Romain Rouillard (comment collected by Wilfried Devillers) / Photo credit: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
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9:39 p.m., August 17, 2023
FC Sochaux and its supporters can finally breathe. The Doubien club, on the verge of bankruptcy and bankruptcy, is officially off the hook and will play in National 1 next season. After the favorable opinion issued by the DNCG on Thursday, the executive committee of the FFF confirmed the maintenance of the club, as confirmed by Jean-Claude Plessis at the microphone of Europe 1.
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95 years of history could not end this way. Today a new chapter is being written for the FCSM, with the watchword of the sacred union!
Glory to our colors, #SochauxVivrapic.twitter.com/7bO9F3yEgv
– FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (@FCSM_officiel) August 17, 2023
The plan to take over the historic president of the FCSM between 1999 and 2008 has visibly convinced the upper echelons of French football. Before the decisive hearing this Thursday before the DNCG, the 79-year-old man, supported by many actors, did not imagine anything other than a favorable outcome. “The file is complete and we have worked well. The public authorities have responded so yes, I am confident,” he said.
“I saw people crying with joy”
At the microphone of Wilfried Devillers in Europe 1 Soir, he evokes deep relief. “It was mission impossible when we started. With Pierre Wantiez (his partner), we knew that it was only us who could save these people,” he says. Two weeks ago, the announcement of the end of the club takeover process, initiated by Romain Peugeot, great-grandson of the founder of the FCSM, had plunged the supporters into distress. But this Thursday, “I saw people crying with joy”, testifies Jean-Claude Plessis who refuses to point the finger at Romain Peugeot. “We had a little more time than him, he had really been taken by time. And we benefited from what he had done to start again on a healthier basis”, he assures.
The former leader also salutes all the local investors who allowed the scaffolding of the file, validated this Thursday by the DNCG. And who now offer a budget of 15 million euros to the FCSM which can finally look to the future. “We are in the process of setting up a team which, no doubt, will not play the climb from the first year but which, above all, must not go down”, insists Jean-Claude Plessis. A relegation to National 2, and the resulting loss of professional status, would lead to the closure of the training center. What the manager wants to avoid at all costs.
A huge construction site
Both on the sporting and economic aspects, it is a huge project that stands before the Sochaux leaders. “There will undoubtedly be a restructuring plan. But it is certain that we will not be able to keep the payroll that we have forever. Because the shareholders are their dough and the communities are not going to continue. to pay all the time,” he argues. “There are things to review everywhere, even at the level of the training center, we will have to put everything back on track,” he adds, referring to a club “left abandoned for some time”.
As for the green rectangle, Jean-Claude Plessis has repeatedly reaffirmed the “trust” he has in the coach and the sports management. And reiterated its desire to rely on the training center to develop the workforce. Sochaux will play the first match of their 2023-2024 season on the lawn of Red Star on Friday August 25.