Championnat de France amateur

Current season or competition: Championnat de France Amateurs 2009-10
Sport	Football
Founded	1997
No. of teams	72
Country(ies)	France
Most recent champion(s)	Group A • Besançon RC Group B • Hyères FC Group C • US Luzenac Group D • FC Rouen

The Championnat de France amateur is a French football competition; the equivalent of the fourth division, below the Championnat National.

[edit] How it works

The "Championnat de France amateur" consists of 72 clubs spread into 4 parallel groups of 18. It is open to the best reserve teams in France and amateur clubs in France, although only the amateur clubs are eligible for promotion to the Championnat National. The highest-placed amateur team in each pool are promoted, replaced by the 4 lowest-placed in the Championnat National. However, both reserve clubs and amateur clubs are eligible for relegation: the 3 lowest-placed teams from each group go down to the division below, the Championnat de France amateur 2 (CFA2). Unlike the higher leagues, a win in the CFA is worth 4 points, with 2 points for a draw and 1 for a defeat. A club gets no points from a game for certain disciplinary reasons, and if they forfeit. This points system is also in practice in all French leagues below this league, including regional and district leagues.

The average attendance in CFA is between 200 and 1000. However, this average is dragged down by the minuscule turnouts for the pros' home reserve matches^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] External links

• Official Site of the Fédération française de football
• Championnat de France amateur Fixtures,Results,Standings and Detailed Statistics (English)