FRENCH football chiefs are looking to “transform” Ligue 1 because it is “not sexy”.
France‘s first division has previously received criticism regarding its quality with some referring to the competition as a “farmer’s league”.
That is why the Ligue de Football Professionnel launched a decisive step in their plan to change the public perception of French football and shed all the negativity.
According to L’Equipe, the LFP president Vincent Labrune is planning a major revamp that has been in the works for two years.
The president said he would be taking steps to tackle Ligue 1’s image problem, through “the transformation of the product”.
Labrune added: “We have been working on this for more than two years and basing it around three strong pillars: Image, experience, and culture.”
The LFP’s Chief Transformation & Innovation Officer Jerome Dumois has been placed in charge of Ligue 1’s rebrand and insists the competition needs to become more “sexy”.
Global stars who mainly played for Paris Saint-Germain, like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, have left but there is still belief the top flight could still turn into the “coolest league to follow”.
Dumois said: “We might love our league, our season, our clubs, but in the end, we have this image problem: Ligue 1 is not sexy.
“We need this change of image to work on our brand. This is not an advert, it is a new behaviour to instil a need for change.
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“Maybe we won’t have the best players in Ligue 1 but we can become the coolest league to follow.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has been among the biggest critics as he ruffled a lot of feathers recently when he made the staggering claim that the Saudi Pro League is better than Ligue 1.
That led to some furious reaction, most notably from Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf who told Al-Nassr superstar Ronaldo to “shut up”.
Leboeuf suggested the Manchester United great spoke ill of the French first division because that is where his nemesis Messi used to play.