2011–12 Championnat National

The 2011–12 Championnat National season was the 14th since its establishment.^[1] The previous season's champions was Bastia. The league schedule was announced on 16 May 2011 and the fixtures were determined in July. The season began on 6 August 2011 and ended on 26 May 2012. The winter break was in effect from 23 December to 6 January.^[2]

Teams

Bayonne

Beauvais

Besançon

Cherbourg

Colmar

Créteil

Épinal

Fréjus

Gazélec

Le Poiré-sur-Vie

Luzenac

Martigues

Nîmes

Niort

Orléans

Paris

Quevilly

Red Star

Rouen

Vannes

Location of teams in 2011–12 Championnat National

There will be four promoted teams from the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football, replacing the five teams that were relegated from the Championnat National following the 2010–11 season. A total of 20 teams will compete in the league with four clubs suffering relegation to the Championnat de France amateur. All clubs that secure league status for the season will be subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.^[3]

Grenoble became the first professional club to fall to the Championnat National from Ligue 2. The club's drop occurred on 13 May 2011 without it even playing a match following positive results from clubs Grenoble had been trailing in the table.^[4] Grenoble will be returning to the third division after playing over a decade under the Ligue de Football Professionnel emblem in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. On 20 May, both Nîmes and Vannes completed the trio of Ligue 2 clubs dropping down to the third division.^[5] Nîmes will be returning to National after three seasons playing in Ligue 2, while Vannes will regress back to the third division after two seasons.

On 7 May 2011, despite having the week off, Le Poiré-sur-Vie became the first club from the Championnat de France amateur to achieve promotion from the fourth division to the Championnat National. The club's spot in the third division was confirmed following second-place Les Herbiers' 0–0 draw with the reserve team of professional club Lorient.^[6] Le Poiré-sur-Vie will be making its debut in the third division having spent, aside from six seasons in the fifth and fourth division, its entire history languishing in the regional leagues of Centre-Ouest and Atlantique.^[7] Two weeks later, both Besançon and Gazélec Ajaccio were promoted to the Championnat National after recording victories during the match day.^[8][9] Besançon will be returning to the third division after spending six seasons in the Championnat de France amateur, while Gazélec will be returning to the league after spending four seasons in the fourth division. On the final day of the season, Quevilly became the final club in the CFA to earn promotion to National after drawing with Poissy. Despite drawing, the two points Quevilly earned from the match was enough to edge Red Star Paris, which also drew during the week.^[10]

Teams relegated to Championnat National

• Vannes
• Nîmes
• Grenoble

Teams promoted to Championnat National

• Besançon
• Cherbourg^{[nb 1]}
• Épinal^{[nb 2]}
• Gazélec Ajaccio
• Le Poiré-sur-Vie
• Martigues^{[nb 3]}
• Quevilly
• Red Star^{[nb 4]}

DNCG rulings

On 26 May 2011, following a preliminary review of each club's administrative and financial accounts in the Championnat National, the DNCG ruled that Pacy Vallée-d'Eure, Strasbourg, Gap, Grenoble, and Cannes would be relegated to the Championnat de France amateur after the organisation determined that the clubs were enduring financial difficulties. The clubs had the option to appeal the ruling.^[11] On 24 June 2011, Pacy Vallée-d'Eure officials confirmed in a press conference that it would accept its relegation to the fourth division in an effort to smooth over its €350,000 debt into next year.^[12] Two weeks later, Grenoble confirmed on its website that the Appeals Board of the DNCG had informed club officials that it will be relegated to the fourth division.^[13] Grenoble, subsequently, entered liquidation on 7 July. On 13 July, Grenoble's relegation was validated after the French Football Federation confirmed via letter to SAS Épinal that the club would be replacing Grenoble in the Championnat National.^[14]

