Como a política acabou com a Ligue 1 na França

It’s difficult, It’s difficult. I have never thought that it would be so difficult to announce this, the club from my country, France, the Ligue 1, a championship that I've always known. On August 24, 2024, CazéTV, which holds the broadcasting rights for Ligue 1 in Brazil, announced it was suspending broadcasts until it could resolve the issue of French viewers bypassing the geographic restrictions to watch the games for free.

When you turned on the Ligue 1 broadcast on Cazé TV, the chat only had french guys. Only frenchmen, a lot of them. When I entered the profiles I checked they’re all from real France, they were too many.

This move is part of a much deeper conflict involving well-known players and obscure connections. Fans have only seen the tip of the iceberg behind the current crisis in French football, which is full of political, economic, and broadcasting disputes and an uncertain future. Unhappy with DAZN’s 40-euro monthly subscription fee (DAZN now holds most domestic broadcasting rights for Ligue 1), French fans began sharing VPNs to access the free Brazilian broadcast on YouTube.

Besides temporarily suspending free games, this situation strengthened the Ligue 1 president Vincent Labrune stance on fighting piracy, which he equates to “robbing an old lady’s purse. ” Ligue 1 relies on DAZN's success, as their contract allows DAZN to cancel the deal if they don’t reach 1. 5 million subscribers within two years, which would deepen the crisis.

Just a month before the season started, Ligue 1 hadn’t even sold its broadcasting rights and was considered a proprietary platform, while some clubs faced the risk of bankruptcy. In the end, DAZN acquired 80% of the rights for 400 million euros, while BeIN secured the remaining 20% for 100 million, totaling 500 million euros—half the amount Ligue 1 had hoped for, marking the worst contract in 20 years. That’s why French fans were using VPNs to access Brazilian broadcasting.

Even in another language, it made more sense to them than paying for the service available in France. John Textor, now the owner of Lyon, was outraged by the deal, calling it "bizarre" and a "step backward" for the league, suspecting a conflict of interest favoring PSG. To understand how things got to this point, we need to look at some key figures in this story: Qatar, represented by Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Nasser al-Khelaifi, president of PSG and BeIN Sports; the French state, represented by Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, and Emmanuel Macron; the French media, led by Canal Plus; the Spanish company MediaPro; and a figure connecting all these interests, Kylian Mbappé.

It’s no secret that Ligue 1 has never matched the prestige of Europe’s other major leagues, earning the unflattering nickname “Farmers League” among neighbors who criticize its perceived lack of quality and competitiveness. In 2011, the purchase of PSG by Qatar Sports Investments marked a new era, with football at the heart of Qatar’s propaganda strategy. To boost French football’s visibility, Qatar backed BeIN Sports’ entry into France, unsettling local broadcasters.

This investment underscored the “friendship” between Qatar and France, sparking political debate. Qatar, like other Gulf states, sought to diversify its investments and build its image in the West, while France welcomed Qatari investment, particularly in sectors like fashion, military technology, and international politics. November 23, 2010, Michel Platini, then president of UEFA, was invited by Nicolas Sarkozy to a dinner at the Élysée Palace, alongside Qatar’s Prince Hamad al-Thani.

The dinner, held just days before the vote to determine the 2022 World Cup host, became the subject of corruption investigations. According to Platini, the dinner signaled Sarkozy's interest in supporting Qatar’s bid, as they promised investments in French football. Years later, in a controversy over Ligue 1’s broadcasting rights, President François Hollande intervened in negotiations to allow Canal Plus to retain most of the rights, which coincided with France's billion-euro sales of fighter jets and military training to Qatar.

In 2018, the sale of rights for the 2020-2024 cycle introduced a new player, MediaPro. The company made a record offer of 814 million euros annually for 80% of Ligue 1’s domestic rights, with BeIN contributing an additional 330 million euros.