The French are more and more fans of Ligue 1! 75% of the 5,000 people interested in football asked about their three favorite competitions – excluding national teams – cite the French league in their top three. These data come from the image barometer of professional football clubs, produced each year by the Ipsos institute, in partnership with the Professional Football League (LFP) and Foot Unis, the union of professional clubs. Behind Ligue 1, follow the Champions League (64%), the Coupe de France (39%) then the Premier League and the Europa League (26%). Since the creation of this survey, 14 years ago, the attractiveness of Ligue 1 has never been so high.
Another important point, 70% of respondents believe that the French championship offers a quality show, up 9% compared to 2021. For 74% (+10%) of those consulted, the first division attracts foreign players from high level, and 59% (+10%) believe that it is of a level equivalent to that of the main foreign championships.
Good results in Europe… and Lionel Messi
To explain this increase in interest in Ligue 1, Foot Unis cites the arrival of Lionel Messi, the good run of French clubs in the European Cup or the large number of goals scored in the championship. The 2020-2021 season saw 1,049 achievements, down from just 704 the previous year. We had to go back to the 1982-1983 financial year to find such a large number of goals scored (1090).
The image of football for the French population (sample of 2,095 French people) remains stable, at 41% positive opinion, as in 2020 but down compared to 2019 (-3%). Latest figures showing that football is indeed the first national sport: 39% of respondents are interested in football, more than any other sport, and 15% (+3%) of respondents say they are “fans” of football, a value which has never been so high.