This is a reform that will slip under the radar over the summer, yet it will affect far more clubs than any Top 14 transfer. The French Rugby Federation (FFR) is reshaping its amateur structure from 2027-2028: seven tiers become six, national competitions move to four levels, and the term “Fédérale” drops out of the vocabulary. The 2026-2027 season will serve as a transition, with revised promotion and relegation rules. In other words, the season now starting is the last to be played under this model.
What the pyramid becomes
The target structure is built around four national tiers: Nationale, Nationale 2, Nationale 3 and Promotion Nationale. The three divisions that currently carry the Fédérale name are therefore set to be renamed and, in some cases, redrawn.
The change is not just a matter of words. Going from seven tiers to six means redistributing clubs, and therefore changing the promotion and relegation rules during the transition year. That is exactly what makes the coming season unusual: the 2026-2027 results will decide not only a league position, but a place in the new structure.
The scale involved
The size of it is hard to grasp until you count. Here is the state of the five federal tiers for the 2026-2027 season.
| Tier | Clubs entered | Scheduled fixtures |
|---|---|---|
| Nationale | 14 | 182 |
| Nationale 2 | 24 | 264 |
| Fédérale 1 | 48 | 528 |
| Fédérale 2 | 96 | 1,056 |
| Fédérale 3 | 160 | 1,379 |
| Total | 342 | 3,409 |
Three hundred and forty-two clubs, more than three thousand four hundred fixtures. By comparison, the Top 14 and Pro D2 together have thirty clubs and four hundred and twenty-two matches. Federal rugby therefore has eleven times as many clubs and eight times as many matches as French professional rugby.
The disappearing name covers nine clubs in ten
This is the most telling figure of the reform. The three divisions branded Fédérale account for 304 of the 342 clubs in the federal pyramid on their own, or almost 89%.
When the Federation announces the end of the term, it is not tweaking a marginal label: it is renaming the division of nine federal clubs in ten. For many, “playing in Fédérale” is an identity as old as the club itself.
Why now
The stated reasoning is clarity. A pyramid where the top amateur tier is called Nationale, the second Nationale 2, then Fédérale 1, 2 and 3, mixes two vocabularies to describe one continuous ladder. Bringing everything under a single family of names makes it easier to follow, for the public and for partners alike.
That leaves the question of numbers. Removing a tier automatically means either narrowing the base or enlarging the pools. The precise transition rules will decide which of the 342 clubs end up one level higher or lower than today.
What to watch this season
For a Fédérale club, 2026-2027 is no ordinary season. A comfortable survival may be enough to land on the right level of the new pyramid, while a bad season could cost more than a simple relegation.
This is the kind of reform whose effects show three years later, when historic clubs find themselves at a level they have never known. For many, the season now starting will settle it.
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