Why amateur clubs are reversing Coupe de France ties to play at pros’ grounds | OneFootball

Three amateur sides have reversed Coupe de France round-of-64 ties, opting for Ligue 1 grounds for scale and convenience.

According to L'Équipe, Rennes host Les Sables-d’Olonne, Lyon welcome neighbours Saint-Cyr/Collonges and Lens face Feignies-Aulnoye, despite FFF rules since 2011 requiring the lower-ranked club to host when there are at least two divisions between the teams.

Switches, agreed by both clubs, follow non-compliant local grounds and no viable fallback. Draw proximity helps, with 10 km between Saint-Cyr and Lyon and 93 km between Feignies and Lens. Some ties keep the classic away-day trap, with Paris FC at Raon-l’Étape and Metz at Biesheim.

Feignies-Aulnoye have already hosted PSG and Lyon in Valenciennes and faced Montpellier in Maubeuge. They now head to Bollaert to meet the Ligue 1 leaders before roughly 38,000. Their sporting director says it is more profitable than hosting, but not by much, and it saves stadium hire for a €900,000-budget club.

Les Sables-d’Olonne’s Rudelière, 2,700 capacity, fails to meet standards. With no deal at La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes’ Beaujoire used for Fontenay v PSG, Roazhon Park was chosen. The move split opinion, though 1,000 Vendéens plan a 500 km round trip.

For players, the allure can outweigh the sporting risk. Ecotay-Moingt’s Jules Vial savoured reversing to Saint-Étienne, scoring at Geoffroy-Guichard before a 1-11 defeat, and felt a 3-0 home loss before 600 would have been far less special. Saint-Cyr/Collonges president Hassane Baba-Arbi said playing before roughly 25,000 at Groupama Stadium, with volunteers free to watch, is priceless.

Source: L'Équipe