The OL’s reserve team qualified for the Premier League International Cup final against Nottingham Forest. After being eliminated in the Europa League quarterfinals by Manchester United, the young OL players managed to reach the final of this competition by beating Fulham (0-2). They will now have a final opportunity to win the title in a match against the Nottingham Forest Reserve, which will take place on Wednesday 7 May at 8 p.m.
In another context, Nicolas De Tavernost, newly appointed head of LFP Media, is already working behind the scenes to find a solution to the crisis concerning the TV rights of French football. The situation was tense two weeks ago when the Professional Football League failed to agree with the DAZN broadcasting platform on the amount claimed by the French court to terminate the contract at the end of the season. However, since Nicolas De Tavernost’s arrival, efforts have been made to find common ground between the two parties. According to information published by L’Équipe, the initial amount of EUR 120 million had been reduced and DAZN would be ready to withdraw from its distribution agreement for EUR 100 million.
This solution could satisfy both sides, but it also raises a dilemma for the LFP. Accept this sum and then look for one or more partners for the future project to create a 100% Ligue 1 channel? Or continue with DAZN at the risk of running out of funds to mount this future channel?
Other possible partners include BeIN Sports and Canal+. However, to create such a platform dedicated to French football, one of the two will have to drop his Saturday afternoon poster (17h). According to some reports, the group led by Yousef al-Obadly would be ready to accept this option, especially if LFP Media considered including BeIN Sports in its channel project. Such a solution could also attract Canal+ and Maxime Saada, close to Nicolas De Tavernost, with whom contacts would be renewed. This three-way project would be a return to the old era when both groups were broadcasting L1.
However, before the project can be implemented, a solution will have to be found with DAZN. So far, nothing is official.