France’s professional football ecosystem is poised for a structural transformation with a proposed shift toward a Premier League-style, club-owned entity – backed by private equity heavyweight CVC Capital Partners, according to a report by Reuters.
The plan, unveiled by French Football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo, would replace the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) with a newly formed commercial entity co-owned by clubs, CVC, and the FFF itself. The initiative represents a significant deepening of private equity’s influence in European football governance.
“This would be a French version of the Premier League – a club-owned company with paid executives running the league,” Diallo said at a press conference, describing the initiative as “innovative and disruptive.”
The overhaul would streamline governance by eliminating the LFP, whose commercial activities have already been shifted to LFP Media following a €1.5bn investment by CVC in 2022. In exchange for that capital injection, CVC secured a 13% stake in LFP Media and a share of future media revenues – an early step toward the new structure.
Under the proposed model, the new company would assume full responsibility for organising and commercialising France’s professional football competitions, while the FFF would retain oversight, including veto power on changes to competition formats. Legislative changes are required to enable the restructuring, with a bill slated for Senate review on 10 June.
“This aims to lay the foundation for a rebound of our professional clubs within a more efficient and transparent framework,” Diallo said, highlighting the goal of stabilising France’s top-flight clubs following years of financial volatility.
