How has this new competition been received by Stade Rennais F.C.?
When the Federation saw that a number of clubs wanted to meet outside of official competitions, it took the lead in creating it. It allows us to play complementary matches on dates when the N3 and N2 championships are not taking place, which is more interesting than friendly matches. Before this launch, we were already looking to play against other territories with different characteristics. We did this with AS Monaco, for example. You don't play the same kind of football in the South or the East. This provides additional experience, like the Gambardella, where youngsters are exposed to different levels of the team.
There will be some top quality training centres...
It's a launch, not all the clubs are taking part, but we have two pools of six. There's no doubt that we'll be up against quality opposition at a higher level than in the championship. Any additional experience is good for the development of our young players. They need to experience different situations along the way so that they're not surprised later on when they move up to the pros. Many of them will be up against older players. Tactics and game intelligence will be at a higher level. We're here above all to develop the boys, the result is secondary. It's the quality of the opposition that interests us.
Group A : AS Saint-Étienne, FC Nantes, Havre AC, Paris Saint-Germain, Montpellier HSC
Group B : AJ Auxerre, l'AS Monaco, Paris FC, Stade Malherbe de Caen, Stade Rennais F.C
The timetable:
Matchday 1, AS Monaco / Stade Rennais F.C., 11 october
Matchday 2, Paris FC / Stade Rennais F.C., 2 december
Matchday 3, Stade Rennais F.C. / AJ Auxerre, 3 february
Matchday 4, Stade Malherbe de Caen / Stade Rennais F.C., 3 march
Matchday 5, Stade Rennais F.C. / AC Ajaccio, 31 march
The top two finishers in each pool qualify for the semi-finals.
