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The Coupe de France was first held in 1917 � 18 and, during the 2007 � 08 season, celebrated its 90th anniversary. Combined with random draws and one-off matches (no replays), the Coupe de France can be difficult for the bigger clubs to win. The competition is usually beneficial to the amateur clubs as it forces higher-ranked clubs, usually professional clubs, to always play as the away team when drawn against lower-league opposition. However, despite the advantages, only one amateur club has actually reached the final since professionalism was introduced in French football in 1932: Calais RUFC in 2000. Both clubs who have won the competition and were not playing in Ligue 1 were professional, Le Havre in 1959 and Guingamp in 2009. The Coupe de France is managed and ran by the Coupe de France Commission, whose president is former French international Jean Djorkaeff. 7,317 clubs participated in the 2009 � 10 cup competition. |