AC Ajaccio Futsal promoted to the highest level of French Futsal

AC Ajaccio Futsal promoted to the prestigious French D1 championship after Mouvaux Lille Métropole’s withdrawal.

Struggling with financial challenges, Mouvaux Lille Métropole made the tough decision to withdraw from the D1 championship. This announcement came on June 12th.

As a result, AC Ajaccio Futsal (ACA), the highest-ranking second-tier club in Division 2, has earned a promotion to the prestigious level of French futsal. The club secured the second spot in group B, just behind GOAL FC, but advanced to D1 due to a better goal average.

Main picture source: Fanny Hamard

The twelve clubs that will now make up D1 Futsal are Etoile Lavalloise, Nantes Métropole, SC Paris, Paris ACASA, Toulon Elite, UJS Toulouse, Kremlin-Bicêtre, FC Béthunois, FC Kingersheim, Hérouville, GOAL FC and AC Ajaccio.

AC Ajaccio Futsal’s Rise in French Futsal

A bit of background about the club, in 2017, ACA became the second professional club in France to have its own Futsal section, after Valenciennes.

A development that took place due to a request and discussion by the leaders of the Futsal Club Pays Ajaccien (FCPA), AC Ajaccio agreed to broaden their horizons by putting the FCPA in the colors Red and White. AC Ajaccio Futsal was established under the management of Mickaël Torre. They were the first Corsican club to reach level D2 (after winning the Regional league), and now the D1.

Source of the picture: Passion Football Club Twitter

When this development was announced in 2017, AC Ajaccio stated:

“It is now official: today, AC Ajaccio becomes the second professional football club in France to have its own futsal section after  Valenciennes. After failing in the play-offs to reach the D2 Futsal in 2015, the Futsal Club D’Alata, which later became Futsal Club Pays Ajaccien (FCPA) began to become closer to AC Ajaccio by the will of its leaders. And Léon Luciani, the president of ACA accepted.”

“AC Ajaccio Futsal was therefore launched last June, thus taking over the sporting rights of the FCPA, with the approval of the Corsican Football League. Everyone preferred to wait for the press conference in September to formalize the news as part of the overall presentation of a set of ACA’s future projects. This section of the club will be led by Sébastian Bannier (Current head of ACA training center) and the responsibility of Michael Torre, president of the previous futsal club and now the new head of the futsal section”.

Picture source: Philippe Le Brech

The team’s staff are Coach: Adrien De Pietro, Goalkeeper Coach: Gilles Giacomoni, and Physical trainer: Jean-Charles Massa. The squad at the end of the 2022-23 season included Anthony De Bartolo, Ze Carlos, Aurelien Mirman, Caio Adrio, Etienne Rubion, Aderito Richter, Majid Said, Ricardo Fernandes, David Menvouididiot, Vinicius Keilson, Junior Biqrina, Lionel Cau, Paulo Basilio, Jean-François Dottel, Nabil Tamaddhat, and Anthony Solinas.

Challenges and Needed Negotiations for Sustainability

What is interesting going into the new season will be seeing what type of backing the futsal section will receive from their parent club. I say this because, in the club’s original announcement, they emphasized how the futsal section will rely on its existing foundations and the experience of its enthusiasts for the sport. Its president Michael Torre also said, “We have the will to carry our section in the national championship”. Yet, the statement also said that this relationship was created due to sustainability issues. But, the sustainability issues have continued which makes the French Football Federation’s decision to promote the club surprising as Corsematin.com states that “The hardest part begins for the Ajaccien leaders who had already sounded the alarm at the end of last season due to more and more difficulty in balancing their budget.”

Negotiations with the football section must commence, ensuring the club remains competitive, now especially at the highest level, while achieving financial stability, thus avoiding the fate of Mouvaux Lille Métropole.

AC Ajaccio Futsal website: https://ac-ajaccio.corsica/futsal-45-fr.html

Author of interview

Stephen McGettigan was born in the Republic of Ireland but grew up in Belfast. He is the founder of Futsal Focus, a Football Industries MBA graduate from the University of Liverpool Management School, and he has worked in the Football and Futsal industries for 15 years.