France-Israel draws record low crowd | OneFootball

Thursday night’s UEFA Nations League encounter between France and Israel drew the lowest attendance for a France match at the Stade de France.

The record-low attendance came amid a boycott from a section of French supporters. The game went ahead amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Within this context, security was heavily reinforced in Paris with 4,000 officers deployed for the event and grills fitted at the Stade de France.

The political context, the security measures, a malaise with the France national team and the density of the football calendar all contributed to the weak attendance figure as just 16,611 were present as France drew 0-0 against Israel in what was Les Bleus’ first game at the Stade de France in 17 months.

The previous lowest attendance for a France match at the stadium in Saint-Denis was back in 2003 when 36,842 watched Les Bleus take on New Zealand in the Confederations Cup. Outside of the Covid period, it is the lowest attendance at any France match held within l’Héxagone since October 2009 when 16,000 attended France-Faroe Islands in Guingamp, as pointed out by L’Équipe.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle