France: 2022-23 Ligue Un – Location-map with 3 Charts
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By Bill Turianski on the 19th of October 2022; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2022-23 Ligue 1 (en.wikipedia.org).
-Ligue 1 – Summary: matches, table, players, etc. (soccerway.com).
-Get French Football…your home of French football in English (getfootballnewsfrance.com).
-Football en France: Histoire, stats et classement sur la Ligue 1 (pari-et-gagne.com).
The map shows the twenty clubs in the current season of the French Ligue 1 [2022-23].
The map features the locations and crests of the 20 current Ligue Un clubs, plus the recently-promoted and -relegated teams are noted. (Promoted in 2022: Toulouse, Ajaccio, Auxerre; relegated in 2022: Saint-Étienne, Metz, Bordeaux.) Also shown on the map are the 10 largest French cities, and the 13 Regions of Metropolitan France (aka European France). {Largest French cities’ metropolitan area populations from 2016 census, here}. The major French rivers are also shown on the map, and at the foot of the map the 10 longest rivers in France are listed (with brief descriptions).
Also shown on the top chart are the consecutive seasons each club has currently spent in the top tier…
Paris Saint-Germain are the current longest-serving member of Ligue 1, with 49 straight seasons (PSG have also won 8 of the last 10 French titles, including 2021-22). Second-longest top-flight tenure belongs to Lyon, with 34 straight seasons (Lyon won 7 straight French titles from 2002 to ’08). Third-longest top-flight tenure had previously belonged to Bordeaux, with 30 straight seasons, but Bordeaux were relegated in May. So now, the 3rd-longest top-flight tenure belongs to Rennes [of Brittany], with 29 straight seasons (Rennes is the largest [ie, the best-supported] French club without a Ligue 1 title). Fourth-longest top-flight tenure belongs to Olympique Marseille, with 27 straight seasons (OM have won 9 titles; last in 2010). And the 5th-longest top-flight tenure belongs to Lille, with 23 straight seasons (Lille have won 4 French titles, their last title won two seasons ago in 2020-21).
The second chart is the All-time French professional titles list.
Two clubs share the most French titles, at 10: reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, and just-relegated Saint-Étienne. (Saint-Étienne’s last title came 42 seasons ago, in 1981.) Marseille have won the third-most French titles, with 9. (Marseille last won it in 2010). Paris Saint-Germain are by far the most wealthy club in the country, to the point of making a mockery of any notion of a balanced competition. (PSG are owned by a subsidiary of the slave-owning Gulf state Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.)
The third chart is on the left-hand side of the map page: it shows 2021-22 attendance for the 20 current Ligue 1 clubs [2022-23]. Olympique Marseille, perennial top-draw in France, were yet again the highest-drawing club, at 52,193 per game. OM played to 76%-capacity at their Stade Orange Vélodrome in Marseille. 2nd-best draw were PSG at 41.3-K per game, and they played to 87%-capacity at Parc des Princes in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. 3rd-best draw were Lille OSC, at 34.1-K per game, playing to 69%-capacity at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (Métropole Européenne de Lille). 4th-best drawing club were Olympique Lyon, who drew 32.3-K per game, playing to 53%-capacity at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu (in Métropole de Lyon). 5th-best draw in France were RC Lens, who drew 28.5-K per game, playing to 70%-capacity at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens. RC Lens, like Lille OSC, are located in Métropole Européenne de Lille, up in the north near the border with Belgium, in the Pas-des-Calais department. 6th-best draw were RC Strasbourg, who drew 23.5-K per game at Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg. Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace filled their stadium best in France last season, at 90%-capacity. {Percent capacity figures can be found here: soccerway.com/[Ligue 1 2021-22].}
The attendance chart also lists each club’s 2021-22 finish. Also noted are the 6 European qualifiers from France for this season, and the 3 promoted clubs. The 6 European qualifiers from France for this season [2022-23] are:
-2 teams in the Champions League Group Stage (PSG, Marseille); and 1 team in CL 3rd QR (Monaco).
-2 teams in the Europa League Group Stage (Rennes, Nantes).
-1 team in the Europa Conference play-off round (Nice).
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2022: Toulouse FC, promoted back to Ligue 1 after 2 years…
Toulouse were relegated in 2020, drawing 14.2 K per game. In their second year down in Ligue 2 (2021-22) Toulouse won the division, drawing a 2nd-tier-best 11.9 K per game. In 2022-23, back in Ligue 1, after 6 home matches, Toulouse were drawing significantly higher, at 23.4-K per game. {Attendance: worldfootball.net/attendance/[Ligue-1-2022-23].} Counting 2022-23, Toulouse have played 33 seasons of Ligue 1 football.
Photo and Image credits above – 2021-22 Toulouse jersey, from footballkitarchive.com. Aerial shot of Stadium de Toulouse, by Julien Lavigne [May 2022] at google.com/maps.
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2022: AC Ajaccio – promoted back to Ligue 1 after 8 years.
AC Ajaccio were previously in Ligue 1 for a 3-year-spell from 2012 to ’14. Ajaccio’s first season in Ligue 1 was in 1967-68. AC Ajaccio were the first Corsican club to play in Ligue 1. Counting 2022-23, AC Ajaccio have played 14 seasons in Ligue 1.
Photo and Image credits above – Coat of arms of Ajaccio, from heraldry-wiki.com. 2021-22 Ajaccio jersey, from fifacm.com/22. Aerial photo of Stade François Coty, by OrsuAiaccinu at commons.wikimedia.org.
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2022: AJ Auxerre – promoted back to Ligue 1 after 10 years.
AJ Auxerre were French champions in 1995-96. Counting 2022-23, AJ Auxerre have played 33 seasons in Ligue 1. The city of Auxerre is the fourth-largest in Burgandy, with a city population of around 34,000 and a metro-area population of around 113,000. With the possible exception of current-4th-division club FC Sète, AJ Auxerre are the club from the smallest city to have won a Ligue 1 title. (Sète [which is located near Montpellier], with a city-population of around 43,000, is a bit larger than Auxerre – by 9,000 or so, but Auxerre has a larger metro-area.)
Photo and Image credits above – Coat of Arms of Auxerre, from heraldry-wiki.com. 2021-22 Auxerre jersey, photo unattributed at footyheadlines.com. Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps aerial done photo by Michel Guibert at mobile.twitter.com/[@MikeGuib].
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Thanks to all at the links below…
-Blank map of France by Superbenjamin at File:France location map-Regions and departements-2016.svg (en.wikipedia.org).
-Globe-map of France by Rob984 at File:EU-France (orthographic projection).svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Seasons-in-1st-division data, from pari-et-gagne.com/[Bilan historique Ligue 1].
-Longest rivers in France, from worldatlas.com/[longest-rivers-in-france].
-Largest French cities (2016 census figures of metropolitan-areas), from insee.fr via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area_(France)#List_of_France’s_aires_urbaines_(metropolitan_areas).
-2022-23 Ligue 1 (en.wikipedia.org and fr.wikipedia.org).
-Attendance: worldfootball.net/attendance/[Ligue-1-2022-23].
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