Ligue 3 Explained: France’s New Professional Third Tier

The French football pyramid is set for a major transformation after the French Football Federation officially confirmed the launch of a new professional third tier, Ligue 3, from the beginning of the 2026-27 season.

Announced following Tuesday’s Executive Committee meeting, the project represents one of the most ambitious structural reforms in recent French football history and fulfils a key campaign promise from FFF president Philippe Diallo.

The new championship, which will replace the current Championnat National, will begin on August 8th and will become the first professional men’s league directly organised by the FFF.

“This is a historic moment for our Federation with the creation of this elite men’s championship managed directly by the FFF,” said Diallo during Tuesday’s press conference.

Marc Keller, who has overseen the development of the project alongside Bastia president Baptiste Malherbe, described Ligue 3 as a “co-constructed product” developed alongside clubs and football stakeholders since January 2025.

A new format designed to maximise competitiveness

Ligue 3 will feature 18 clubs competing across a traditional 34-game home-and-away season.

The top two sides will earn automatic promotion to Ligue 2, while teams finishing between third and sixth will contest promotion play-offs. The winner of those play-offs will then face the 16th-placed Ligue 2 side in a two-legged relegation/promotion play-off.

At the other end of the table, the bottom three clubs will be relegated.

The FFF believes the structure will maintain competitive tension throughout the campaign while increasing the league’s entertainment value.

Alongside the introduction of Ligue 3, the naming structure beneath it will also change. The current National 2 will become National 1, while National 3 will become National 2 from 2026-27 onwards.

Ligue 1+ named as exclusive broadcaster

The FFF also confirmed that Ligue 1+ will become the exclusive broadcaster of Ligue 3 for the next three seasons.

All 309 matches, including play-offs, will be shown live and exclusively on the platform.

The league’s schedule has been designed to avoid clashes with Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 fixtures. One headline fixture per round will be played on Thursday evenings at 20:45 CET, while the remaining eight matches will take place on Saturdays at 15:00 CET.

Eight specially scheduled matchdays during the season, including during international breaks, are also planned to give Ligue 3 greater visibility.

Production standards will also significantly improve. Featured matches will use five-camera productions, while all other games will receive two-camera coverage — a substantial upgrade from the current single-camera broadcasts often used in the National.

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Video review innovation arrives in French football

Ligue 3 will also become the first competition in France to trial the “Football Video Support” system.

The lighter alternative to VAR will allow coaches two challenges per match to request a video review on incidents covered by VAR protocols.

The system forms part of the FFF’s ambition to make Ligue 3 an innovation laboratory for French football, with a fourth official also becoming mandatory in the division.

Financial controls and squad limits

The FFF confirmed that all Ligue 3 clubs will immediately fall under the jurisdiction of the federal DNCG financial watchdog.

From the 2027-28 season, the division will also introduce new financial sustainability mechanisms, including wage-to-revenue ratio limits:

60% in 2027-28
50% in 2028-29
40% in 2029-30

Clubs exceeding those thresholds will pay a solidarity contribution similar to a “luxury tax,” with the collected funds redistributed into the league.

A mandatory commercial company structure will also become compulsory for Ligue 3 clubs.

The FFF additionally confirmed the introduction of squad limits from 2027-28, with clubs restricted to a maximum of 20 players under federal contracts.

However, players under 21 years old and footballers developed within the club’s regional league will not count towards the limit, in a move aimed at strengthening youth development and territorial identity.

Increased funding and infrastructure requirements

Financial support for clubs will more than double compared to the current National structure.

The Ligue 3 budget for 2026-27 will reach €12.3 million, with 70% redistributed directly to clubs.

Eligible clubs could receive up to €450,000 in aid, including travel support payments.

The FFF also confirmed that synthetic pitches will be phased out by the 2027-28 season, with Ligue 3 clubs required to use either natural or hybrid grass surfaces.

A new identity for a new era

The championship will launch with a completely new visual identity and branding centred around the slogan “Terrain de rencontres.”

The league champion will also lift a newly created trophy named the “Trophée de France.”

In parallel, the FFF plans to aggressively develop Ligue 3’s digital presence. One notable move sees the Federation partnering with an existing fan-run Instagram page dedicated to National football, already followed by more than 50,000 users, which will officially become Ligue 3’s primary Instagram account from next season onward.

The move underlines the Federation’s desire to modernise the image of France’s third tier while maintaining its strong regional and supporter-driven identity.