Sixth-tier US Revel face PSG in Coupe de France clash
England has the FA Cup. Spain the Copa del Rey. Italy the Coppa Italia. France? La Coupe de France.
The French equivalent is arguably the most far-reaching and unique domestic cup competition in the world, spanning from Oceania to the Caribbean.
What sets the Coupe de France apart lies in its global reach. Clubs from metropolitan France are joined by non-metropolitan clubs which fall under the French overseas departments and territories bracket (DOM-TOM).
This means that clubs from Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Réunion and Saint Pierre and Miquelon also play in the competition.
Overseas teams were initially incorporated into the cup in the 1961/62 season, and have become part of the fabric of the competition ever since.
This year, eleven overseas sides entered the main draw in the seventh round, with only two sides remaining as the cup enters the round of 64 stage this weekend.
Golden Lion FC of Martinique and CS Moulien of Guadeloupe will travel to mainland France in the hope of becoming only the fourth overseas side to reach the round of 32, with Golden Lion set for a swashbuckling clash at Ligue 1 giants LOSC Lille.
Until 2020, only La Réunion’s ASC Le Geldar de Kourou had achieved such a feat, where they were drawn against first division heavyweights FC Nantes. The amateur side were eventually trounced 11-0 on aggregate against a Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly-inspired Nantes outfit.
A worldwide adventure
Non-metropolitan clubs are used to travelling long distances for Coupe de France matches. But fifth-tier US Thionville Lusitanos had to go the extra mile to fulfil their seventh round clash against Hienghène Sport, making a round trip of over 30,000km to New Caledonia for the match.
The north-eastern French side ran out 4-0 winners on the South Pacific island, and have been gifted a romantic cup tie against ten time winners Olympique de Marseille in the ninth round.
“We wanted to play OM. It’s extraordinary. We are an N3 club [fifth-tier], born from a fusion of two clubs. I am delighted for the city and for the volunteers,” the club’s president François Ventrici told L’Équipe.
Meanwhile, sixth-tier US Revel have drawn reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, in undoubtedly the tie of the weekend.
The euphoric footage of Revel players celebrating the dream draw went viral in December, with the club ranked five divisions below PSG. For comparison, it’s like Manchester City drawing National League South club Hampton and Richmond Borough away in the third round of the FA Cup.
This is the moment that sixth division (R1) side US Revel found out they would face PSG in the Coupe de France.
The magic of the cup!
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) December 11, 2023
As their usual home ground – Stade Municipal de Revel – can only hold a capacity of 3,500, the match has been moved to the neighbouring Stade Pierre-Fabre, home of Top 14 rugby side Castres Olympique.
“It’s incredible, something you just can’t even imagine, these players play in World Cups, they score in World Cups, they’re at the top for the Ballon d’Or, it’s PSG,” forward Maxime Zahil, who played against Kylian Mbappe when he was a youngster, told Reuters TV.
“We’re not going to change our habits, it’s not in three weeks that we can become Ligue 1 players, so there’s no point in trying to change anything, we’ll keep that mindset.”
Meanwhile, Revel president Didier Roques was overjoyed at drawing the fourteen time winners of the Coupe de France.
“We’ve been dreaming since Saturday [and the victory against Blagnac], don’t wake us up! We’re playing PSG, it’s fabulous,” he told L’Équipe.
“We were scared of getting Dieppe – we would have had to travel all the way across France. We couldn’t have imagined a draw like this.”
In one of several rules favouring lower league clubs, higher-ranked clubs are obliged to play as the away team if the opposition is at least two levels below them in the football pyramid.
This certainly worked in the favour of third-tier side Les Herbiers VF in 2018, as they stunned the nation by reaching the final of the Cup – while also being relegated to National 2 in the same season.
Thiago Silva, then PSG captain, invited Les Herbiers’ Sebastien Flochon to lift the trophy together, in recognition of the remarkable run.
Revel supporters will be raring to go in their own David v Goliath match on Sunday evening.
LOSC Lille vs Golden Lion FC, 6 January 14:30 GMT.
US Revel vs PSG, 7 January 19:45 GMT.