On 8 July 2011, the Appeals Board of the DNCG confirmed that both Strasbourg and Gap would remain relegated after the clubs failed to convince the board of its intent to fix its financial liabilities. Strasbourg has a deficit of over €4 million, while Gap's debt has exceeded over €80,000.^[15] Following the appeal denial, Gap officials announced that the club would appeal to the CNOSF, the National Sporting Committee of France.^[16] On 18 July, despite both clubs still having the option to appeal the DNCG rulings, the Ligue du Football Amateur (LFA) announced that Red Star and Cherbourg would replace Strasbourg and Gap, respectively, for the 2011–12 edition of the Championnat National.^[17] On the following day, Cannes had its appeal to remain in the Championnat National rejected by the DNCG.^[18] Similar to Gap, following the decision, Cannes announced its intent to appeal the ruling at the CNOSF.^[19] On 29 July, the CNOSF gave a favourable ruling for Cannes recommending to the federation that Cannes should remain in the third division.^[20] On 3 August, the CNOSF ruled Gap confirmed the demotion of Gap to the Championnat de France amateur.^[21] The French Football Federation determined whether Cannes would be allowed to participate in the league on 4 August, one day before the season was set to begin at the federation's annual executive meeting.^[22] At the meeting, the Federation re-affirmed its decision to relegate Cannes to the CFA stating it "trust the DNCG and followed its decisions".^[23]

Stadia and locations

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

¹ Subject to change prior to the start of the season.

Managerial changes

League table

2010–11 Championnat National Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Nîmes !Nîmes (C)	38	18	14	6	65	38	+27	68	Promotion to 2012–13 Ligue 2
2	Niort !Niort (P)	38	19	10	9	61	33	+28	67
3	Gazélec Ajaccio !Gazélec Ajaccio (P)	38	20	8	10	57	32	+25	0661
4	Vannes !Vannes	38	16	14	8	55	38	+17	62
5	Épinal !Épinal	38	17	11	10	61	47	+14	62
6	Rouen !Rouen	38	17	9	12	48	46	+2	60
7	Orléans !Orléans	38	15	11	12	41	41	0	56
8	Colmar !Colmar	38	15	10	13	54	44	+10	55
9	Fréjus !Fréjus	38	15	6	17	50	58	−8	51
10	Créteil !Créteil	38	13	11	14	51	50	+1	50
11	Red Star !Red Star	38	15	5	18	44	52	−8	50
12	Le Poiré-sur-Vie !Le Poiré-sur-Vie	38	14	7	17	41	46	−5	49
13	Quevilly !Quevilly	38	12	11	15	45	54	−9	47
14	Cherbourg !Cherbourg	38	11	13	14	56	57	−1	46
15	Luzenac !Luzenac	38	11	12	15	47	56	−9	45
16	Paris !Paris	38	12	8	18	39	48	−9	44
17	Beauvais !Beauvais (R)	38	8	18	12	39	43	−4	42	Relegation to 2012–13 Championnat de France amateur
18	Martigues !Martigues (R)	38	9	12	17	43	69	−26	39
19	Besançon !Besançon (R)	38	9	11	18	42	64	−22	0352
20	Bayonne !Bayonne (R)	38	7	13	18	38	60	−22	34

Updated to games played on 26 May 2012.
Source: French Football Federation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹Gazélec Ajaccio was docked four points, two of them suspended, after being found guilty of its inability to control its players and supporters. The deduction came as a result of a fight that broke out between the club's players and its supporters during a September match against Beauvais.
²Besançon were docked three points.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away

