The Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), also known as the Challenge Jules‒Rimet, was the highest tier of amateur

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in France from 1935 to 1971. It was organized by the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF and 3F; or Triple F; , ) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspec ...

History

The competition was created in 1932, three years after the formation of the professional national championship now known as the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. The aim of the tournament was to crown the best amateur football team in France. The champion received a cup from the president of the French Football Federation,

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the pres ...

, where the nickname of the competition Challenge Jules‒Rimet came from. The competition was folded in 1971 in the midst of reform to the football league system in France. The new system after 1971 would bring together professional and amateur leagues in one pyramid. The Division 3 was the successor of the Championnat de France Amateur.

Format

The competition saw several changes in its format in the course of its history. From 1935 to 1948, the Championnat de France Amateur was played at the end of the season between the winners of each regional league. Starting in 1948, an annual league was created, called the Division Nationale, played in the format of four to six geographically-determined groups. The winners of each group at the end of the season would play against each other at the end of the season to determine a winner. The Division Nationale was therefore the highest tier of French amateur football. Although the professional football pyramid contained two levels, the first and second tiers, the Championnat de France Amateur did note make up the third tier, and there was no system of

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

between professional and amateur clubs.

References

Sports leagues established in 1935 1935 establishments in France Sports leagues disestablished in 1971 1971 disestablishments in France Defunct football leagues in France Defunct top-level football leagues in Europe {{France-footy-competition-stub