2022–23 Championnat National 3 Explained

Competition:	Championnat National 3
Season:	2022–23
Dates:	28 August 2022 to 4 June 2023
Winners:	Cannes^[1]
Promoted:	12 teams See Season outcomes section
Relegated:	60 teams See Season outcomes section
League Topscorer:	25 Matar Diagne, Mâcon
Biggest Home Win:	Sochaux (res) 10–1 Quetigny Group E, Game week 23, 6 May 2023 Feignies Aulnoye 10–1 Lambres-lez-Douai Group I, Game week 23, 6 May 2023
Biggest Away Win:	Quetigny 1–11 Sochaux (res) Group E, Game week 11, 10 December 2022
Highest Scoring:	Quetigny 1–11 Sochaux (res) Group E, Game week 11, 10 December 2022
Prevseason:	2021–22
Nextseason:	2023–24
Updated:	17:06, 7 June 2023 (UTC)

The 2022-23 Championnat National 3 is the sixth season of the fifth tier in the French football league system in its current format. The competition is contested by 168 clubs split geographically across 12 groups of 14 teams. The teams include amateur clubs (although a few are semi-professional) and the reserve teams of professional clubs. The competition starts on 28 August 2022 and is scheduled to end on 4 June 2023.^[2]

Teams

On 13 July 2022, the FFF ratified the constitution of the competition, and published the groups, although there were still some issues to be resolved at the time of publishing.^[3]

Changes from 2021 to 2022 season were as follows:

Teams joining the division:

• Plabennec, Vitré, Schiltigheim, Lens (res), Entente SSG, Rumilly-Vallières, Marseille (res), Montpellier (res), Colomiers and Mont-de-Marsan finished in the relegation positions in 2021–22 Championnat National 2.
• Béziers were relegated from the Championnat National 2 by the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion for financial mismanagement.^[4]
• 36 teams gained promotion from the various Régional 1 leagues.

Teams promoted to Championnat National 3!Region!!Team!!Method of qualification

Nouvelle-Aquitaine	Guéret	Champion, R1 Group A^[5]
	Portes Entre-Deux-Mers	Champion, R1 Group B^[6]
	Pau (res)	Champion, R1 Group C^[7]
Pays de la Loire	Saint-Nazaire	Champion, R1 Group A^[8]
	La Roche-sur-Yon	Champion, R1 Group B
	Beaucouze	Best runner-up^[9]
Centre-Val de Loire	Tours	Champion, R1^[10]
	Dreux	Second, R1^[11]
	Chambray	Third, R1
Corse	FC Balagne	Champion, R1 Corse
Méditerranée	Carnoux	Champion, R1 Méditerranée
	EUGA Ardziv	Second, R1 Méditerranée^[12]
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté	Cosne-sur-Loire	Champion, R1 Group A^[13]
	Mâcon	Champion, R1 Group B
	Quetigny	Champion, R1 Group C^[14]
Grand Est	Reims Sainte-Anne	Champion, R1 Group A. Promoted via playoffs.^[15]
	Jarville	Champion, R1 Group C. Promoted via playoffs.^[16]
	Champigneulles	Champion, R1 Group B. Promoted via playoffs.
Occitanie	Bagnols Pont	Champion, R1 Group A
	Union Saint-Jean	Champion, R1 Group B
	Onet-le-Château	Champion, R1 Group C
Hauts-de-France	Longueau	Champion, R1 Group A
	Lambres-lez-Douai	Champion, R1 Group B
	Compiègne	Champion, R1 Group C^[17]
Normandy	Gonfreville	Champion, R1 Group A
	Grand-Quevilly	Champion, R1 Group B
	Mont-Gaillard	Best Runner-up^[18]
Brittany	US Montagnarde	Champion, R1 Group A
	Cesson	Champion, R1 Group B
	Dol-de-Bretagne	Champion, R1 Group C
Paris Île-de-France	Montrouge	Champion, R1 Group A
	Vitry-sur-Seine	Champion, R1 Group B
	Le Mée	Best Runner-up
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes	Domérat	Champion, R1 Group A
	Feurs	Champion, R1 Group B
	Aix-les-Bains	Champion, R1 Group C

Teams leaving the division:

