The Championnat de France amateur, commonly referred to as simply CFA and formerly known as National 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and the Championnat National. Contested by 72 clubs, the Championnat de France amateur operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Championnat National and the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth division of French football. Seasons run from August to May, with teams in four groups playing 34 games each totalling 1360 games in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.
The Championnat de France amateur was initially founded by the French Football Federation in 1927 and was composed of the regional amateur league champions. The league served as the first division of French football until 1929 before the league was converted to the professional league that exists today in 1932. The current incarnation of the CFA was founded in 1993 as National 2 and lasted for five years before being converted to the current format used today. Most clubs that participate in the league are amateur clubs, hence the league name, but a small amount of clubs are semi-professional. The matches in the league attract on average between 800 and 1,000 spectators per match. However, this average is dragged down by the minuscule turnouts for the pros' home reserve matches. The current champions are Colmar who accumulated 103 points in Groupe A to earn promotion to the third division. The winners of the Groupe B, Groupe C, and Groupe D were Gap, Niort, and Orléans, respectively. All three clubs, alongside the champions, earned promotion to the Championnat National.
Read more about Championnat De France Amateur: History, Competition Format, Teams
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