There seems to be a not-for-profit association for everything in France, from amateur mycology to choral music and international disaster relief. There were one and a half million Associations Loi 1901 at the last count, which equates to one for every 48 inhabitants, with 60,000 to 70,000 new groups created each year. They constitute an essential part of the fabric of French society, a natural response to every kind of need felt by local communities – except when it comes to organised football.
This is odd, considering professionalism was introduced by the French FA as late as 1932 after a decade of hand-wringing and it would have been natural for practitioners of the game to take the matter in their own hands. Yet in France, club ownership at all but the lowest level has always been the preserve of private individuals, local authorities and, a very French trait, businesses that have set up teams for their employees, the football corporatif or football entreprise, which has its own leagues and federation.
