The FFF is held at the Stade de France. This Wednesday, its president Philippe Diallo wrote to the Minister of Sports Marina Ferrari to postpone the work on public transport which threatens the holding of the Coupe de France final on May 23. The FFF “reiterates its request to adjust the transport work schedule so that the Stade de France can host the final of the Coupe de France”, it is written in the letter.
Major work is planned on RER lines B and D, which serve the venue, during the long Pentecost weekend, coinciding with this match. “Such an interruption of these two major routes would directly compromise access to the stadium and make it materially impossible to welcome the public,” regrets Diallo in his letter to the minister.
He also deplores that the federation was “never informed of any constraints linked to the transport network” when it chose, in March 2025, the date and location of the 2026 Cup final. “This information was brought to our attention in July of this year, while the date of this final had been brought to the attention of the State at the start of the year,” insists Diallo.
“The FFF,” he adds, “has of course studied the hypothesis of a change in the sporting calendar. However, this option turns out to be unthinkable. » In addition to the very tight football schedule, “3F” must respect its contractual commitments with the competition’s TV broadcaster.
Offshoring, a dangerous solution
Failing to reschedule the final for another date, one option would be to relocate it to another stadium. But, warns Philippe Diallo, this “would be a scenario with serious sporting, financial and symbolic consequences, and would inevitably raise the question of possible compensation for the damage suffered by our Federation, while the date of this final had been communicated more than a year before it was held”.
Playing the final in a club stadium “presents significant public order risks,” observes Diallo. It’s difficult to imagine Parisian supporters en masse at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille due to the strong rivalry between OM and PSG, for example. In 2024, the PSG-Lyon final (2-1) was played in Lille, the Stade de France preparing for the Paris Olympic Games. The meeting caused clashes between supporters on the highway and outside the stadium.
No venue in France has the capacity of the Saint-Denis stadium (80,000 seats), which has hosted all the Coupe de France finals since its inauguration in 1998 except that of the Olympic year, and the revenue would be significantly lower.