The competition returned largely to the format of 2019–20 after the changes last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. However, on 21 October 2021 it was announced that New Caledonia would not be represented in the competition due to the situation in that territory.
Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions, but were knocked out in the round of 16 by Nice on penalties. In the final on 7 May, Nantes beat Nice 1–0 to claim their fourth Coupe de France title.[2][3]
Dates
Dates for the first two qualifying round, and any preliminaries required, were set by the individual Regional leagues. From round three, the FFF defined the calendar, with rounds up to and including the round of 32 being scheduled for weekends. The later rounds up to, but not including, the final, taking place on midweek evenings. The final was originally scheduled for Saturday 8 May 2022, but moved to 7 May 2022.[4][5]
Round
Dates
Third round
18–19 September 2021
Fourth round
2–3 October 2021
Fifth round
16–17 October 2021
Sixth round
30–31 October 2021
Seventh round
13–14 November 2021
Eighth round
27–28 November 2021
Round of 64
16–19 December 2021
Round of 32
2–4 January 2022
Round of 16
28–31 January 2022
Quarter-finals
8–10 February 2022
Semi-finals
1–2 March 2022
Final
7 May 2022
Notable rule changes
After gaining a second seventh-round spot last season, Mayotte lost it this season, due to the FFF ruling that there were no stadia in the territory of the standard required to host a seventh-round match. The single qualifying team from Mayotte would therefore play its seventh-round match in mainland France.[6]
After a DNCG ruling excluding Niort from the 2021–22 competition,[7] only 19 Ligue 2 teams entered at the seventh-round stage.[6]
The number of teams qualifying from each region returned to those of the 2019–20 competition, with adjustments to account for the above two points, i.e. 146 rather than 144 mainland teams qualified for the seventh round.[6]
On 21 October 2021, it was announced that no team from New Caledonia would be present in the seventh round, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in New Caledonia, and the imposition of lockdown until 31 October 2021.[8]
On 31 December 2021, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the FFF suspended the competition rule which mandated that teams must field seven players who participated in one of the last two matches, in order to avoid potential postponements. From the Round of 32, teams may field any number of players from their reserve or youth teams.[9]
The first six rounds, and any preliminaries required, were organised by the Regional Leagues and the Overseas Territories, who allowed teams from within their league structure to enter at any point up to the third round. Teams from Championnat National 3 entered at the third round, those from Championnat National 2 entered at the fourth round and those from Championnat National entered at the fifth round.[10]
The number of teams entering at each qualifying round was as follows:
The 146 qualifiers from the Regional Leagues were joined by the 10 qualifiers from the Overseas Territories and 19 eligible 2021–22 Ligue 2 teams. The qualifiers from Réunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana play off in internal matches.[6]
^A technical challenge on the outcome of the sixth round game led to the game being ordered to be replayed on 7 November 2021, however the appeal commission overruled the decision, re-instating the original result.[11][12]
The winners of the seventh round matches in Guadeloupe and Martinique played their eighth round matches at home against teams from mainland France. Should the team from Tahiti win their seventh round match, they would also play a home game against a team from mainland France. On 2 November 2021 a draw took place to prioritise the list of National, National 2 and National 3 clubs who had put themselves forward as candidates for overseas travel. The highest prioritised team which qualifies for the eighth round will travel to Guadeloupe, the second highest will travel to Martinique and the third highest will travel to Tahiti if required.[14]
Later rounds are open draws with no regional grouping.
Seventh round
Due to there being no New Caledeonia team in the seventh round draw, a mainland team were awarded a bye to the eighth round.
The seventh round in Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion took place between the two qualifying teams from each territory, and are pre-drawn by the local league.[15]
Teams were divided into ten groups, by geography and to ensure the groups are balanced in terms of the levels of the teams. The teams from Tahiti and Mayotte were included in groups E and I respectively. An exempt ball was included in group J.[16]
The main draw was carried out on 3 November 2021.[21] Ties will be played on 12, 13 and 14 November 2021.[22] Several ties were played at alternate stadia due to the stadium of the home clubs not being of sufficient standard.
^Tie was originally reversed from original draw due to UL Plantières Metz not having a ground of the required standard.[23] On 10 November 2021 it was announced that funding had been raised to pay the security costs at Stade Saint-Symphorien, near Metz, and the original tie was reinstated.[24]
^A technical challenge on the outcome of the sixth round game led to the game being ordered to be replayed on 7 November 2021, however the appeal commission overruled the decision, re-instating the original result.[11][12]
^The match on 14 November was halted when an AS Beauvais Oise player was badly injured. A helicopter was summoned and landed at the ground, delaying the restart. With no floodlights available, the match could not be completed. US Mineurs Waziers led 1–0 at the time. The match was replayed on 21 November.[34]
Stadium: Stade de la Ville en Bois Referee: Paul Garo
PD Ergué-Gabéric (6) were drawn as the team given a bye into the eighth round.
Eighth round
The eighth round draw was pre-determined at the same time as the seventh-round draw.[40] Groupings were carried forward from the seventh round, with the mainland teams travelling for overseas ties replaced by overseas teams that were travelling to the mainland.[41]
^Game did not take place in Guadeloupe due to violence and curfew in the territory. Instead, the game took place in mainland France a week later.[42][43]
^Game did not take place in Martinique due to social unrest on the island. Instead, the game took place in mainland France later in December.[44]
Stadium: Stade de La Pinède Referee: Lakhdar El Bedoui
Round of 64
The round of 64 draw was made on 29 November 2021, with teams divided into four groups by geography and to ensure the groups were balanced in terms of the levels of the teams.[50]
^Match abandoned after half time with score 1–1 due to crowd trouble.[55] On 27 December 2021, the French Football Federation announced that both Paris FC and Lyon were disqualified from the cup, with Paris FC playing their next five home matches outside of their Stade Charléty home ground.[56][57]
^Nice were due to meet either Paris FC or Lyon in the round of 32, but their round of 64 match was abandoned after half time due to crowd trouble; as a result of the disqualification of both teams, Nice were awarded a bye to the round of 16.[66]
^Tie reversed due to AS Vitré not being able to provide a stadium of the required standard.[69]
Round of 16
The round of 16 draw was made on 4 January 2022. This was an open draw.[70]
