Official | Andy Delort drops to 7th tier to make Ajaccio return | OneFootball

Andy Delort (33) has made the surprise decision to return to AC Ajaccio – now competing in France’s Régional 2 following severe financial troubles – to help his former club climb back up the footballing pyramid, according to a report from L’Équipe.

The former Montpellier striker was still playing in Ligue 1 last season but began his professional career at Ajaccio between 2010 and 2013. “I owe it to give back what the club gave me,” Delort explained in an interview with the Corsican side’s site. “ACA believed in me when I was young. For me, ACA is more than a club.”

Ajaccio, excluded from national competitions this summer amid investigations into extortion and fraud, have been forced to restart from the seventh tier. The team is now coached by former defender Anthony Lippini, himself a product of Corsican football. The objective is simple: a swift return to the professional game.

Delort highlighted his enduring connection with the club and its supporters: “It’s a town, a region that I am very attached to. If we manage to bring ACA back up, in five or ten years we will be able to say, ‘we were there at the beginning.’”GFFN | George Boxall