France’s elite women footballers will get a new trophy to play for with the launch of the Coupe LFFP. The competition will feature the 12 clubs from the top-flight Arkema Première Ligue and the 12 from the second-tier Seconde Ligue.
Teams will be divided into five regional groups and play round robin matches between September and January. The winner of the each pool will advance to the quarter-finals.
At that stage, the three French sides involved in the 2025/26 Champions League – OL Lyonnes, Paris FC and Paris Saint-Germain – will enter the competition.
"We wanted to increase the number of matches for clubs not playing in Europe by offering more competitive matches throughout the season," said a spokesperson for the Women's Professional Football League (LFFP) which is organising the competition.
"It will also provide the platform for new players to emerge by giving them an additional competitive framework in which to prove themselves."
Tournament rules
Under the rules of the competition, the winner of a match in 90 minutes earns 3 points and the loser 0 points.
If a match were to finish in a draw, a penalty shoot-out ensues to determine the winner who gets 2 points while the loser receives 1 point.
The opening round of games will take place on 13 September. Further pool matches are scheduled for 11 October, 15 November, 10 December and 7 January.
The quarter-finals and semis will be in February and the final will be played on 14 March.
OL Lyonnes will be favourites to lift the inaugural trophy. The club has won 18 of the last 19 top flight championships.
PSG interrupted the hegemony in 2021 and in an effort to arrest OL Lyonnes' dominance, PSG drafted in Rasheedat Ajibade from Atletico Madrid on Tuesday on a two-year deal to bolster their attack.
The 25-year-old was named player of the tournament at the delayed 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in July in Morocco where she skippered Nigeria to their 10th continental title.
