Sochaux relegated as Chinese owners Nenking fail to generate required cash

PARIS : French team Sochaux have been relegated from Ligue 2 to the third division after the club said their Chinese owners, the Nenking Group, had failed to secure financial guarantees for them to stay in the second-tier.

The DNCG, the entity that controls clubs' finances, had announced the administrative relegation of Sochaux last month even though they finished ninth in the league standings - 10 points above the relegation zone.

The team is one of the founding members of the French League and had appealed the decision, but the DNCG confirmed their relegation earlier this week.

Sochaux said they had "drastically reduced" the club's wage bill and transferred players to cut costs but needed cover from the Nenking Group to cover the projected deficit to June 30, 2024, which did not materialise.

"Given the situation in the Chinese property market, which deteriorated again in the second quarter of 2023, the Nenking Group was unable to generate sufficient cash to cover FC Sochaux-Montbeliard's (FCSM) projected deficit," the club said.

"So it was without this evidence of a bank transfer from China that FCSM appeared before the DNCG appeal committee... The latter confirmed their decision to be demoted to National 1.

"The management of FC Sochaux-Montbeliard shares the grief of all the club's supporters and employees, and regrets the consequences of this situation."

The club said they are now working to present a new budget that will allow them to play in the third tier next season.

The Nenking Group, a private conglomerate based in Southeast China's Guangdong province, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment or an explanation as to why they opted out of assisting the French club.

There was no mention of the news