Daily Times

A heavily reinforced Paris Saint-Germain will attempt to wrestle back the Ligue 1 title from surprise champions Lille when the new season begins this weekend in France with supporters set to return en masse but clubs mired in an economic crisis.

Ligue 1 kicks off on Friday when Monaco play Nantes, a week before any of the continent’s other leading competitions.

The French game, though, is desperately struggling to keep up with its rivals in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, its clubs floored by the combined impact of the pandemic and a collapsed broadcast deal with Spanish company Mediapro.

Lille’s title triumph in May was remarkable and they deserved better than to win the league in an empty stadium, but last season in Ligue 1 was played out almost entirely behind closed doors.

This time full-capacity, maskless crowds will be allowed in from the opening weekend.

However, with the introduction in France of a Covid health pass, announced last month by President Emmanuel Macron, anyone attending games will have to provide proof of full vaccination, a negative coronavirus test or proof of having recently recovered from the virus.

Local authorities will still have the power to impose restrictions on crowds as France fights a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant but the promise of a return of supporters in large numbers points to more uplifting times ahead.

“I really hope in our next match we will be able to play in front of a full stadium,” Marseille’s Valentin Rongier said after 30,000 fans filled the Velodrome to half its capacity for a friendly against Villarreal.

“The energy they provide pushes us on. That’s what we play for. Last season was so much harder without the supporters.” Following the Mediapro fiasco, which saw a record four-year broadcasting deal turn to dust inside four months, Amazon agreed to pay 250 million euros ($296m) a year to broadcast the majority of Ligue 1 matches.