Stade de France: agreement reached between the FFF & GL events, completion expected 1^st quarter of 2026

The Fédération Française de Football (FFF) has finally reached an agreement with GL events, holder of the concession to operate the Stade de France (80,000 capacity) until 2055, regarding the FFF's use of the Saint-Denis (Paris, FRA) stadium from 2026, announced Philippe Diallo, president of the FFF, on 21/11/2025. The contract is expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2025.

The two parties were obliged to reach an agreement, since the concession contract signed in June 2025 (for a period of 30 years) requires GL events, among other things, to "give priority to hosting events organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby and the French Football Federation for a period of 25 years". While an agreement between the FFR and the group specialised in events management on the main elements of their collaboration was announced by president Florian Grill as early as February 2025 (when the Lyon-based company entered into exclusive negotiations with the French government), it took more than 11 months for GL events and the FFF to reach an agreement. The issue for both federations was…