Bayonne !BAY

Beauvais !BEA

Besançon !BSC

Cherbourg !CHB

Colmar !COL

Créteil !CRE

Épinal !EPI

Fréjus !FRE

Gazélec Ajaccio !GAZ

Le Poiré-sur-Vie !LPV

Luzenac !LUZ

Martigues !MRT

Niort !NRT

Nîmes !NMS

Orléans !ORL

Paris !PAR

Quevilly !QUE

Red Star !RSFC

Rouen !ROU

Vannes !VAN

Bayonne !Bayonne

0–2

1–1

0–0

2–2

0–1

2–1

1–1

1–0

1–0

2–3

5–3

1–1

2–1

0–2

2–2

2–2

2–1

0–1

0–3

Beauvais !Beauvais

2–0

0–0

1–1

2–3

1–1

3–4

0–1

2–1

1–2

2–0

0–0

2–2

1–2

1–3

2–0

1–1

4–2

0–1

0–0

Besançon !Besançon

3–2

1–1

1–2

2–1

3–2

1–1

3–2

1–1

2–1

0–1

2–2

1–1

1–1

3–2

2–1

1–2

0–0

4–5

0–2

Cherbourg !Cherbourg

1–1

2–2

6–2

0–2

0–0

1–0

1–0

4–5

1–2

4–1

1–2

1–2

1–1

1–2

2–0

1–2

2–0

0–1

1–0

Colmar !Colmar

1–1

4–0

3–0

0–0

2–1

1–0

2–1

0–2

4–1

1–1

3–0

2–2

0–0

2–0

3–0

1–3

0–1

0–0

0–0

Créteil !Créteil

4–3

1–0

0–2

0–1

0–3

1–1

1–1

2–1

0–1

2–2

4–0

1–2

0–2

3–0

1–1

2–1

1–0

2–3

1–1

Épinal !Épinal

1–1

0–0

2–1

3–3

3–0

5–1

4–0

1–1

1–1

2–0

2–0

2–1

2–2

1–3

2–1

0–1

0–2

3–2

2–2

Fréjus !Fréjus

2–0

3–1

4–2

1–0

2–3

0–4

1–2

2–1

2–5

0–0

1–0

0–0

2–0

3–0

1–0

2–0

2–3

2–0

3–2

Gazélec Ajaccio !Gazélec Ajaccio

2–0

0–0

2–0

5–0

1–0

0–1

2–1

1–0

2–0

1–1

2–0

0–1

2–1

1–0

1–0

0–0

1–1

4–1

2–1

Le Poiré-sur-Vie !Le Poiré-sur-Vie

1–1

0–0

1–0

1–1

0–2

0–1

1–2

2–0

3–1

1–0

5–0

1–0

0–3

1–1

1–1

2–1

0–2

1–1

2–1

Luzenac !Luzenac

1–0

0–0

2–0

3–2

1–1

1–1

0–2

1–1

0–0

1–2

3–3

1–1

0–3

0–1

2–0

3–1

2–0

2–0

2–2

Martigues !Martigues

1–1

2–3

2–0

3–3

2–1

2–1

2–1

3–2

2–3

2–1

0–3

2–1

1–1

0–0

0–1

1–1

0–1

0–2

1–1

Niort !Niort

4–0

0–2

3–0

2–0

2–1

0–2

0–0

2–0

2–1

1–0

4–0

3–1

1–1

0–1

0–2

2–0

4–0

3–0

0–0

Nîmes !Nîmes

1–0

1–1

3–0

0–0

2–0

3–3

1–1

4–1

0–0

2–0

3–2

4–1

3–2

1–1

2–1

3–0

3–4

1–2

1–2

Orléans !Orléans

1–1

2–0

2–0

3–2

1–0

0–1

1–2

0–0

1–0

2–1

2–0

0–0

1–5

1–1

0–0

0–1

2–1

0–0

2–2

Paris !Paris

2–1

0–0

0–0

1–3

2–4

1–0

6–0

2–0

0–3

1–0

3–1

1–2

0–1

0–1

1–0

2–0

0–4

2–1

2–0

Quevilly !Quevilly

2–0

1–0

1–1

4–2

4–0

1–1

0–3

0–1

0–3

0–1

2–5

1–1

0–2

1–3

1–1

2–2

1–1

2–3

2–0

Red Star !Red Star

1–2

0–0

1–0

0–2

1–0

2–1

0–3

1–2

0–2

2–0

3–1

2–1

1–2

1–2

1–2

0–0

0–1

2–1

2–0

Rouen !Rouen

0–0

1–1

0–0

3–3

1–1

1–0

0–1

4–3

0–1

2–0

2–0

2–0

2–2

0–1

2–1

1–0

0–2

2–1

1–0

Vannes !Vannes

2–0

1–1

2–1

1–1

3–1

3–3

1–0

3–1

3–2

1–0

2–0

1–1

1–0

1–1

2–0

3–1

1–1

4–0

1–0

Updated to games played on 26 May 2012.
Source: French Football Federation
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Seydou Koné	Nîmes	17
2	Nicolas Belvito	Cherbourg	14
	Abdellah Asbabou	Épinal	14
	Geoffrey Malfleury	Red Star Saint-Ouen	14
5	Nicolas Verdier	Gazélec Ajaccio	13
	Jean-Michel Lesage	Créteil	13
7	Julien Jahier	Épinal	12
	Mathieu Scarpelli	Fréjus	12
	El Fardou Ben Nabouhane	Vannes	12
10	Vincent Créhin	Beauvais	10

Last updated: 3 May 2012
Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings

Notes

1. ↑ Promoted to the Championat National as a result of Gap's administrative relegation.
2. ↑ Promoted to the Championat National as a result of Grenoble's administrative relegation after the club entered liquidation.
3. ↑ Promoted to the Championat National as a result of Cannes' administrative relegation.
4. ↑ Promoted to the Championat National as a result of Strasbourg's administrative relegation.

