 | |
| Organising body | FFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993; 33 years ago (1993) |
| Country | France |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 48 (3 groups of 16) |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | Championnat National |
| Relegation to | Championnat National 3 |
| Domestic cup | Coupe de France |
| Current champions | Fleury (2024–25) |
| Website | Official site |
| Current:2025–26 Championnat National 2 | |
TheChampionnat National 2, commonly known asNational 2 and formerly known asChampionnat de France Amateur (CFA), is afootball league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier ofFrench football league system behindLigue 1,Ligue 2 andChampionnat National. Contested by 48 clubs, the Championnat National 2 operates on a system ofpromotion and relegation with the Championnat National andChampionnat National 3, the fifth division ofFrench football. Seasons run from August to May, with teams in the three groups playing 30 games each. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
The Championnat de France amateur was initially founded by theFrench Football Federation in 1927 and was composed of the regional amateur league champions. The league served as the first division of French football until 1929 before the league was converted to the professional league that exists today in 1932.[1] The current incarnation of the league is a simple rebrand of the CFA, which was founded in 1993 as National 2 and lasted for five years before being converted to the CFA name in 1998 and the National 2 name in 2017. Some clubs that participate in the league aresemi-professional. The matches in the league attract on average between 800 and 1,000 spectators per match. However, this average is dragged down by the minuscule turnouts for the pros' home reserve matches.
The amateur championship of France was created in 1993 under the nameNational 2 as an heir to the now-defunctDivision 3. The league's debut coincided with the creation of theChampionnat National, the third division of French football, which is commonly known asNational. For the first three years of the competition, an amateur champion was crowned in France regardless of whether the club was amateur or areserve team. In 1998, theFrench Football Federation changed the competition's format creating two separate tables; one for the amateur clubs and another for the reserve teams of professional clubs. The dual tables allowed the league to declare a champion for the amateurs and the reserves with four team tournaments being held following the conclusion of league play to determine the champions. At the same time the competition was renamedChampionnat de France Amateur (CFA). In 2001, the federation ended this style and reverted to the original format allowing both the amateur clubs and reserve teams to be grouped together based on their regional location. The winner of each group would then earn promotion to the Championnat National, unless the club is a reserve team. Meanwhile, the reserve teams continued to use the previous format with the best reserve teams of each group being inserted into a tournament to decide the reserves' champion.
In 2017, the FFF reorganised amateur football along the lines of the 2016 reorganisation of theRegions of France, creatingChampionnat National 2 andChampionnat National 3 to replace CFA and CFA2. For National 2 this was in effect just a change of name, whilst National 3 saw a major restructure.[2]
As part of the restructure of the French football leagues system between 2022 and 2026, the league was reduced from 64 teams across 4 groups in 2022–23, to 56 across 4 groups in 2023–24, and will have 48 teams across 3 groups from 2024–25.[3]
For the 2024–25 season, forty-eight clubs participate. The clubs are split into three parallel groups of 16 with their group affiliation being loosely based on theregional location. The league is open to the best reserve teams in France and amateur clubs in France, although only the amateur clubs are eligible for promotion to the Championnat National. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others in their respective group twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 30 games. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head results and head-to-head goal difference. At the end of each season, the group champions are promoted to Championnat National and the best performing group champion is crowned overall champion of the season. For the 2024–25 season, the three lowest-ranked teams in each group are relegated to Championnat National 3, along with the worst performing thirteenth-placed team.
The following teams are competing in the Championnat National 2 for the2025–26 season.[4]
| National 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Group A Winner | Group B Winner | Group C Winner | Group D Winner |
| 1993-1994 | FCSR Haguenau | AS Monaco B | Stade poitevin PEPP | AJ Auxerre B |
| 1994-1995 | ES Wasquehal | AS Cannes B | AJ Auxerre B | SM Caen B |
| 1995-1996 | US Lusitanos Saint-Maur | Stade montois | AJ Auxerre B | FC Bourges |
| 1996-1997 | FC Metz B | AC Ajaccio | Olympique lyonnais B | AJ Auxerre B |
| CFA | ||||
| Season | Group A Winner | Group B Winner | Group C Winner | Group D Winner |
| 1997-1998 | Valenciennes FC | Olympique lyonnais B | Pau FC | AJ Auxerre B |
| 1998-1999 | AJ Auxerre B | Grenoble Foot 38 | Clermont Foot | AS Évry |
| 1999-2000[a] | AJ Auxerre B | Olympique Lyonnais B | La Roche VF | Stade brestois 29 |
| 2000-2001 | US Boulogne CO | FC Sète 34 | AS Angoulême | US Lusitanos Saint-Maur |
| 2001-2002[b] | Lille OSC B | Olympique de Marseille B | SO Romorantin | AJ Auxerre B |
| 2002-2003[c] | Paris Saint-Germain B | ES Troyes AC B | Olympique lyonnais B | FC Libourne |
| 2003-2004[d] | AJ Auxerre B | Olympique lyonnais B | Aviron bayonnais FC | RC Paris |
| 2004-2005 | US Boulogne CO | CS Louhans-Cuiseaux | SC Toulon | Vannes OC |
| 2005-2006 | AS Beauvais | FC Martigues | AS Yzeure | Paris FC |
| 2006-2007 | Calais RUFC | AC Arles | Rodez AF | Villemomble Sports |
| 2007-2008 | Pacy VEF | Olympique Croix de Savoie 74 | SO Cassis Carnoux | Girondins de Bordeaux B |
| 2008-2009 | Besançon RC | Hyères FC | US Luzenac | FC Rouen |
| 2009-2010 | SR Colmar | Gap HAFC | Chamois Niortais FC | US Orléans |
| 2010-2011 | US Quevilly | Besançon RC | Gazélec Ajaccio | Le-Poiré-sur-Vie VF |
| 2011-2012 | CA Bastia | Olympique lyonnais B | ES Uzès Pont du Gard | USJA Carquefou |
| 2012-2013 | USL Dunkerque | RC Strasbourg Alsace | US Colomiers | Luçon VF |
| 2013-2014 | FC Chambly Thelle | SAS Épinal | GS Consolat | US Avranches |
| 2014-2015 | CS Sedan-Ardennes | ASM Belfort | AS Béziers | FC Lorient B |
| 2015-2016 | US Quevilly-Rouen | AS Lyon-Duchère | Pau FC | US Concarneau |
| 2016-2017 | Stade rennais FC B | Entente SSG | Grenoble Foot 38 | Rodez AF |
| National 2 | ||||
| Season | Group A Winner | Group B Winner | Group C Winner | Group D Winner |
| 2017-2018 | Marignane Gignac FC | FC Villefranche Beaujolais | JA Drancy | Le Mans FC |
| 2018-2019 | SC Toulon | Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne | FC Nantes B | US Créteil-Lusitanos |
| 2019-2020[e] | SC Bastia | Stade briochin | FC Sète 04 | FC Annecy |
| 2020-2021[f] | none[f] | |||
| 2021-2022 | FC Versailles 78 | Paris 13 Atletico | FC Martigues | Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne |
| 2022-2023 | FC Rouen | SAS Épinal | Marignane Gignac CB FC | GOAL FC |
| 2023-2024 | Aubagne FC | Paris 13 Atletico | US Boulogne CO | FC Bourg-Péronnas 01 |
| National 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Group A (East) Winner | Group B (West) Winner | Group C (Central) Winner | |
| 2024-2025 | Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne | Stade briochin | FC Fleury 91 | |
| 2025-2026 | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
French Football Federation (President:Philippe Diallo (interim))Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President:Jean-Michel Aulas) | |||||||
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