This article is about the French men's football league. For the French women's football league, seePremière Ligue. For other uses, seeLigue 1 (disambiguation).
Ligue 1 (French:[liɡœ̃];lit.'League 1'), officially known asLigue 1McDonald's for sponsorship reasons,[1][2] is a professionalassociation football league inFrance and the highest level of theFrench football league system. Administered by theLigue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1 is contested by 18 clubs and operates on a system ofpromotion and relegation from and toLigue 2. Seasons run from August to May. Clubs play two matches against each of the other teams in the league – one home and one away – totalling to 34 matches over the course of the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend beforeChristmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the nameNational before switching toDivision 1 after a year of existence. It continued to operate under that name until 2002, when it adopted its current name. During the late 1980s and early 1990s,Marseille were a domineering team, winning four consecutive league titles from1988–89 to1991–92, and starred England internationalChris Waddle andBallon d'Or winnerJean-Pierre Papin. Later in the 1990s, foreign-based clubMonaco featuredThierry Henry andDavid Trezeguet, who would both go on to be amongst the most dominant strikers in Europe.
In the 2000s,Lyon established a dynasty, winning 7 consecutive titles (2002–2008)—an unprecedented run in French football. From 2009–2012, four consecutive different clubs won the league:Bordeaux in2008–09, Marseille in2009–10,Lille In2010–11, andMontpellier in2011–12. During this era, Lille'sEden Hazard emerged as the league's star player.
PSG are the most successful club with 13 league titles.Saint-Étienne was the first club with 10 titles. With the presence of 76 seasons in Ligue 1, Marseille holds the record for most seasons among the elite, while PSG hold the league record for longevity with 52 consecutive seasons (from 1974 to present).Nantes is the team with the longest consecutive unbeaten streak (32 matches) and the fewest number of defeats (one match) in a single season, doing so in the1994–95 campaign. In addition, Nantes also holds the record for the longest time without losing at home with a run of 92 matches from May 1976 to April 1981.
Ahead of the 2023–24 season, the number of teams in the league was reduced to 18; four teams in the2022–23 Ligue 1 were relegated to Ligue 2 and only two teams in Ligue 2 were promoted to Ligue 1.[4] The current champions are PSG, who won a record thirteenth title in the2024–25 season. The league has been won on multiple occasions by Monaco, the presence of which within the league makes it a cross-border competition.[5]
Professionalism inFrench football did not exist until July 1930, when the National Council of theFrench Football Federation (FFF) voted 128–20 in favour of its adoption. Prior to this, the first division of French football was contested between 1894 and 1929 through anamateur league run by theUSFSA.[6]
In order to successfully create a professional football league in the country, the Federation limited the league to twenty clubs. In order to participate in the competition, clubs were subjected to three important criteria:
The incoming club must have had positive results in the past.
The incoming club must be able to pull in enough revenue to balance its finances.
The incoming club must be able to successfully recruit at least eight professional players.
Many clubs disagreed with the subjective criteria, most notablyStrasbourg,RC Roubaix,Amiens andStade Français, while others likeRennes, due to fear of bankruptcy, andLille, due to aconflict of interest, were reluctant to become professional. Lille's president, Henri Jooris, also chairman of the Ligue du Nord, feared his league would fold and proposed it become the second division of the new league. Eventually, many clubs earned professional status, though it became more difficult to convince clubs in the northern half of the country; Strasbourg, Roubaix and Amiens refused to accept the new league, while converselyMulhouse,Excelsior AC Roubaix,Metz andFives accepted professionalism. In southern France, clubs such asMarseille,Hyères,Montpellier,Nîmes,Cannes,Antibes andNice were extremely supportive of the new league and accepted their professional status without argument.
The first final was held on 14 May 1933 and it matched the winner of Group A, Olympique Lillois, against the runner-up of Group B, Cannes. Antibes, the winner of Group B, was supposed to take part in the final but was suspected of bribery by theFrench Football Federation and was disqualified. In the first final, Lillois were crowned the inaugural champions following the club's 4–3 victory.
After the season, the league decided to retain the 14 clubs and not promote any sides from the second division. The league also agreed to change its name fromNational to simplyDivision 1. For the1934–35 season, the league organised a legitimate promotion and relegation system bringing the total tally of clubs in the first division to 16. The number remained until the1938–39 season.
Because ofWorld War II, football was suspended by the French government and theLigue de Football Professionnel (LFP) although its member clubs continued playing in regional competitions. During the "war championships", as they are called, professionalism was abolished by theVichy regime and clubs were forced to participate in regional leagues, designated asZone Sud andZone Nord. Due to its non-association with the two leagues, the LFP and FFF do not recognise the championships won by the clubs and thus 1939–1945 is non-existent in the two organisations' view. Following the conclusion of the war and theliberation of France, professional football returned to France. The first division increased its allotment of clubs to 18. This number remained until the1965–66 season when the number was increased to 20. In 2002, the league changed its name fromDivision 1 to its current name,Ligue 1.