References

1. ↑ "Championnat de National". French Football Federation (in French). 17 May 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
2. ↑ "Coup d'envoi samedi 6 août". French Football Federation (in French). 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011. 
3. ↑ The DNCG is responsible for overseeing the legal and financial accounts of professional football clubs in France. If clubs operating in French football don't meet the DNCG's expectations, they can face sanctions, such as relegation.
4. ↑ "Evian rigole, Grenoble relégué". L'Equipe (in French). 13 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011. 
5. ↑ "Ligue 2: Vannes et Nîmes relégués en National". Foot-National (in French). 20 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
6. ↑ "CFA: Les enseignements de la 31ème journée". Foot-National (in French). 9 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011. 
7. ↑ "Historique". SJA Le Poiré-sur-Vie (in French). Retrieved 9 May 2011. 
8. ↑ "CFA B (J33) : Besançon promu en National!". Foot-National (in French). 21 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011. 
9. ↑ "CFA C (J33): Le GFCO Ajaccio champion!". Foot-National (in French). 21 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011. 
10. ↑ "CFA A: L'US Quevilly promue en National!". Foot-National (in French). 28 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
11. ↑ "Football – National: Gap attend le verdict de la DNCG" (in French). La Provence. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 
12. ↑ "Pacy, la fin de l'aventure" (in French). France 3. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011. 
13. ↑ "National Grenoble: La DNCG confirme la rétrogradation en CFA" (in French). Football.fr. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011. 
14. ↑ "Epinal remplace Grenoble en National" (in French). France Football. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011. 
15. ↑ "Strasbourg : Graeff renonce" (in French). Eurosport. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. 
16. ↑ "CNOSF: Gap réfléchit à un appel" (in French). Foot-National. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
17. ↑ "Championnat National: Season 2011–2012" (PDF) (in French). French Football Federation. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011. 
18. ↑ "DNCG: Cannes confirmé en CFA" (in French). Foot-National. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
19. ↑ "Cannes: Le CNOSF sera saisi" (in French). Foot-National. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
20. ↑ "Cannes peut encore y croire!" (in French). Nice-Matin. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011. 
21. ↑ "CNOSF: Gap confirmé en CFA" (in French). Foot-National. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
22. ↑ "Cannes: La FFF tranchera le 4 août prochain" (in French). Foot-National. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011. 
23. ↑ "Cannes: La FFF ne suit pas le CNOSF" (in French). Foot-National. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
24. ↑ "Fréjus St Raphaël: Franck Priou nouveau coach" (in French). Foot-National. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011. 
25. ↑ "Paris FC: Alain M'Boma signe pour deux ans" (in French). Foot-National. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011. 
26. ↑ "Cannes: David Guion nouvel entraîneur" (in French). Foot-National. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011. 
27. ↑ "CFA: Jérôme Erceau nouveau coach de Martigues..." (in French). Foot13. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
28. ↑ "Jean-Luc Vasseur nouvel entraîneur de l'US Créteil-Lusitanos" (in French). Le Parisien. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
29. ↑ "Red Star : Athos Bandini nouveau coach" (in French). Foot-National. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011. 
30. ↑ "Martigues: Jérôme Erceau remercié" (in French). 13 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012. 
31. ↑ "Martigues: Vannuchi nouveau coach" (in French). 15 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012. 
32. ↑ "le FCR change de coach, Da Costa remplace Garcin!". Côté Rouen (in French). 14 March 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012. 

External links

• Official site

Championnat National
2016–17 clubs	Avranches CA Bastia Belfort Béziers Boulogne Chambly Châteauroux Concarneau Créteil Dunkerque Épinal Les Herbiers Lyon-Duchère Marseille Consolat Paris FC Pau Quevilly-Rouen Sedan
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2011–12 in French football
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