• Stade Bordelais, Saumur, Vierzon, Furiani-Agliani, Racing Besançon, Colmar, Alès, Wasquehal, Évreux, Rennes (res), Racing Club and Thonon Évian finished in the promotion places in 2021–22 Championnat National 3
• Bressuire, Cognac, Tartas, La Châtaigneraie, Sautron, Déols, Amilly, Istres, Athlético Marseille, Marseille Endoume, Saint-Jean Beaulieu, Mandelieu, Paron, Valdahon-Vercel, Saint-Louis Neuweg, Amnéville, Blagnac, Nîmes (res), Muret, Fabrègues, Saint-Omer, Boulogne (res), Le Touquet, Romilly, Bayeux, Stade Pontivyen, Plouzané, Guipry Messac, Trégunc, Créteil (res), Mantes, Meaux Academy, Velay, Aurillac and Moulins finished in the relegation zones and were relegated to Régional 1 for the 2022–23 season.
• Mulhouse were relegated by the DNCG for financial reasons and subsequently entered receivership.^{[19] [20]}
• Narbonne were relegated by the Occitanie league after receiving a points deduction for not fielding junior teams in competitions as required by the regulations..^{[21] [22]}

Other changes

• The merger of Marignane Gignac F.C. and Côte Bleue meant the second team of the new club, Marignane GCB (res), took the place of Côte Bleue in group D.^[23]

Promotion and relegation

If eligible, the top team in each group is promoted to Championnat National 2. If a team finishing top of the group is ineligible, or declines promotion, the next eligible team in that group is promoted.

This season, five teams will be relegated from each group to their respective top regional league, subject to reprieves, as a result of the restructuring of the French leagues.^[24] Extra teams are relegated from a group if more than one team is relegated to that group from Championnat National 2. In the case that no teams are relegated to a group from Championnat National 2, one less team is relegated from that group to the regional league.^[25]

Reserve teams whose training centres are categorised as category 2B or lower cannot be promoted to Championnat National 2 by the rules of the competition.

League tables

Group A: Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Group B: Pays de la Loire

Group C: Centre-Val de Loire

Group D: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur-Corsica

Group E: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Group F: Grand Est

Group H: Occitanie

Group I: Hauts-de-France

Group J: Normandy

Group K: Brittany

Group L: Île-de-France

Group M: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Top scorers

^[26]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Matar Diagne	Mâcon	25
2	Arthur Dallois	Vire	22
	Walid Bouabdelli	Reims Sainte-Anne
4	Sofiane Sidi Ali	Marseille (res) and Rousset	20
	Bassirou N'Diayé	Sochaux (res)
	Hakim El Hamdaoui	Alençon
7	Jules Varvat	Saint-Jean-le-Blanc	19
	Isaac Tshipamba	Quevilly-Rouen (res)
9	Anthony Vermet	Dinan-Léhon	18
	Mathias Lopes	Tours
	Jean-Paul Kumbi	Schiltigheim

Season outcomes

Promotion

Libourne, La Roche, Avoine Chinon, Cannes, Mâcon, Biesheim, Feignies Aulnoye, Vire, Dinan Léhon, Aubervilliers and Bourgoin-Jallieu were champions of each group, and were promoted to 2023–24 Championnat National 2. Béziers finished top of their group, but were denied promotion by the DNCG, and failed to appeal successfully.^{[27] [28]} Toulouse (res) were promoted as runners-up.

Relegation

A total of 60 teams were initially relegated due to finishing in the bottom five places in each group. Reprieves are required to maintain the correct number of teams in the division, in light of any administrative relegations from this or higher divisions enacted by the FFF and DNCG. The relegated teams will take their place in the Régional 1 competition of their respective regional leagues:

Nouvelle-AquitaineMont-de-Marsan, Guéret, Neuville, Portes Entre-Deux-Mers and Bordeaux (res)

Pays de la LoirePouzauges, Changé, Beaucouzé, La Roche-sur-Yon and Le Mans (res)

Centre-Val de LoireMontargis, Dreux, Chartres (res), Saint-Jean-le-Blanc and Chambray

CorsicaNone

MediterraneanMarignane GCB (res), Nice (res), Carnoux and EUGA Ardziv

Bourgogne-Franche-ComtéQuetigny, Montceau, Saint-Apollinaire, Grandvillars and Morteau-Montlebon

Grand EstJarville, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Champigneulles, Épernay and Schiltigheim

OccitanieBagnols Pont, Union Saint-Jean, Balma, Rodez (res) and Aigues-Mortes

Hauts-de-FranceLongueau, Lambres-lez-Douai, AC Amiens, Amiens SC (res) and Maubeuge

NormandyMont-Gaillard, Grand-Quevilly, Avranches (res), Gonfreville and Dives-Cabourg

BrittanyUS Montagnarde, Dol-de-Bretagne, Brest (res), Cesson and Pontivy

Paris and Île-de-FranceLe Mée, Blanc-Mesnil, Paris Saint-Germain (res), Paris FC (res) and Les Ulis

Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesMontluçon, Lyon La Duchère (res), Aix-les-Bains, Domérat and Chambéry

Reprieves

Any reprieve required will initially go to the tenth placed team in Group D, EUGA Ardziv. Any reprieves required beyond this will come from the tenth-placed team with the best record against the teams placed sixth to ninth in their group.^[29]

Ranking of tenth placed teams.^[30]

width=20		width=165	Team	width=20		width=200
1	Chambray	15	Reprieved
2	Pontivy	13	Reprieved
3	Bordeaux (res)	12	Reprieved
4	Dives-Cabourg	12	Reprieved
5	Chambéry	11	Reprieved
6	Schiltigheim	11	Relegated
7	Les Ulis	10	Relegated
8	Le Mans (res)	9	Relegated
9	Aigues-Mortes	9	Relegated
10	Maubeuge	9	Relegated
11	Morteau-Montlebon	3	Relegated

Subject to any appeals to be enacted, reprieves are required due to the following administrative decisions:

• Poissy and Évreux were excluded from National competitions by the DNCG, and will not take their place in National 3, having been relegated from 2022–23 Championnat National 2.^[31] Poissy appealed unsuccessfully against the decision.^[32]
• C'Chartres Football were administratively relegated to Régional 1, in addition to being relegated from 2022–23 Championnat National 2.^[33] The decision was confirmed on appeal.
• FC Sète 34 were placed into receivership, which automatically triggered an administrative relegation. Due to finishing in the 2022–23 Championnat National 2 relegation places, they will therefore be relegated at least to Régional 1.^[34]
• Cherbourg were excluded from National competitions by the Ligue de Normandie, and will be relegated to Régional 3.^{[35] [36]}
• Sedan were excluded from national competition by the DNCG appeals committee, after unsuccessfully appealing their demotion from 2022–23 Championnat National.^[37]

Additionally:

