French football club Girondins de Bordeaux faces liquidation after negative CNOSF recommendation

Girondins de Bordeaux, a historic French football club, stands on the brink of liquidation following a negative recommendation from the French National Olympic and Sports Committee's (CNOSF) conciliator. The conciliator advised upholding the club's exclusion from national championships due to severe financial distress.

This advisory opinion, often followed by the French Football Federation's executive committee, spells further trouble for the sextuple French champions. They were already excluded and relegated to the Régional 1 league (sixth tier) after failing to present the required 10 million euros to cover the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 financial years, as well as obligations under a continuation plan. This decision followed earlier rulings by the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) and an appeal.

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The conciliator of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) has proposed to maintain the exclusion from national championships pronounced against Girondins de Bordeaux, due to their financial difficulties.

Despite a recent symbolic one-euro acquisition by British fund Sparta Capital in late July, the club's fate remains precarious. Sparta Capital had reportedly raised the necessary funds, but their release was tied to the club's continued participation in the National 1 league. Ten other N1 clubs had protested the Girondins' repeated appeals, arguing that the CNOSF should not consider new information not presented to the DNCG and that funds were not secured by the deadline.

The club has been in a downward spiral since its last league title in 2009, with its financial and sporting decline accelerating after Gerard Lopez's 2021 acquisition. A previous relegation to L2 and a two-tier demotion in 2024 led to a period under court protection. A continuation plan adopted in June 2025 aimed to reduce its debt from 100 million euros to 26 million euros. However, the failure to secure the latest tranche of funds means judicial liquidation proceedings could commence, potentially ending the club's century-long history.

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The CNOSF is not supposed to take into account, in its analysis, new elements compared to those provided to the DNCG, and the funds that were to be paid as a guarantee were not paid before the deadline set by the CNOSF.