There are 18 clubs in Ligue 1. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games, though special circumstances may allow a club to host matches at other venues such as whenLille hostedLyon at theStade de France in 2007 and 2008. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, thengoal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, forrelegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. For the 2015–16 season only, two teams were to be relegated and only two teams from Ligue 2 were to bepromoted,[7] but this decision was overturned and three teams were relegated and three teams promoted.[8] Thus, it was the 2016–17 season which saw the return of a relegation play-off between the 16th-placed Ligue 1 team and the third-placed team in theLigue 2 on a two-legged confrontation, with the Ligue 2 team hosting the first game.[9]
Previously, the league utilised a different promotion and relegation format. Prior to 1995, the league's format was direct relegation of the bottom two teams and a play-off between the third-last first-division team and the winner of the second-division play-offs, similar to the DutchEredivisie, and the GermanBundesliga. The league has also experimented with a "bonus" rule. From 1973 to 1976, a rule rewarded teams scoring three or more goals in a game with one extra point, regardless of outcome, with the objective of encouraging offensive play. The experience was ultimately inconclusive. At the start of the2006–07 season, the league introduced anAttacking Play Table to encourage the scoring of more goals in Ligue 1 andLigue 2. The LFP, with the help of the former managerMichel Hidalgo introduced the idea to reward those teams who score the most goals. The table was similar to the previous idea, but was independent from the official league table and clubs were only rewarded with monetary bonuses.
In June 2021, the LFP voted overwhelmingly at its general assembly to contract Ligue 1 back to 18 clubs for the2023–24 season by relegating four to, and promoting two from, Ligue 2 after the2022–23 season.[4]
As of the 2023–24 season, as determined by theUEFA coefficient, the top four teams in Ligue 1 qualify for theChampions League, with the top three proceeding directly to the group phase. The fourth-placed team enters in the third qualifying round. The fifth-placed team qualifies for theUEFA Europa League, the sixth forUEFA Conference League. The last Europa League place is determined through the country's domestic cup competition, theCoupe de France. If the cup winner qualifies for Europe through their league position, the seventh-placed team in Ligue 1 will qualify for the Conference League. If France is among the top two nations that earned the mostcoefficient points from a single season, an additional Champions League group phase spot will be awarded to the team in fourth place; as such the Champions League third qualifying round spot and all spots below will be pushed back one position.
A total of 74 clubs have played in Ligue 1 from its foundation in the1932–33 season to the start of the2025–26 season.[10] Currently,Marseille,Montpellier,Nice andRennes are the only founding members of the league to be playing in Ligue 1.Paris Saint-Germain is the only club to have not suffered points relegation. They earned promotion to the first division for the 1974–75 season and have not faltered down since. Paris Saint-Germain was administratively relegated by the league following its split fromParis FC in 1972, but returned to the top flight two seasons later.
There are 75 teams that have taken part in 88 Ligue 1 championships that were played from the1932–33 season until the2025–26 season. The teams in bold compete in Ligue 1 currently. The teams in italics represent defunct teams. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level. No team has played Ligue 1 football in every season; the closest beingMarseille, who has played in 76 seasons.
Ligue 1 clubs' finances and budgets are managed by theDNCG (Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion), an organisation responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional association football clubs in France.[11] It was founded in 1984 and is an administrative directorate of theLigue de Football Professionnel (LFP). The mission of the DNCG is to oversee all financial operations of the 44 member clubs of the LFP, develop the resources of professional clubs, apply sanctions to those clubs breaking the rules of operation, defend the morals and interests of French football in general.[11]
Following a report by the DNCG, it was determined that the combined budget of Ligue 1 clubs was €910 million for the 2005–06 season, a 39% increase from the2002–03 season. The prominent reason for the rise was mainly associated with the television rights deal the league regularly signs. ExcludingParis Saint-Germain, many of the top division clubs are extremely healthy with clubs such asAuxerre,Bordeaux,Lille andLyon being referred to as "managed to perfection".[12] However, recently the DNCG has encouraged clubs to concentrate on limiting their "skyrocketing wage bills and the magnitude of their debts" after it was discovered that the LFP clubs accounts as a whole were in the red for the third consecutive season (2008–2011) with an estimated deficit of €130 million.[13][14] In 2012, the LFP announced that the clubs deficit had been cut in half from €130 million to €65 million.[15] Ligue 1 ranks fifth in terms of revenue brought in by clubs with the league bringing in £0.6 billion for the 2006–07 season trailing England, Italy, Spain and Germany.[16]
In terms of world football, clubs Lyon andMarseille are among the richest football clubs in the world and regularly feature in theDeloitte Football Money League ranking of football clubs by revenue generated from football operations. In the list compiled in the 2008–09 season, Lyon ranked 13th among clubs generating approximately €139.6 million, while Marseille were right behind them in 14th position generating €133.2 million.[17]
In 2016, just Paris Saint-Germain was in the top 30 of the Deloitte Football Money League (ranked 4). From 2017 to 2020, Paris Saint-Germain (ranked between five and seven) and Lyon (ranked between 17 and 28) were part of the top 30.
