The Championnat Élite Division 1 () is the top-level

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

league of France. The league was founded in 1982.

History

American football was introduced to France in the early 20th century, but for decades it remained an infrequent activity, practised only by American touring teams and wartime servicemen.
The formation of NATO in 1949 allowed for U.S. military settlements in France, and in turn the establishment of senior and high school teams representing these bases. They mainly competed in cross-border leagues sanctioned by the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, although some seasons featured a conference consisting solely of France-based armed forces teams.
While some French citizens attended the games, actual participation by locals remained negligible and the sport quickly declined when French president

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

withdrew France from NATO's military command, evicting American troops from the country in 1967. Nonetheless, a few modern era French teams claim the lineage of those military organizations: the Châteauroux Sabres are named after an eponymous team from the now decommissioned Châteauroux-Déols Air Base.
It was not until 1980 that a physical education teacher, Laurent Plegelatte, created the first "born and bred" French team, the Spartacus de Paris. The same year, he founded and chaired the National Committee for the Development of American Football. The Ligue Élite de Football Américain was created in 1982 under the leadership of Laurent Plegelatte with four participants. The Spartacus de Paris were the first ever champions of the Ligue Élite de Football Américain, but are now a defunct team as of 1993. 1983 saw a change of leadership from Laurent Plegelatte to Michel Gofman. Final_Casque_de_Diamant_2013_n79

League set-up

The league is partitioned into two conferences, each with six teams. The top three teams of each conference enter the playoffs. Until 1994, the final was called Casque d'Or (). Since 1995, the championship game has been called Casque de Diamant ().

Trophy

Although the championship game is called the Diamond Helmet, the winners' trophy does not have the shape of a helmet. It is a shield similar to those awarded to the French champions of other

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

codes, such as the

Bouclier de Brennus The Bouclier de Brennus, or Brennus Shield in English, is a trophy awarded to the winners of the French rugby union domestic league. The shield was not named, as it is often believed, after the famous Gallic warrior Brennus but rather artist C ...

and the Trophée Max-Rousié.

Teams

Active teams

Championship Game

Media

In 2022, the league is set to receive its first regularly scheduled television coverage on

Sport en France Sport en France is a French free-to-air sports television channel. It was launched in 2019 and is headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris. In 2020, the channel signed on a content exchange program with France Televisions. History Spor ...

Notes

External links

Official French American Football Federation web site

EliteFoot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligue Elite de Football Americain American football in France

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

1982 establishments in France Sports leagues established in 1982 Professional sports leagues in France American expatriate players of American football