why does the LFP want to relocate Monaco-Lyon?
The Professional Football League (LFP) wishes to relocate a poster of League 1 in China. This is the meeting Monaco-Lyon which has been targeted and which is scheduled for next February, a source with knowledge of the matter told Agence France Presse (AFP). However, this operation remains subject to a “derogation” from FIFA.
The LFP “targeted, with the agreement of the two clubs, the Monaco – Lyon match” of the 23rd day of Ligue 1 scheduled for the weekend of February 5-6, 2022, said this source, confirming information from our colleagues at L’Équipe.
For a year, the League has made its international development one of the lifelines of French professional football. Its international TV rights remain very low compared to others major European championships. The body therefore hopes to make Ligue 1 the first European championship to relocate a regular season match abroad.
A match played in Shanghai?
This meeting could be relocated to Shanghai. The president of Olympique Lyonnais, Jean-Michel Aulas, had discussed Saturday, October 16, with the Monegasque leader Oleg Petrov on the sidelines of the OL-ASM match (2-0).
“It’s about a ambitious operation for the image of the L1 and its distribution “, enthuses Jean-Michel Aulas, quoted by the sports daily. From a source close to one of the two clubs, it is nevertheless indicated that the conditions do not yet seem to be met. logistics parameters Such as the organization of a trip to China against the backdrop of a pandemic or the need to fill the stadium in order to make the operation profitable are still to be seen.
A project awaiting validation from FIFA
Although it is launched, the project remains subject to theFIFA agreement, which in the past had already opposed similar projects. In particular of the Spanish Liga, which had tried to organize a match Girona – Barcelona, then Villarreal – Atlético Madrid in Miami.
In 2020, the FIFA “Partners” Committee had ruled by opposing relocated official matches in a foreign country (excluding Super Cups, such as the Champions Trophy in France), confirming the position of the international federation.
The Professional Football League still hopes to “serve as a laboratory” and “will initiation of official procedures to obtain an exceptional exemption “, underlines the source consulted by AFP.