The 2010–11 season is the 78th season of competitive professional football in France. The league season began on 6 August 2010 for the Championnat National and Ligue 2 and on 7 August for Ligue 1 and the Championnat de France amateur. The season concluded on 26 May 2011 for Ligue 2, 27 May for the Championnat National, and 28 May for Ligue 1 and the Championnat de France amateur. The men's French national team began play on 11 August contesting a friendly match against Norway, while the women continued their quest for qualification to the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup by facing Iceland on 21 August.
News
Television deals
On 1 April 2010, the LFP announced that the league had reached a broadcasting agreement with Italian channel Sportitalia. The channel will broadcast Ligue 1 games for the next two seasons beginning with the 2010–11 season. Sportitalia will show one or two live matches a week and will also air a weekly highlights show. A similar deal was reached a week later with Hong Kong telecommunications company PCCW who will broadcast Ligue 1 matches in the country for the next two seasons. On 7 May, the president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Frédéric Thiriez, announced that the organization had reached a two-year deal with Eurosport to broadcast Ligue 2 matches. The deal is worth €10 million a year and guarantees the channel broadcasting rights to the annual Monday night Ligue 2 match.
Le Classique in Tunisia
On 2 April, the LFP announced that, for the second consecutive season, the Trophée des champions will be held on international soil. The match will be played in Tunis, Tunisia, at the Stade 7 Novembre and will be contested by the winner of Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille and the winner of the Coupe de France, Paris Saint-Germain. The match will be played on either Tuesday, 27 July, or Friday, 30 July. Like last year, the idea will be to promote French football abroad, but this time more specifically in Africa and the Arab world.
New channel in 2012
On 7 May 2010, the president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Frédéric Thiriez, confirmed that the organization was interested in creating its own television channel for the broadcasting Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches. Thiriez referred to the channel as "an investment for the future" and that the channel will not come to fruition until the conclusion of the organization's television deals with pay channels Canal+, Orange and SFR, which expires in 2012.
Artificial pitch switch
On 17 May 2010, the Ligue de Football Professionnel announced that, for the first time in French football history, two clubs, Lorient and Nancy, will switch the surface of their football pitch from grass to artificial turf. This type of surface is common in North America and Eastern Europe, but is considered rare in Western Europe. Both clubs attributed the switch to weather and ecological problems with severe cold fronts affecting their region every winter. The switch would, in turn, reduce energy costs and also avoid cancellations of matches due to a frozen pitch. Also, in Lorient's case, a constant proliferation of earthworms onto their pitch over the past two seasons have led to a rapid deterioration of the ground, which has forced the club to spend as much as €2 million to replace it. Both clubs will have pre-season tours of Russia, Austria, and Norway to become better acclimated with the surface.
New national team manager
On 16 May 2010, Laurent Blanc confirmed his departure from Bordeaux after three seasons in charge of the French outfit. After resigning from his position, Blanc contacted the French Football Federation (FFF) to inquire about the France national team job, which will be vacated by Raymond Domenech following the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Later that day, FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes confirmed that Blanc was a candidate for the position. On 18 May 2010, with Blanc's appointment to the position becoming more probable, Bordeaux chairman Jean-Louis Triaud demanded compensation from the FFF. On 20 May 2010, the club reached an agreement with the Federation for €1.5 million. Blanc will not be named the coach of the team until the end of the World Cup.