What initially felt like hitting the jackpot quickly turned into a mess for French fifth-tier team ES Cannet-Rocheville. They were supposed to play Ligue 1 giants Olympique de Marseille at home, but the French Football Federation wouldn’t allow it because their ground has no stands and no adequate facilities to host such a high-profile game. So, where will they play on 19 December? Nobody knows!Donc le 30/09 l’équipe 1ere de Bastia va venir jouer là ou j’habite…. Le Cannet Rocheville Stade maillan 500 places ! De la L1 à la CFA2.. pic.twitter.com/nckeazthDn— Nono de Nissa (@Nissarnaud) August 7, 2017 The initial idea of the Cannet directors was the most obvious one – to reverse the fixture and play the Round of 64 Coupe de France tie at Stade Velodrome, a two-hour drive from their tiny Stade Maillan. Most Cannet players are actually Marseille fans and playing at the historic stadium would be a unique opportunity and a dream-come-true. But it seems that it won’t happen – because the mighty OM won’t risk losing the money needed to organize the match.Cannet first-teamer Francois Squarcioni was thrilled to get OM in the cup because it’s the club his entire family supports.”Getting Marseille in the draw? Amazing! I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be involved in a game like this. It’s a dream for me. I supported them since I was five. My father was in Munich in 1993 when Marseille won the Champions League. In our family, everyone is for OM!”Don’t get too excited just yet, Francois…Monday, 22.45: (4.70) Niort (3.50) Toulouse (1.80)The expenses of holding a game of football at OM’s home are around $400,000. Unless there are at least 30,000 spectators in the stands – the club would lose money. And considering the fifth-tier club is not a big crowd magnet, the Marseille club managers estimated that playing Cannet-Rocheville at home would make a dent of around $225,000 in their accounts.Cannet sporting director Christian Lopez still hopes that the people at Marseille would see the light and agree to organize the game.”We are running out of ideas – we’ve tried everything to get Marseille to cooperate. Yes, it would cost them a lot of money, but it’s not our fault that they feel our club wouldn’t attract a big crowd. And it’s not us who made the rules. It would be a great gesture on OM’s part to just say ‘Alright, let’s play at Velodrome.'”Love this aerial view of Marseille and the Stade Vélodrome 😍😍 #AllezLOM pic.twitter.com/01q0tnPuQ7— Ced (@SaintTropezCed) April 8, 2017 So, the game is on, but nobody yet knows where it will be played. The Cannet players are still in the dark while their friends, neighbours and family members are phoning them all day every day to find out how to attend the big match. Gerard Stella, Cannet’s club secretary laments the situation that “made them look like idiots”.”The delight that came with the Coupe de France draw is gone. We received around 2,000 ticket inquiries but we have no idea what to tell the fans. We look like idiots.”A few clubs in the region have offered their stadiums as venues for the match, but the cheapest option would still require the amateur club to come up with around $90,000 which is simply too much for them.The time is ticking away for ES Cannet-Rocheville and their dream cup tie.
