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After relegation to Ligue 2, Girondins de Bordeaux hope to regain 'grassroots passion'

After narrowly escaping relegation to the amateur league, the six-time French champions are trying to rebuild by drawing on their local roots but the team's ties with the people of Bordeaux have weakened.

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During the L2 match between the Girondins de Bordeaux and Niort, Saturday, August 13, at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux.

It was a close one. On the verge of being administratively relegated to the amateur league at the end of July – which is as good as going bankrupt for a company that employs nearly 300 people – FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FCGB) is trying to get back on track in Ligue 2. The club was demoted on June 14 to third division by the financial watchdog of the sport in France, but the club owes its survival only to the executive committee of the Fédération Française de Football, who overturned that decision on July 27.

Despite the heat wave, 20,700 spectators – including many vacationers – came to the Matmut Atlantique stadium on Saturday, August 13, to watch a hard-fought victory over Niort (1-0). It was a high turnout for a League 2 match, with a family atmosphere, thanks to a flat rate entry of 9 euros. "Even in difficult times, the club can count on a faithful core of 10 to 15,000," said Vincent Mourgues, a doctoral student in sports history at Bordeaux-Montaigne University.

Since the new season started, Bordeaux has been doing well in Ligue 2. In fact, the team is joint-top of the standings, tied with Guingamp and Caen, after two wins and a draw out of three games. In terms of television, the Girondins are good value; the Bordeaux-Valenciennes match (0-0) attracted 667,000 viewers to the TV channel, L'Equipe on July 30 – a record for Ligue 2.

Read more Ligue 1: Olympique Lyonnais counts on local talents to find former glory

Despite these encouraging signs, grassroots support is tenuous. The Matmut stadium, with a capacity of 42,000, rings hollow. In town, it is rare to come across a navy blue jersey bearing the scapular emblem. On Rue Sainte-Catherine, the club store is often empty. Despite the 2021 launch of a range of "historic" jerseys to mark 140 years of the club, sales of merchandise have fallen from 12 million euros in 2009, to 4 million euros today.

Suspended rent collection

If the headlines in the regional newspapers are to be believed, the people of Bordeaux seem to be more concerned about the drought and the fires than about the fate of their football team, and it is with apparent indifference that the club is starting the season in Ligue 2.

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"In Bordeaux, appearances can be deceiving," said 41-year-old Patrick Gomez, who has supported the club since childhood. "Here, everyone is concerned about the club's difficulties, even those who aren't interested in football. But turning the Château du Haillan [FCGB's training ground] upside down would be pointless. It's not in our culture."

"Even if the people of Bordeaux don't always show it, they are still attached to their club," said Arnaud De Carli, representative of the "Club Scapulaire," which brings together business leaders from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region who want to support the recovery of FC Girondins. Calls from the Ultramarines, the main group of supporters, brought together 3,000 people for a demonstration on July 9, including several elected officials. "These events have allowed me to measure the attachment of the people of Bordeaux to their football club," said Pierre Hurmic, the Green mayor of Bordeaux.

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