whilst National 3 saw a major restructure. This new competition sees 168 clubs participating, in twelve parallel groups directly aligned to the thirteen new regions (Corsica is merged with Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to form a Méditerranee-Corse group). The administration of the league is devolved to the regional leagues on a group by group basis, with the exception of the ''Méditerranee-Corse group, which is directly managed by the FFF. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the others in their respective group twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 26 games. Teams are ranked by total points. Ties between clubs with equal points are resolved by: a) points gained in games between the two (or more) clubs, b) goal difference in games between the two (or more) clubs, c) overall goal difference, d) goals scored, e) best disciplinary record, f) drawing of lots. At the end of each season, the winner of each group is promoted to Championnat National 2. If a group winner is prevented from being promoted, or elects not to be promoted, they are replaced by the next best team in the group who are eligible. At least the bottom three teams in each group are relegated to the Regional league's top division. In the case of groups which start a season with more than 14 teams, extra relegation places will ensure the league conforms to 14 teams for the following season. Extra relegation places will also be added depending on which regional groups the teams relegated from Championnat National 2 will enter the following season. Uncompleted seasons Two consecutive seasons, 2019–20 and 2020–21, were not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Standings of the 2019–20 season were finalised based on points per game, whilst the 2020–21 season was declared void. External links Official FFF site References 5 Sports leagues established in 1993 1993 establishments in France Fra