Division d'Honneur (France)

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The Division d'Honneur , often called DH for short , in German "Ehrendivision", is the highest regional amateur division in French football . Currently (2017) the individual DH seasons form the sixth highest league level for men and the third highest level for women. From the 2017/18 season, the men's DH will be officially known as Régional 1 .

Position in the league system

Immediately after its founding (1919), the national association FFF introduced this division under this name. Until 1927 (creation of a Championnat de France par Catégories , still under amateur conditions) the DH was the highest league; with the introduction of professionalism (nationwide Division 1 from 1932 and Division 2 from 1933) it was only the third highest division, but still the top amateur league. Since 1970, further national leagues have been created to support the first and second leagues - under changing names (2012 are National , CFA and CFA2 ) and in different spatial dimensions - whereby the d'Honneur division was downgraded to today's sixth division.

Only in France's overseas departments and territories do the Divisions d'Honneur (such as the New Caledonian DH ) de facto represent the highest league. Theoretically, the most successful teams there could also advance to the CFA2; However, due to the distance to the motherland, no team has ever made use of this option. They only take part in the French cup competition.

Accordingly, women's teams can move up from DH féminine to the second division . In view of the fact that this was only possible for six of the 19 DH championships in 2014/15, for example, they have to prevail in a qualifying tournament held in April and May.

Organization of gaming operations

The individual seasons of the DH are subject to the respective regional association (Ligue) of the FFF in terms of match operations and sports jurisdiction ; With a few exceptions, their area of ​​responsibility coincides with one of the French administrative regions . Accordingly, there are 22 DH relays in the European area of ​​France , which usually include participants from several departments (for more details on the spatial distribution of the individual DHs see under regional associations in the French heartland ). The designation as DH is not binding, but for reasons of tradition it is retained across the board.

At the end of each season, the best placed men's teams play qualifying games ( barrages ) against the worst placed teams in the CFA2 and, if successful, can move up to the fifth division. Even downwards, with the seventh league level - depending on the region as Division Supérieure d'Élite or Division Supérieure Régionale (DSR) , formerly also known as Promotion d'Honneur - there is permeability, so there is promotion or relegation. This also applies to women's football.

In the DH, as in all of French amateur and women's football, the three-point rule does not apply ; rather there are four points for a win, two for a draw and one point for a defeat.

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