The LFP formerly had rights agreements with the premium channelsCanal+ andBeIN Sports. The agreement withBeIN Media Group, reached on 23 June 2011, paid the LFP €510 million over four seasons.[21] Following the announcement of the agreement, it was revealed that Canal+ had acquired four television packages, while BeIN Sports acquired two packages.[22]
In 2018,Mediapro acquired three of the four major packages of LFP media rights for the2020–21 season through to the2023–24 season, largely replacing Canal+ in a deal valued at a record €1.15 billion. BeIN Sports maintained "lot 3", which contained two matches per-week on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Mediapro was expected to establish a new channel to house these rights.[23] BeIN Sports later sub-licensed its package to Canal+.[24][25] In June 2020, Mediapro announced a partnership withTF1, under which the new channel would leverage the network's talent and resources, and be branded asTéléfoot—an extension of TF1's long-runningfootball programme. Téléfoot presentersGrégoire Margotton andBixente Lizarazu served as the lead broadcast team for at least 20 matches per-season.[26][27]
Seeking to renegotiate its contract due to the financial impact ofCOVID-19, Mediapro began withholding its rights payments to the LFP in October 2020.[28] LFP CEO Arnaud Rouger stated in October 2020 that they may have to pursue a new broadcaster if they are unable to resolve the dispute with Mediapro.[29] In December 2020, it was reported that Mediapro were preparing to wind down Téléfoot, after it agreed to compensate the LFP for the two missed rights payments.[28] In February 2021, Canal+ reached an interim agreement to acquire the rights packages held by Mediapro for the remainder of the season, and later sub-licensedLigue 2 to BeIN; Téléfoot shut down on 8 February 2021.[24][30][31]
In June 2021, the LFP resold the broadcast rights packages for Ligue 1 to Canal+ andAmazon Prime Video for the2021–22 season through to the2024–25 season, with the two broadcasters paying a total of €663 million in total.[32] Canal+ held the rights to two matches per week. In August 2023, it announced a sub-licensing agreement withDAZN to stream its matches on a branded channel within the service as part of DAZN's local launch.[33] Canal+ did not plan to renew its rights after the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.
In April 2025, both the LFP and DAZN came to an agreement to end the rights broadcast deal due to a legal dispute between the two parties over unpaid rights payments.[34]L'Équipe reported that DAZN was to pay the LFP €100m to exit the agreement, as well as the remaining €140m it owed to the organisation for the final two instalments.[35]
In July 2025, the LFP announced that an in-housestreaming service named Ligue 1+ would be launched on 15 August, in time for the2025–26 season. Of the nine weekly matches in Ligue 1's 18-team configuration, Ligue 1+ will exclusively broadcast eight, and BeIN will retain its allocation of one, broadcast on Saturdays.[36]
For the 2025-26 season, the Ligue 1 will distribute approximately €142 million in media-revenue to its clubs via its new direct-to-consumer streaming serviceLigue 1+.[37]
The previous Ligue 1 trophy,L'Hexagoal, was developed by theLigue de Football Professionnel and designed and created byPablo Reinoso. The trophy has been awarded to the champion of France since the end of the2006–07 season, replacing the previous Ligue 1 trophy that had existed for only five years. The nameHexagoal was derived from an official competition created by the LFP and French TV channelTF1 to determine a name for the new trophy. Over 9,000 proposals were sent in and, on 20 May 2007,French Football Federation member Frédéric Thiriez announced that, following an online vote, the termHexagoal had received half of the votes. The first club to hoist the new trophy wasOlympique Lyonnais who earned the honour after winning the2007–08 season.
The current Ligue 1 trophy, which was created by Mathias Kiss, will be awarded beginning with the2024–25 season. Announced on 17 October 2024, the yet-to-be-named trophy features a hexagonal base at the bottom and a gold-plated sphere at the top that is supported by "1"-shaped columns.[39]
In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medal players receive, Ligue 1 also awards the monthlyPlayer of the Month award. Following the season, theUNFP Awards are held and awards such as the Player of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Young Player of the Year from both Ligue 1 andLigue 2 are handed out.
