French football is once again teetering on its foundations. The admission of helplessness of Vincent Labrune, who no longer believes in a “collective momentum » around Ligue 1+, resonates like a swan song. In the process, the irrevocable departure of Nicolas de Tavernost ended up transforming the project into a field of ruins. To justify this disaster, the League is brandishing a convenient excuse: the loss of rights to the 2026 World Cup for the benefit of beIN Sports. This failure allegedly torpedoed the platform’s business model.
A smokescreen to hide strategic failure
However, this simplistic explanation struggles to convince the most lucid observers. Sports economist Pierre Rondeau denounces a diversionary maneuver. According to him, presenting the World Cup as a lifeline is pure economic fantasy. He dismantles (on his X account) point by point the official account of the case. Make the acquisition of FIFA rights a “question of survival” for a national championship channel is, at best an analytical error, at worst a deliberate lie.
The expert relies on market reality to support his statement. “When beIN broadcasts the World Cup, they gain a million subscribers who leave as soon as the final is whistled”he recalls. The investment of 20 million euros would therefore never have been profitable in the long term. A question of common sense arises: why would a spectator attracted by an international competition remain a subscriber for a Nantes-Toulouse in the middle of December? The answer is cruel: he wouldn’t.
The Ligue 1+ microphone continues to crackle, but no one is listening anymore. Meanwhile, piracy thrives and clubs drink. Great comedy.
Piracy, a real cancer ignored by the League
For Pierre Rondeau, the evil is much deeper and the LFP refuses to tackle the root of the problem. “Ligue 1+ does not need the World Cup. What matters is Ligue 1,” he insists. Above all, he points out the inertia of the body in the face of the scourge of IPTV and illegal streaming. This massive hack empties the coffers of French football every weekend. However, the resources allocated to this vital fight remain insignificant compared to the scale of the technological and financial disaster.
By taking refuge behind the snub of FIFA, the LFP is trying to hide its own wanderings. The current crisis does not arise from a decision taken in Zurich, but from a structurally fragile strategy and a chronic inability to protect its product. This victim narrative only delays an essential questioning. By denying the obvious, French football is stuck in an impasse. The media comedy continues, but the clubs are seriously starting to count their last funds.
