French domestic football is ...

French domestic football is set for a massive boost in the wake of the country's World Cup triumph - one it badly needs.

The success of the national side in winning the World Cup gives some credence to the old club against country debate that still rages in some parts of Europe, particularly England. The argument concerns the strength of club sides detracting from a strong national side able to challenge for the major competitions as powerful clubs command more and more of their time with domestic competition. French clubs have never had the power to challenge the national side in importance. Until around five years ago they failed to make it into contention in the latter stages of the European club tournaments and their achievements are modest. The football fans of the country were desperate for Aime Jacquet's side to repeat the achievement of the legendary 1984 European Championship unit built around one of the finest midfields ever seen in football - Platini, Giresse and Tigana.

There is no comparison between the powerful clubs of Italy, Germany, England and Spain and the small regional sides who dominate French football in council-run stadia. A large crowd for a French domestic game is around 14,000 and figures like this caused concern that there was not he support among the French public for football and this would harm the World Cup. Such misgivings were dispelled by the jubilant scenes as more than a million people took to the streets of Paris to celebrate the 3-0 win over reigning champions Brazil. Now the domestic game in France will wait anxiously to see if the euphoria will continue to boost interest and attendances at the domestic grounds.

The regional base of French football allows for only two major metropolitan clubs - Olympic Marseilles and Paris St. Germain. The other sides are run very modestly compared to the massive all powerful urban giants that dominate the scene in Italy and England. This small base has allowed football of a high technical level to flourish and the vogue for French players and coaches to work across the world is set to continue. The next challenge for the French national side is qualification for the European Championships in Holland and Belgium in the summer of the year 2000 and qualifying for a tournament is sometimes much more stressful than playing in the Finals.

Expectations for French football have suddenly grown beyond recognition and while it looks as if national team coach Aime Jacquet is likely to stay on and bask in the glow of his triumph, the new found popularity of the game in France may distort the strength of the game in France. Fans of the French league who see their side as world beaters today will wonder why their club game can produce nothing like the strength to contend with the major European football powers as their stars earn their living abroad. Of the starting side in the Final on Sunday only two play in France and one of those had already signed for an English club. There is a great risk to go with their great reward this week - any attempt by the French sides to challenge the traditional club powers of Europe look doomed to failure and it remains to be seen how long football fans in France will accept their league as a poor relation after the success of this week.