Ligue 1
Association football league in France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ligue 1,[upper-alpha 1] officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons,[1][2] is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. Being the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Administered by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1 is contested by 18 clubs (as of the 2023–24 season) and operates on a system of promotion and relegation from and to Ligue 2.
 | |
| Organising body | Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1930; 93 years ago (1930) (officially) 2002; 21 years ago (2002) (as Ligue 1) |
| Country |  France (17 teams) |
| Other club(s) from |  Monaco (1 team) |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 18 (since 2023–24) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Ligue 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Coupe de France Trophée des Champions |
| International cup(s) | |
| Current champions | Paris Saint-Germain (11th title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Paris Saint-Germain (11 titles) |
| Most appearances | Mickaël Landreau (618) |
| Top goalscorer | Delio Onnis (299) |
| TV partners | List of broadcasters |
| Website | ligue1.com |
| Current: 2023–24 Ligue 1 | |
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 before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January. As of 2021, Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, ranked fifth in Europe, behind England's Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga.[3]
Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. It continued to operate under that name until 2002, when it adopted its current name. Paris Saint-Germain are the most successful clubs with eleven league titles, while Olympique Lyonnais is the club that has won the most consecutive titles (seven between 2002 and 2008). AS Saint-Étienne was the first club with ten titles. With the presence of 71 seasons in Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille hold the record for most seasons among the elite, while Paris Saint-Germain hold the league record for longevity with 47 consecutive seasons (from 1974 to present). FC 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 the 1994–95 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.
The current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who won a record 11th title in the 2022–23 season. The league has been won on multiple occasions by foreign-based club AS Monaco, the presence of which within the league makes it a cross-border competition.[4]
Ahead of the 2023–24 season, the number of teams in the league will be reduced to 18; four teams in the 2022–23 Ligue 1 will be relegated to Ligue 2 and only two teams in Ligue 2 will be promoted to Ligue 1.[5]