The 1997–98 Division 1 was the 60th season of
Division 1, the top French professional league for
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
clubs, since its establishment in 1932. The season began on 2 August 1997, and concluded on 9 May 1998.
This season saw a change in the league format, with the number of teams reduced to 18 from 20, shortening the season from 38 to 34 rounds. As a result, four clubs which had been relegated at the end of the previous season were replaced by only two,
Châteauroux
Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French.
Climate
Ch ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
, who entered as winners and runners up of the
1996–97 French Division 2
The 1996–97 Division 2 season, organised by the LFP was won by LB Châteauroux and saw the promotions of LB Châteauroux and Toulouse FC, whereas FC Perpignan, FCO Charleville, SAS Épinal and Stade Briochin were relegated to National.
22 par ...
. Defending champions of the
1996–97 season were
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...
.
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'' ...
won the championship for the first time in their 92-year history, becoming the 26th club to become
French football champions
The French football champions are the winners of the highest league of football in France, Ligue 1. Since the National Council of the French Football Federation voted in support of professionalism in French football in 1930, the professional foot ...
. Lens won their league title with 68 points, edging out second-placed
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
on goal difference, for whom this was their best result in history.
Teams
Stadia and personnel
Final table
Promoted from
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligu ...
, who will play in
Division 1 season 1998/1999
*
AS Nancy
Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), commonly known as AS Nancy Lorraine, or simply Nancy, is a French association football club founded in 1967 in Nancy, Grand Est and located in Tomblaine, in the inner suburbs of Nancy. The club currently ...
: champion of
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligu ...
*
FC Lorient
Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of Frenc ...
: runners-up
*
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Frenc ...
: third place
Results
Top goalscorers
References
External links
France 1997/98at
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
See also
*
1997–98 Coupe de France
*
1997–98 French Division 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 French Division 1
Ligue 1 seasons
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
1