Girondins de Bordeaux are facing one of the darkest crises in their history. On 15 July 2026, the appeals commission of French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG, confirmed the exclusion of the men’s first team from the national leagues. The club has provisionally been placed in Régional 1, the sixth tier of French football, while also facing the serious threat of judicial liquidation.
Following years of financial and institutional decline, the club’s main supporter group, Ultramarines Bordeaux 1987, issued an emotional and uncompromising statement entitled “For the Survival of the Girondins.” The group called on supporters, residents of Bordeaux and everyone who cares about the club to gather at Place Jean-Moulin at 6pm on Sunday, 19 July.
For the Ultramarines, only one objective now matters: preventing the complete disappearance of FC Girondins de Bordeaux.
A Club on the Brink of Extinction
In their statement, the Ultramarines described the Girondins as an essential part of the city’s cultural and football identity, warning that the club is slowly dying while Bordeaux continues with everyday life and major football events attract attention elsewhere.
The supporters believe there is little value in repeating the entire story of the collapse. They place responsibility on the careless sale of the club by television company M6, the arrival of American investors and, above all, the management of Gérard Lopez.
Lopez took control of the club in 2021 with promises of stabilising and rescuing it. Five years later, Bordeaux are without the required funding, without a confirmed buyer, burdened by debt and further removed than ever from professional football.
The Ultramarines describe his responsibility as enormous. They are particularly critical of the manner in which, in their view, he is abandoning the club, its supporters, employees, coaching staff and players at a time when the institution’s future is completely uncertain.
Their message to the owner is unambiguous: “The future must be written without him.”
From Ligue 1 to Regional Football
Bordeaux’s collapse did not happen overnight. The club were relegated from Ligue 1 in 2022, before financial problems led to the loss of professional status and an administrative demotion to National 2, the fourth tier, two years later.
Although the team continued playing in front of large crowds and attempted to begin a journey back towards the professional divisions, the problems away from the pitch were never resolved. Further financial requirements were not met, and the DNCG eventually excluded the first team from all national competitions.
Bordeaux have provisionally been entered into Régional 1. This would mean beginning the new season in the sixth tier, provided the club can continue to exist in its current form.
The possible arrival of investment fund Sparta Capital briefly offered hope, but no agreement was completed before the decisive hearing. Gérard Lopez later opened the door to transferring his shares for a symbolic price of one euro, while legal and financial options continued to be explored in an attempt to prevent liquidation and secure another appeal.
Love for the Club Must Be Stronger Than Anger
Although the statement is filled with anger towards those considered responsible for the club’s decline, the Ultramarines warned that frustration must not overshadow what matters most: unconditional love for the Girondins.
The supporters argued that the club is not only lacking money. In recent days, the conversation around Bordeaux has been dominated by anger, accusations and disappointment, while genuine support is needed more than ever.
In their view, the central question is no longer which division Bordeaux will play in, who might become the next owner or what the future budget could look like. The only objective is for the Girondins to survive the people and decisions that have brought them to the edge of extinction.
The Ultramarines no longer wish to participate in endless speculation about investors, promises and possible scenarios. After years of uncertainty, they are asking only for a solution that allows the club to remain alive.
The Name, Trophies and History Must Be Protected
For the supporter group, the division from which the Girondins are forced to restart is not the decisive issue. The club may have to begin again in regional football, but its name, history, crest, trophies and institutional continuity must be protected.
The Ultramarines reject the possibility that supporters could one day be left only with memories of a former champion of France. They believe a genuine revival can begin only after the survival of the club itself has been secured.
For them, the Girondins are not simply a football team. They are a family story passed from one generation to the next, from parents to children, through the terraces, away journeys, victories, defeats and years spent together behind the navy-blue and white colours.
They do not want older supporters to lose the club that has accompanied them throughout their lives. They do not want younger fans to have their passion taken away, nor future generations to grow up without the Girondins.
A Call to the Whole of Bordeaux
The gathering at Place Jean-Moulin is intended as a message to everyone involved in deciding the club’s future, as well as to a city that, in the opinion of the Ultramarines, has a duty to protect one of its most recognisable institutions.
The group has called on supporters of every generation, former players, local residents and friends of the club to attend wearing navy blue and white. The purpose is not to debate the identity of a future owner or the division in which the team should compete. It is to demonstrate that Bordeaux still has people willing to fight for their club.
After years of decline, disappointment and broken promises, the Ultramarines are not offering an easy solution. They are offering what supporters can provide when every other decision lies beyond their control: presence, voice, loyalty and a refusal to accept disappearance.
Their final message summarises the entire statement:
“Let navy blue and white flood the streets of Bordeaux. FCGB must survive.”