notable former players who have represented Sochaux in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1928. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 200 official matches for the club. For a complete list of Sochaux players, see Category:FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Football in France Association football is the most popular sport in France . In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football)
2236-554: The same season, Sochaux won its first honour since 1938 after winning the Coupe Charles Drago . In 1959, the club returned to the Coupe de France final, however, the outcome was not in Sochaux's favour, with the club losing 3–0 to Le Havre in a replay after a 2–2 draw. In the early 1960s, despite playing in Division 2, Sochaux won the Coupe Drago in back-to-back seasons. The club made its return to Division 1 in 1964, and remained in
2288-494: The second highest number of registered players in Europe after Germany . The first football club was introduced to France in 1863 as described in a newspaper article by The Scotsman , which stated "A number of English gentlemen living in Paris have lately organised a football club... The football contests take place in the Bois de Boulogne , by permission of the authorities and surprise
2340-475: The start of the new millennium. The club surprised many by finishing in the top ten in its first three seasons back. Also included in that three-year run was an appearance in the Coupe de la Ligue final and, in the ensuing year, a league cup title. In the 2003 final , Sochaux, led by manager Guy Lacombe and academy graduates Pierre-Alain Frau , Jérémy Mathieu , and Benoît Pedretti , were defeated 4–1 by Monaco . In
2392-695: The tournament on three occasions, including their victorious 1984 campaign. Following France's 2001 Confederations Cup victory, they became the first national team to win the three most important men's titles organised by FIFA : the FIFA World Cup , the FIFA Confederations Cup , and the Olympic Tournament . This would be followed with Argentina and Brazil 's victories at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2016. France additionally went on to win
2444-406: The war-time championships from 1942 to 1944. Following the conclusion of the war, Sochaux dissolved the merger, turn professional again, and returned to its original name. The club, however, failed to get back to its form prior to the war and, subsequently, made the decision to forgo entering bidding wars for players, which was becoming the norm and, instead, focus on keeping the team's budget even. As
2496-439: Was banned in France . The league was refounded in 1974 and officially reinstated in 1975. It is contested by 12 clubs. The league operates on a system of promotion and relegation with lower leagues and is governed by the French Football Federation . The league is known as D1 Arkema. Lyon has won the most league titles at 16. Division 2 Féminine is the second-tier of French women's football, contested by 12 clubs. Relegation
2548-513: Was founded in 1993 under the name National 1 . Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Championnat de France amateur . The Championnat National 2 is the fourth division of French football and normally features 72 football clubs. Most clubs that participate in the league are amateur clubs, but a small number of clubs are semi-professional. The CFA consists of 72 clubs spread into 4 parallel groups of 18. It
2600-433: Was murdered. The Stade Auguste Bonal has undergone renovations twice: in 1973 and 1997. In 1997, the majority of the stadium was completely overhauled, and practically a new stadium was built. The stadium still hosted matches during the renovation period, but with a limited capacity. The renovation cost ₣114 million, and took nearly three years to complete. The Nouveau Bonal was officially inaugurated on 22 July 2000 in
2652-543: Was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and are one of eight national teams to have won the competition, which they did in 1998 when they hosted the Cup, defeating Brazil 3–0 in the final . They won their second world title 20 years later, after defeating Croatia 4–2 in the final of the 2018 edition in Russia. France also won two European Championships in 1984 and 2000 , and hosted
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#17331062348582704-422: Was predominantly due to the creation of the club's academy in 1974, which paid immediate dividends. Player such as Bernard Genghini , Yannick Stopyra , Joël Bats and Philippe Anziani were among the inaugural graduates who were instrumental in Sochaux's domestic success. After hovering between the first division and the second division in the 1990s, Sochaux returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, at
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