Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Friday, October 10, 2025, 20:29 / Updated on Friday, October 10, 2025 20:31
FC Martigues, a club founded in 1921 and participant in the last season of the French second league, suffered one of the most dramatic falls in the history of European football. Due to the lack of financial guarantees required by DNCG (National Management Control Directorate), the team was excluded from all professional competitions and sent to play in Department 3, the 11th echelon of French football.
FC Martigues played the last official match on May 10, 2025, losing 1-5 in front of Lorient, in the last stage of Ligue 2. Initially, the team was to relegate to National 1 (third division), but DNCG announced on June 24, its complete exclusion from the national championships, motivating the absence of the compulsory financial guarantees.
From Ligue 2 to 11th League, in less than six months
In July, the club promised that it will appeal and that the main shareholder, I Futbol, will provide the necessary funds. However, the situation worsened in August, when the Mediterranean football league applied a new sanction: the retrograde in Department 1 (9th league). The appeal of the club to the National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) was rejected, and after the case reassessment, Martigues was sent to Department 3 (11th league), reserved for local amateur competitions.
It is for the first time in the history of French football when a club falls nine divisions in a single season.
Martigues team, completely terminated
After confirming the sanction, FC Martigues terminated the contracts of all 22 players in the professional lot. The most valuable footballer of the team was Ayob Amraoui (900,000 euros), transferred to Al-Ahli (Qatar). Currently, the band is based on young people aged 17-18 and amateur players from the lower leagues.
The club will resume its activity on Sunday, in a match in Departmental 3, against the Sainte-Marguerite band, from 3:00 pm.
The signs of decline began to appear in the summer
Last season, Martigues finished 17th in Ligue 2, with 32 points in 34 matches. The financial difficulties have been exacerbated since spring, and at the beginning of July, the club announced in an official statement:
“The Commission validated the coherence of the budget presented by the club. However, in the absence of compulsory financial guarantees, he pronounced the exclusion of FC Martigues from the national championships. The club will appeal against this decision. ”, They said at the end of last season.
Although FC Martigues will start the new competition season in the 11th echelon, the future of the club remains uncertain. On social networks, the official team page displays a completely white profile image, without logo or symbols.
