Every year is different. Fortunately, in 2022, we can return to a normal sports calendar. The dates for the Division 1 and Division 2 championships were officially announced yesterday by the Federation.
In D1, we have 10 teams instead of 11 last year. Clermont Ferrand won’t continue their Division 1 journey. Two pools of 5 teams will face off in the regular season. Each team will host 4 home games and travel 4 times. A total of 16 matches to separate the top 4 teams who will advance to the playoffs.
The regular season will kick off on the weekend of April 9th and 10th and conclude on the weekend of July 23rd and 24th. The playoffs will take place in August on the 14th, 20th, and 21st.
Midway through the regular season, 8 of the 10 teams will gather in Montigny and Chartres for the France Challenge from May 26th to 29th. (All teams except Nice and PUC)
Each team is currently recruiting and introducing their new players. As always, some teams reveal their lineup early on social media, while others keep the surprise as long as possible. There are no federation rules regarding roster announcements.
This year’s unique feature is that Division 1 teams must have no more than three foreigners on their matchday roster. We’ll delve deeper into this topic, which aims to prioritize French, European, and Cotonou Agreement players on the field.
Here are the two pools:
Pool A
Metz Cometz
Montigny-le-Bretonneux Cougars
PUC Paris
Rouen Baseball 76
Savigny-sur-Orge Lions
Pool B
La Rochelle Boucaniers
MUC Barracudas Baseball
Nice Cavigal
Sénart Templiers
Stade Toulousain
We’ll cover this championship and its teams in upcoming articles. Still a good month without baseball, but the light of Opening Day in France is clearer than that of the MLB…
