Downfall after 63 years. The French club ceases to exist. Four guilty

The 2014/15 season was the best in the history of Gazelec Ajaccio. The club, which was formed in 1960 as a result of the merger of FC Ajaccio and Gazelec Corse Club, was promoted to Ligue 1 for the only time. Gazelec Ajaccio then accumulated 65 points and from second place, behind Troyes, advanced to the highest level of football in France.

However, the adventure on it lasted only a year. Although Gazelec Ajaccio did much better than Troyes in Ligue 1, they were relegated to the second tier anyway. The team fought until the end, but 37 points from 38 games were not enough to stay alive. The team was just four points short of that.

Things have only gotten worse at Gazelec Ajaccio since then. In the spring of 2019, just four years after promotion to Ligue 1, the club was relegated to the third tier. This happened after Gazelec Ajaccio lost to Le Mans FC.

Relegation to the third tier was a powerful blow for the club, which was already having serious financial problems at that time. These became even greater when in the spring of 2020 all games were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. After their resumption, Gazelec Ajaccio suffered another decline. The club has not played in the fourth division since 2011.

As it turned out, that was just the beginning of the problems. At the end of June 2021, the club was punished with demotion to Championnat National 3 (fifth tier – ed.) for huge financial problems. Although the cancellation of the club had a positive effect, a year later Gazelec Ajaccio faced exactly the same punishment for the same offence.

What are the club’s problems? This is to blame for three former CEOs – Olivier Miniconi, Christophe Ettori and Mathieu Messina – who were arrested and charged with financial fraud. The three, who ruled after each other since 2018, were to hide a total amount of 1.1 million euros.

Gazelec Ajaccio for demolition

Last summer, club president Johann Carta assured Gazelec Ajaccio’s goal for this season was an immediate promotion to the fourth division and a return to Ligue 2 within five years. The players themselves also praised the situation at the club.

– The club has signed promising players. The situation in the club is very good, everything has been done to create conditions for promotion. None of the players has to make extra money, we train even twice a day – said the captain of the team – Jeremy Choplin.

It seemed that the situation at Gazelec Ajaccio was getting better and better, that the club was going straight after a penalty relegation and huge financial problems. The team remained at the top of the table and there were many indications that it would fight for promotion to the fourth league.

Nothing more wrong. In late November, Carta was jailed for extortion, fraud, money laundering and participation in an organized gang. Financial problems also returned to the club, and the players stopped receiving payments.

In December, the court opened bankruptcy proceedings for the club, and on Monday it finally ordered its liquidation. Most of the players have already terminated their contracts, and Gazalec Ajaccio will have to start functioning from the lowest level of the competition.