Sports Minister Urges French Football Federation to Save Bordeaux from Collapse

Sports Minister Marina Ferrari has publicly called on the French Football Federation to reconsider the fate of Girondins de Bordeaux, a club threatened with judicial liquidation and forced, as things stand, to compete in Régional 1 this season — the sixth tier of French football.

Speaking on Ici Gironde radio on Wednesday, Ferrari acknowledged she lacks the power to impose anything on the FFF, but indicated she had “asked Philippe Diallo to keep a close eye on Bordeaux’s case”. The minister, in office since October 2025, stressed “the weight” and “importance of the club within the Bordeaux region”.

While she admits a sporting sanction is justified — “there was poor management of Bordeaux that necessitates a relegation” — she believes a middle ground remains to be found. “Between dropping to regional level, a lower division or disappearing, there may be a way to find,” she said, inviting the FFF to “re-examine” keeping the club at national level.

The Girondins’ situation is critical on several fronts. The administrative court rejected their request for reinstatement to the national championships two weeks ago. The FFF’s executive committee, for its part, did not deign to reconsider their case at its last meeting. As for the LFP, it has not intervened in favour of the club either.

The Bordeaux club, five-time French champions and winners of the UEFA Cup in 1996, must first avoid judicial liquidation to hope to compete in Régional 1. The minister’s appeal constitutes, at this stage, the only tangible sign of institutional support in a matter that French football authorities seemed to have closed.