The French Division 3 was the third tier in the
French football pyramid, after the
Division 1 and
Division 2, from 1971 to 1993. Although it was succeeded by the
Championnat National 2
The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...
, the
Championnat National
The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
became the new third division.
History
In 1971, the Division 3 replaced the previous version of the
Championnat de France Amateur. In contrast to the former CFA, the D3 permitted the best amateur clubs to be promoted to the
Division 2. It became an "open" league, meaning it was open to professional, semi-professional, and amateur clubs. The fathers of this evolution in the French football pyramid were
Fernand Sastre and
Henri Patrelle, who were fighting for almost a decade to break this segregation between amateur and professional clubs present since 1932.
In 1993, the Championnat National 2 replaced the Division 3, although the Championnat National took the place of third tier. The National 2 became the fourth tier of French football.
Format
The league brought together amateur clubs and reserve sides of professional clubs, split into 6 geographic groups of 16 teams, making a total of 96 teams. The reserve teams were not allowed to be promoted to the Division 2, therefore only amateur clubs could have a chance at promotion. This meant that the best amateur club in each respective group was promoted to the D2 at the end of the season, for a total of 6 promoted teams.
Concerning relegation, both amateur clubs and reserve sides were eligible; the bottom three teams of each group were relegated to the fourth tier. From 1971 to 1978, this fourth division was the Division d'Honneur of regional leagues, but from 1978 to 1993, a
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...
was put into place. From the D4, 8 clubs were promoted.
At the end of the season, the winners of each group (both amateur clubs and reserve sides) played against each other in order to crown a champion of the Division 3. This tournament would be concluded with a final. Some finals were played in two-leg confrontations. In 1981,
ASPV Strasbourg
Association Sportive Pierrots Vauban de Strasbourg, known as ASPV Strasbourg and Vauban Strasbourg, is a French association football team based in Strasbourg, France, which currently plays in the Régional 1 Grand-Est.
The club plays at the Sta ...
refused promotion to the Division 2, and therefore won two consecutive D3 titles (in 1980–81 and 1981–82).
Performances by team
See also
*
French Division 4 (1978–1993)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Division 3 (1971-1993)
Sports leagues established in 1971
Division 3
Division 3
Division 3
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
Sports leagues disestablished in 1993