 | |
| Organising body | LFFP |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975; 50 years ago (1975) |
| Country | France |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Seconde Ligue |
| Domestic cup(s) | |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Women's Champions League |
| Current champions | Olympique Lyonnais (18th) |
| Most championships | Olympique Lyonnais (18) |
| Broadcaster(s) | |
| Current:2025–26 season | |
ThePremière Ligue (French:[pʁəmjɛʁliɡ]), officially known asArkema Première Ligue forsponsorship reasons, is a professionalwomen's association football league at the highest level of theFrench football league system, and is run by theLigue féminine de football professionnel (LFFP). Its annual competition features twelve teams playing two series ofround-robin matches from September to June, to determine the four participants of asingle-elimination tournament. The winners of the tournament are crownedchampions of France, and contest theTrophée des Championnes match the following season. At the end of each season, the top three teams qualify for theUEFA Women's Champions League, while the two bottom teams arerelegated to theSeconde Ligue.
The "Première Ligue" is the latest iteration of a competition founded in 1975 by theFrench Football Federation (FFF) as the amateurDivision 1 Féminine. Professionalism was introduced for the first time in the2009–10 season. The competition was ranked the best women's league inEurope according toUEFA 2019–20 women's association club coefficients.[1]Olympique Lyonnais have won the league the most times (18), and also hold the record for consecutive wins (14).
The first women's association football league in France was founded in 1919 by theFédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France (FSFSF), a women's football organization in France that was led by women's football pioneerAlice Milliat. The league lasted for twelve seasons before disbanding due to the prohibition of women's football. In this context, women replaced the men who left for the war in the industries and on the farms, in addition, they invested in the sport field, thus in soccer too.
The very first match of the French women's championship took place on the morning of March 23, 1919, at the Brancion stadium in Paris between "Fémina Sport" and "En Avant". Fémina Sport would have won 2-0[1],[2], with a score of 3-1 also being mentioned[3]. The first two editions of the championship only involved Parisian teams. In April 1933, football was officially removed from sports organized by the FSFSF, due to the growing disinterest of women in the sport, which was subject to strong criticism following this detachment. The Paris Women's Football League, created in 1933, took over and on November 26, 1933, organized a Paris women's championship with ten clubs that lasted until 1937. In 1975, women's football was officially re-instated and a new league, the Division 1 Féminine, was established by the governing body of football in France, theFrench Football Federation. Professionalism was introduced in2009–10 season and female football players in France began signing professional contracts with their clubs at the same season, the most notable of which isOlympique Lyonnais.[2][3]
In July 2022, it was announced that the Division 1 Féminine will feature in theFIFA 23 video game.[4]
Before the beginning of the2024–25 season, the league's name changed fromDivision 1 toPremière Ligue.[5]
There are 12 clubs in the "Première Ligue". During the course of a season, usually from September to June, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 22 games, though clubs are allowed to host "big" matches at the home venues of their male counterparts, such as whenParis Saint-Germain hostedJuvisy at theParc des Princes during the2009–10 season. The female leagues, until the 2016–17 season, were run similarly to the men's amateur leagues in France with teams receiving four points for a win and two points for a draw. one point was awarded for a loss however, the league now adopts the3-1-0 system. the 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, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The two lowest placed teams are relegated to theSeconde Ligue (formerly known as Division 2 Féminine) and the winners of the two groups in D2 Féminine are promoted in their place.
From 1974 to 1992, the league consisted of several groups with the winners of each group entering a play-off phase to determine the champion. Between the years 2001–2004, a play-off system was re-adopted. The top four clubs in the league table were inserted into a play-off bracket following the completion of the season with the winner being crowned champions.The play-offs among the four best teams were reintroduced beginning with the 2023–24 season.[6]
Until the 2019–2020 edition, only the top two teams in the Division 1 Féminine qualify for the round of 32 of theUEFA Women's Champions League.
Since the 2020–2021 edition, as determined by theUEFA women's coefficient, the winner of the Division 1 directly qualifies for the group stage of theUEFA Women's Champions League, whereas the second team qualifies for the second round and the third team qualifies for the first round. As of today, the winner of theCoupe de France féminine, the female equivalent of theCoupe de France, does not qualify for European competition.
Starting with the2021–22 edition, as determined by theUEFA women's coefficient, the top three teams will qualify for theUEFA Women's Champions League.
| Team | 2024–25 | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS Saint-Étienne | 10th | Saint-Étienne | Stade Etivallière |
| Dijon FCO | 4th | Dijon | Stade Gaston Gérard |
| FC Fleury 91 | 5th | Bondoufle | Stade Robert Bobin |
| FC Nantes | 7th | Nantes | Stade Marcel-Saupin |
| Le Havre AC | 8th | Le Havre | Stade Océane |
| Montpellier HSC | 6th | Montpellier | Centre d'entrainement Bernard Gasset |
| Olympique de Marseille | 1st (D2) | Marseille | La Commanderie |
| OL Lyonnes | 1st | Décines-Charpieu | Parc Olympique Lyonnais |
| Paris FC | 3rd | Paris | Stade Sébastien Charléty |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2nd | Saint-Germain-en-Laye | Stade Georges Lefèvre |
| RC Lens | 2nd (D2) | Arras | Stade Degouve-Brabant |
| RC Strasbourg Alsace | 9th | Strasbourg | Stade Jean Nicolas Muller |
Included in the table below is a list of the top scorers of each season, starting from the 2001–02 season. Information for previous seasons unavailable.
| Season | Goals scored | Player |
|---|---|---|
2001–02 | 22 |  Marinette Pichon (Saint-Memmie Olympique) |
2002–03 | 26 | Sandrine Brétigny (Lyon) |
2003–04 | 18 | Claire Morel (Lyon) |
2004–05 | 38 | Marinette Pichon (Juvisy) |
2005–06 | 36 | Marinette Pichon (Juvisy) |
2006–07 | 42 | Sandrine Brétigny (Lyon) |
2007–08 | 27 | Laëtitia Tonazzi (Juvisy) |
27 |  Kátia (Lyon) | |
19 | Eugénie Le Sommer (Saint-Brieuc) | |
20 | Laëtitia Tonazzi (Juvisy) | |
22 | Eugénie Le Sommer (Lyon) | |
24 |  Lotta Schelin (Lyon) | |
25 | Gaëtane Thiney (Juvisy) | |
34 | Lotta Schelin (Lyon) | |
33 |  Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) | |
20 | Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)Eugénie Le Sommer (Lyon) | |
31 | Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) | |
22 | Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain) | |
16 | Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain) | |
22 |  Khadija Shaw (Bordeaux) | |
18 | Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain) | |
17 | Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain) | |
18 |  Tabitha Chawinga (Paris Saint-Germain) | |
18 | Clara Mateo (Paris FC) |
In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medal players receive, theNational Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) awards theUNFP Female Player of the Year award to the top female player of the league. The current winner of the award isGerman international andLyonmidfielderDzsenifer Marozsán. Following the 2009–10 season, the French Football Federation, who oversee the league, also began awarding a Player of the Year trophy. The jury panel who decided the winner consists of the twelve managers in the D1 Féminine.[7] TheDivision 1 Féminine Player of the Month award was added in 2020.[8]
| 2025–26 teams | |
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French Football Federation (President:Philippe Diallo (interim))Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President:Jean-Michel Aulas) | |||||||
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