French Ligue 1
History and facts
Football gained popularity in France relatively late compared to England, as cycling was the dominant sport for many years. However, by the 1890s, football began to thrive in Paris and soon spread to other regions. The first national competition — though featuring only Parisian teams — took place in 1894, several decades before professional football was introduced in France.
The first professional league season was held in 1932, featuring 20 teams under the name National — the same number of clubs that compete in Ligue 1 today. Since 2007, the league champion has been awarded the “Hexagonal” trophy, designed by Pablo Reinoso, which replaced the previous Trophée de Ligue 1 created by Andrée Putman.
Each of the 20 clubs plays every other team twice — home and away — resulting in 38 matches per season. Since the 1994–95 season, teams earn three points for a win and one point for a draw. The record for the most points in a single campaign belongs to Paris Saint-Germain, who accumulated 96 points in the 2015–16 season.
League system
| Club | Tier |
|---|---|
| Ligue 1 | 1 |
| Ligue 2 | 2 |
| Championnat National | 3 |
| Championnat National 2 | 4 |
| Championnat National 3 | 5 |
Stats
Teams with most titles
| Club | Titles |
|---|---|
| PSG | 12 |
| Saint-Étienne | 10 |
| Olympique de Marseille | 9 |
| Nantes | 8 |
| Monaco | 8 |
| Olympique Lyonnais | 7 |
| Bordeaux | 6 |
| Reims | 6 |
| Nice | 4 |
| Lille | 3 |
| Sochaux | 2 |
| Sète | 2 |
The remaining French champions during the professional era are Lens, FC Rouen, RC Strasbourg, AJ Auxerre, and Montpellier HSC, each with one title.
In the 1992–93 season, no title was awarded after Marseille had their championship revoked due to a bribery scandal. If the amateur era (1893–1929) is considered, Marseille would have one additional title.
The 2019–20 season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were awarded the title with 68 points in 27 matches, finishing 12 points ahead of Olympique de Marseille (56 points in 28 games).
AS Saint-Étienne last won the championship in 1981. Since the league’s rebranding as Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais have claimed the most titles.
During the amateur era, the most successful clubs were Standard Athletic Club (dissolved in 1937) and Racing Club de Roubaix (dissolved in 1964). Standard Athletic Club won the first two French championships and three more within the following six seasons. Racing Club de Roubaix also secured five amateur titles and one early professional championship under the name Club Olympique de Roubaix-Tourcoing.
Other amateur-era champions include Stade Helvétique de Marseille (dissolved in 1932), Le Havre, Racing Club de France Football, Club Français (dissolved in 1935), CA Paris-Charenton, US Tourcoing FC, Gallia Club Paris (dissolved in 1940), Saint-Raphaël (now Fréjus Saint-Raphaël since 2009), and Stade Français.The remaining French champions during the professional era are Lens, FC Rouen, RC Strasbourg, AJ Auxerre, and Montpellier HSC, each with one title.
In the 1992–93 season, no title was awarded after Marseille had their championship revoked due to a bribery scandal. If the amateur era (1893–1929) is considered, Marseille would have one additional title.
The 2019–20 season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were awarded the title with 68 points in 27 matches, finishing 12 points ahead of Olympique de Marseille (56 points in 28 games).
AS Saint-Étienne last won the championship in 1981. Since the league’s rebranding as Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais have claimed the most titles.
During the amateur era, the most successful clubs were Standard Athletic Club (dissolved in 1937) and Racing Club de Roubaix (dissolved in 1964). Standard Athletic Club won the first two French championships and three more within the following six seasons. Racing Club de Roubaix also secured five amateur titles and one early professional championship under the name Club Olympique de Roubaix-Tourcoing.
Other amateur-era champions include Stade Helvétique de Marseille (dissolved in 1932), Le Havre, Racing Club de France Football, Club Français (dissolved in 1935), CA Paris-Charenton, US Tourcoing FC, Gallia Club Paris (dissolved in 1940), Saint-Raphaël (now Fréjus Saint-Raphaël since 2009), and Stade Français.
Teams with most league participation
| Club | Participation |
|---|---|
| Marseille | 70 |
| Bordeaux | 67 |
| Saint-Étienne | 67 |
| Sochaux | 66 |
| Rennes | 63 |
| Lyon | 62 |
| Monaco | 61 |
| Nice | 61 |
| Metz | 61 |
| Lille | 60 |
| Strasbourg | 59 |
| Lens | 58 |
| Nantes | 52 |
Audience
Capacity of Ligue 1 stadiums
| Team | Stadium name | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Amiens | Stade de la Licorne | 12,097 |
| Angers | Stade Raymond Kopa | 17,835 |
| Bordeaux | Matmut Atlantique | 42,115 |
| Caen | Stade Michel d'Ornano | 20,453 |
| Dijon | Stade Gaston Gérard | 18,376 |
| Guingamp | Stade du Roudourou | 18,378 |
| Lille | Stade Pierre-Mauroy | 50,157 |
| Lyon | Groupama Stadium | 59,186 |
| Marseille | Orange Vélodrome | 67,394 |
| Monaco | Stade Louis II | 18,523 |
| Montpellier | Stade de la Mosson | 32,939 |
| Nantes | Stade de la Beaujoire | 37,473 |
| Nice | Allianz Riviera | 35,624 |
| Nîmes | Stade des Costières | 18,482 |
| PSG | Parc des Princes | 48,583 |
| Reims | Stade Auguste Delaune | 21,684 |
| Rennes | Roazhon Park | 29,778 |
| Saint-Étienne | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard | 41,965 |
| Strasbourg | Stade de la Meinau | 29,230 |
| Toulouse | Stadium Municipal | 33,150 |
Players
Top goalscorers
The all-time leading goalscorer in Ligue 1 is Delio Onnis, an Argentinian striker who played for Monaco, Reims, Tours, and Toulon between 1971 and 1986, scoring 299 goals in 449 appearances.
Other notable scorers in the league’s history include Bernard Lacombe, Hervé Revelli, Roger Courtois, Thadée Cisowski, and Roger Piantoni — all of whom scored more than 200 goals during their careers.
The record for the most Ligue 1 appearances belongs to Mickaël Landreau, a goalkeeper who represented Nantes, Paris Saint-Germain, Lille, and Bastia from 1996 to 2014, totaling 618 matches. Another goalkeeper, Jean-Luc Ettori, is the only other player to have surpassed 600 appearances in the competition.
Famous players
Some of the most famous players that have participated in the Ligue 1 are:
- Joel Bats
- Alin Giresse
- Jean Tigana
- Enzo Scifo
- Michel Platini
- Jorge Burruchaga
- Dragan Stojković
- Eric Cantona
- Jürgen Klinsmann
- Zinedine Zidane
- Marcel Desailly
- Thierry Henry
- David Trezeguet
- Youri Djorkaeff
- Luis Fernandez
- David Ginola
- George Weah
- Ronaldinho
- Didier Drogba
- Zlatan Ibrahimović
- Thiago Silva
- Edinson Cavani
- Neymar Jr
- Kylian Mbappé
Ligue 1 timeline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligue_1
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagoal
http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/franchamp.html