• Canet Roussillon FC were initially administratively relegated to Régional 1, in addition to being relegated from 2022–23 Championnat National 2, but successfully appealed the decision.^[38]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marignane/Gignac/Côte Bleue et Cannes champions de France de N2 et de N3. Foot Amateur. fr. 28 June 2023.
2. News: Le calendrier de la saison 2022–23 . 8 July 2022 . French Football Federation . 17 February 2022 . fr . 3 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220703082256/https://www.fff.fr/article/6853-le-calendrier-de-la-saison-2022-2023.html . live .
3. Web site: National 3. Les groupes 2022-2023 avec plusieurs inconnues. footamateur.fr. fr. 13 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213005/https://www.footamateur.fr/national-3-les-groupes-2022-2023-avec-plusieurs-inconnues/. live.
4. Web site: DNCG. Rétrogradation de Béziers confirmée, Bourg-Péronnas reste en N1. footamateur.fr. fr. 1 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 1 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220701144829/https://www.footamateur.fr/dncg-retrogradation-de-beziers-confirmee-bourg-peronnas-reste-en-n1/. live.
5. Web site: Guéret / La Rochelle, bataille juridique pour monter en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213004/https://www.footamateur.fr/gueret-la-rochelle-bataille-juridique-pour-monter-en-national-3/. live.
6. Web site: Quatre nouveaux clubs ont validé leur ticket pour le National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 25 April 2022. 15 July 2022. 25 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220425104104/https://www.footamateur.fr/quatre-nouveaux-clubs-ont-valide-leur-ticket-pour-le-national-3/. live.
7. Web site: Domérat, Compiègne et Dol-de-Bretagne promus en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 23 May 2022. 15 July 2022. 23 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220523112852/https://www.footamateur.fr/domerat-compiegne-et-dol-de-bretagne-promus-en-national-3/. live.
8. Web site: Cinq nouveaux clubs sont promus en National 3 !. footamateur.fr. fr. 15 May 2022. 15 July 2022. 17 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220517193416/https://www.footamateur.fr/cinq-nouveaux-clubs-sont-promus-en-national-3/. live.
9. Web site: N3 : Un club officialise la première montée de son histoire… avec de longs calculs !. foot-national.com. fr. 17 May 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213004/https://www.foot-national.com/national-3/n3--un-club-officialise-la-premiere-montee-de-son-histoire-apres-de-longs-calculs--777126. live.
10. Web site: DNCG. Le Tours FC va pouvoir monter en National 3 !. footamateur.fr. fr. 12 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213005/https://www.footamateur.fr/dncg-le-tours-fc-va-pouvoir-monter-en-national-3/. live.
11. Web site: Commission Régionale Sportive et des Calendriers, Réunion du 16 Juin 2022. Ligue Centre-Val de Loire de Football. fr. 16 June 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213016/https://foot-centre.fff.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/bsk-pdf-manager/f371658000459fc55a44ad6fb732b950.pdf. live.
12. Web site: Commission Régionale des Activités Sportives, Réunion du 30 Juin 2022. Ligue Méditerrannée de Football. fr. 30 June 2022. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715213018/https://mediterranee.fff.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/bsk-pdf-manager/b597ee66e5e77ce748af8dea5c8171b0.pdf. live.
13. Web site: Une saison doublement historique pour l'US Cosne-sur-Loire !. footamateur.fr. fr. 12 April 2022.
14. Web site: Guéret, Longueau, Lambres, Aix-les-Bains, Quétigny, Feurs et Ardziv Marseille promus en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 30 May 2022.
15. Web site: Reims Sainte-Anne et Bagnols/Pont sont promus en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 13 June 2022.
16. Web site: Jarville renverse Kronenbourg et valide sa montée en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 26 June 2022.
17. Web site: L'AFC Compiègne remonte en N3 huit ans après sa descente !. foot-national.com. fr. 22 May 2022.
18. Web site: Mont-Gaillard, Vitry, Le Mée et Montrouge promus en National 3. footamateur.fr. fr. 5 June 2022.
19. Web site: Le FC Mulhouse rétrogradé au niveau régional par la Ligue du Grand-Est. footamateur.fr. fr. 12 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 12 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712123608/https://www.footamateur.fr/le-fc-mulhouse-retrograde-au-niveau-regional-par-la-ligue-du-grand-est/. live.
20. Web site: Le FC Mulhouse a été placé en redressement judiciaire. footamateur.fr. fr. 22 July 2022.
21. Web site: National 3. Sanctionné à cause de ses jeunes, le FU Narbonne est relégué . footamateur.fr . fr . 14 June 2022 . 15 July 2022 . 18 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220618201001/https://www.footamateur.fr/national-3-sanctionne-a-cause-de-ses-jeunes-le-fu-narbonne-est-relegue/ . live .
22. Web site: Relégation confirmée en Régional 1 pour le FU Narbonne. footamateur.fr. fr. 22 July 2022.
23. Web site: Marignane Gignac et Cote Bleue fusionnent et misent sur la jeunesse !. foot-national.com. fr. 17 December 2021. 15 July 2022. 10 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220610085601/https://www.foot-national.com/national-2/marignane-gignac-et-cote-bleue-fusionnent-et-misent-sur-la-jeunesse--733267. live.
24. Web site: National 3. Montées, descentes : la réforme du championnat en détail. footamateur.fr. fr. 10 May 2022.
25. Web site: Réglément du Championnat de National 3 2022-2023. FFF.fr. fr. 15 July 2022. 15 July 2022. 5 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220705120926/https://media.fff.fr/uploads/document/2498b95019eb77c00c27452f3fa0d9bd.pdf. live.
26. Web site: Summary - National 3 - France . Soccerway.
27. Web site: DNCG. Nancy relégué en N3, Béziers interdit d’accession. Foot Amateur. fr. 27 June 2023.
28. Web site: Appel DNCG. Sochaux en National, Nancy en National 2. Foot Amateur. fr. 11 July 2023.
29. Web site: National 3. Relégations et repêchages : petit rappel du règlement. Foot Amateur. fr. 23 May 2023.
30. Web site: National 3. L’ordre des repêchages des clubs classés dixièmes. Foot Amateur. fr. 4 June 2023.
31. Web site: DNCG. Evreux et Poissy exclus des compétitions nationales. Foot Amateur. fr. 23 May 2023.
32. Web site: DNCG. Trois clubs exclus des championnats nationaux en appel. Foot Amateur. fr. 4 July 2023.
33. Web site: C’Chartres Football relégué en Régional 1 par la DNCG !. Foot Amateur. fr. 16 May 2023.
34. Web site: National 2. Le FC Sète 34 placé en redressement judiciaire !. Foot Amateur. fr. 4 March 2023.
35. Web site: L’AS Cherbourg exclue des championnat nationaux !. Foot Amateur. fr. 20 June 2023.
36. Web site: Football. L'AS Cherbourg rétrogradée en Régional 3, le pire scénario possible. actu.fr. fr. 11 July 2023.
37. Web site: DNCG. Le CS Sedan-Ardennes exclu des championnats nationaux. Foot Amateur. fr. 4 July 2023.
38. Web site: DNCG. Rétrogradation administrative pour Canet Roussillon FC !. Foot Amateur. fr. 23 May 2023.