Three years after near collapse, Sochaux return to Ligue 2 | OneFootball

Sochaux sealed a return to Ligue 2 with a 2-2 draw against Le Puy on Friday, three years after almost disappearing, as fans poured on to the Bonal pitch.

Bendjaloud Youssouf made it 2-0 on 41 minutes and the stands roared promotion. Marvin Adélaïde equalised with a 75th-minute header, but the party was unstoppable at full-time. L'Équipe reports that supporters swarmed the turf to embrace the players.

Sandro Nardis, head of the supervisory board and principal shareholder with his son Bartolino, said returning the club to Franche-Comté and a full, revived stadium brought pride. Miss Belfort Montbéliard 2026 and javelin champion Jade Maraval took kick-off, and club greats paraded at half-time before 19,994.

Backed by local authorities and 11,000 members of Sociochaux, seven million euros were injected, helping the club clear a DNCG videoconference hearing a week later. Thévenot called it the reward for an extraordinary, selfless collective effort.

This season’s budget was 13 million euros, set to rise by one and a half million to 14.5 million in Ligue 2. Three million will stay with the academy, which produced Maxence Lacroix, Ibrahima Konaté and Marcus Thuram, all set for the World Cup.

Sochaux aim for 8,500 season-ticket holders in Ligue 2, up from 6,000 in National. Sporting director Julien Cordonnier said it underlines local affection and that the first step, restoring the club’s place, is done. Ligue 2 is the third plank of the FCSM 2028 plan, with finances still to balance after cutting the deficit from 20 million euros to three million and Peugeot’s return as sponsor expected to aid stability.

Source: L'Équipe