Nice celebrate as Metz drop

OGC Nice will be playing Le Championnat football next season after winning their appeal against a French Football Federation (FFF) ruling which would have relegated them to the third division.

Financial uncertainty
Nice, the second division champions, were initially told that debts of €3m and the financial uncertainty that comes with them would prevent them from being promoted, with FC Metz, who finished second from bottom in the French top flight last season, retaining their status.

Determined battle
A determined battle by the club, players and people of Nice has proved fruitful, however, as intervention by the National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) - the highest sporting authority in France - has finally allowed the promotion party to get under way.

Sufficient funds
The CNOSF asked the FFF to recalculate their audit as of 1 July, meaning new documents relating to the financial position of the club during the past two years were allowed to be presented to the federal council. The papers proved that Nice have sufficient funds to compete in the first division.

'A huge delight'
While Metz are left to contemplate playing football outside the French elite for the first time in 35 years, Nice, four-time champions of France in the 1950s, were justifiably thrilled at the decision. Jacques Peyrat, the mayor of the town, said: "It's a huge delight. Nice have found their real place in French football."