Championnat Fédéral Nationale

Championnat Fédéral Nationale
Current season, competition or edition:; 2023–24 Championnat Fédéral Nationale season
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	2020; 4 years ago
No. of teams	14
Country	France
Most recent; champion(s)	Stade Niçois; (1st title) ; (2023–24)
Most titles	Bourg-en-Bresse; Massy; Valence Romans; Stade Niçois; (1 title each);
Level on pyramid	Level 3
Promotion to	Rugby Pro D2
Relegation to	Nationale 2
Official website	Nationale

The Championnat Fédéral Nationale, also known simply as the Nationale, is the third tier of rugby union club competition division in France. Introduced in 2020, it is operated by the French Rugby Federation (FFR).^[1]^[2]

Season structure

There is relegation and promotion between both the Rugby Pro D2 and Nationale 2, the fourth-level competition. Nationale conducts a play-off system similar to the one currently used in Pro D2, with the top six teams qualifying for the play-offs and the top two teams receiving byes into the semi-finals. The winner of the final earns automatic promotion to the next season's Pro D2 if they are eligible financially to do so, and the runner up conducts an access match with the 2nd bottom side from the Pro D2. The bottom two are automatically relegated to Nationale 2. The bottom two clubs of the Pro D2 and the top two of Nationale 2 then enter Nationale for the next season.

There are 26 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other team home and away. The two halves of the season are played in the same order, with the away team in the first half of the season at home in the second half. The semi-finals and final take place in May, with the semi-finals being held over two-legs and the final taking place at a predetermined site. At present, 14 clubs compete in the competition.^[3]^[4]

Current teams

2022–23 season

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity	Previous season
Albi	Albi (Tarn)	Stadium Municipal d'Albi	13,580	4th
Blagnac	Blagnac (Haute-Garonne)	Stade Ernest-Argelès	4,000	8th
Bourg-en-Bresse	Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain)	Stade Marcel-Verchère	11,400	Relegated from Pro D2 (15th)
Bourgoin-Jallieu	Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère)	Stade Pierre Rajon	9,441	11th
Chambéry	Chambéry (Savoie)	Stade Mager 3	3,000	5th
Cognac Saint-Jean-d'Angély	Cognac (Charente) & Saint-Jean-d'Angély (Charente-Maritime)	Parc des sports de Cognac	1,932	12th
Dax	Dax (Landes)	Stade Maurice Boyau	7,262	7th
Hyères	Hyères (Var)	Stade André Véran	3,000	Promoted from Fédérale 1 (2nd)
Narbonne	Narbonne (Aude)	Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié	12,000	Relegated from Pro D2 (16th)
Nice	Nice (Alpes-Maritimes)	Stade des Arboras	3,000	6th
Suresnes	Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine)	Stade Jean-Moulin		9th
Rennes	Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine)	Stade du Commandant Bougouin	4,000	Promoted from Fédérale 1 (1st)
Tarbes	Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées)	Stade Maurice Trélut	16,400	10th
Valence Romans	Valence (Drôme)	Stade Georges Pompidou	15,128	3rd