1. How many amateur clubs are competing in the Grand Est?
In the Grand Est region, 32 amateur clubs are engaged for this 6e first round of the Coupe de France to be played on Saturday and Sunday. Among them, five Moselle clubs and one from Meurthe-et-Moselle Nord: Amnéville (N3), Hombourg-Haut (R2), Entente Villerupt-Thil (R1), the Portuguese of Thionville (R2), Rosselange-Vitry ( R3) and Valmont (R3). Note, moreover, that FC Metz will enter the competition on Wednesday 10 February, in Amiens.
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2. Have teams preferred to withdraw?
Yes, several packages have already been registered for this 6e tower, including one in the Grand Est, that of Illkirch-Graffenstaden (N3) who preferred to throw in the towel, given the health context. As for the Entente Villerupt-Thil, which receives Sedan (N2) on Sunday at 2 p.m., we also hesitated for a while before finally confirming this participation.
But the packages could be much more numerous by Sunday, given the draconian sanitary rules imposed, in particular the presence of a doctor on the day of the match to validate the Covid tests.
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3. What training with the 6 pm curfew?
The clubs hoped to obtain an exemption to train after 6 p.m. in order to better prepare this 6e tower. But despite all the requests made, including that of the President of the Grand Est League, Albert Gemmrich, the prefectural authorities did not provide an answer … Last weekend, all the clubs therefore organized sessions on Saturday and Sunday for strengthen their preparation a little. Some, like Amnéville or Villerupt, have scheduled training at midday (Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. for Amnéville) or at the end of the afternoon (at 4 p.m. for Villerupt on Tuesday), but not enough to reach an irreproachable physical level. “Preparing in these conditions is really difficult,” confirms Farid Nefnaf, Rosselange-Vitry coach. “The risk of injury during matches will be higher,” points out Julien François, the Amnevillois coach.
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4. How will the players be tested?
They will be twice. The FFF protocol requires a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours and an antigen test in the 24 hours preceding the kick-off! “It’s heavy as a protocol, but we have no choice,” says Djamel Merdjett, the coach of the Portuguese of Thionville. For the antigenic tests, scheduled for Sunday at 10 am for the players of Thionville, the club of President Da Rocha will be able to count on a well-known doctor in the North of Moselle, their mayor, Pierre Cuny!
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5. Reinforced protocol: what impact for clubs?
Weakened by the health crisis, the clubs involved received good news from the Grand Est League which, in addition to all the support provided for the organization of meetings with this reinforced protocol , will cover “all the costs linked to the presence of delegates, the refereeing costs as well as the costs linked to the compulsory presence of a doctor on the day of the match”. The other good financial news could come from qualifying for the 7e round, because each club which validates its ticket this weekend will receive a € 7,500 bonus. In these difficult times, it’s always good to take.
The complete program of the 6th round
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