The Football Club de Sochaux was founded in 1928 and merged with the Association Sportive de Montbéliard in 1930. The new club, the Football Club de Sochaux-Montbéliard sponsored by the Automobiles Peugeot and its boss Jean-Pierre Peugeot, decided to create an unofficial championship.
In fact, all FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players worked for the car manufacturer. It was like numerous clubs in France at this period a kind of shamateurism. So the creation of a league was necessary especially because of the end of the Championnnat de France Amateur (C.F.A.) in 1929 that lasted just three seasons.
Hoping to initiate a pressure group and influence the change inside the Fédération Française de Football, the club created this competition by invitation.
After two editions, the Coupe Sochaux was discontinued because of the creation of a true professional league in France announced on January 7th 1932. This is why the competition is thought as the direct precursor of the French League.
Participants (20): Club Français (Paris) RC de Roubaix Red Star Olympique Paris Amiens AC Olympique Lillois FC Rouennais Stade Français (Paris) OGC de Nice RC de France (Paris) AS Valentigney FC Mulhouse Stade Havrais AS Cannes SO Montpellier FC de Sète Excelsior AC Roubaix-Tourcoing CA Paris US Tourcoing NB: the other two participants probably were FC Sochaux and Olympique de Marseille Tournament played in two groups of 10 played a double round robin; the two group winners qualified for the final. Final Football Club de Mulhouse 4–2 Stade Français (Paris)list of regional champions 1919-1932.
list of 2nd level final tables.
With thanks to Frédéric Pauron (fpauron@hotmail.com)
Additional data or corrections are most welcomed by the author
Prepared and maintained by Peter Kungler for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Peter Kungler
(peter dot kungler at roche dot com)
Last updated: 8 Apr 2004
(C) Copyright Peter Kungler and RSSSF 2004
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.