Ligue 1 | France - an overview

About This Competition

The French Ligue 1 and the history of the French Football Championship dates back to 1932, under the name of the National Division. A name that remained for 40 years until it was renamed the D1 (for Division 1) in 1972. The modern-day league which has been built on the history of D1 has become a world leader in domestic football is called "Ligue 1". Due to advertising rights, the official name is the Ligue 1 Conforama. A name that is agreed through to 2019/20/ season. The France Ligue 1 is made up of 20 clubs that are spread out across France, with one club AS Monaco being the only non-French club in the league. Each season runs from summer through to spring of the following year. 38 matches are then organized, with the champion team of in this league being the club that finishes the season at the top of the leader board. There is no promotion from Ligue 1, but the top three teams qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Fourth place qualifies for the Europa League. Two further Europa League places are determined by domestic cup competitions, the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. In contrast, relegation to the second division applies to teams occupying the last two places at the end of the season. They are then replaced by the first two teams of the lower level. The team winning the jump in league 2 also faces the third in the final ranking of the championship of France, thus avoiding the triple direct relegation.