Mapped out and devised by the LFP's Sporting Activities Directorate, the calendar for the season ahead always poses a challenge in terms balancing the maximisation of match-ups, the wishes of the clubs, the broadcasters' needs and of course weather-related and organisational concerns.

Modified structure

Given these factors, the structure of the Ligue 1 calendar for season 2015-16 has been modernised in order to take into account the greatest possible number of constraints.

While maintaining the format of having a first and second half of the season, the Ligue 1 calendar will no longer be symmetrical and will see the inauguration of a system of four pivots (as opposed to two in previous seasons) - a pivot being a series of two successive matches either home or away. In other words, at four points throughout the season, each club will play two home games or two away games in a row.

A study conducted between seasons 2008-09 and 2014-15 demonstrated that these pivots have no conclusive impact on results. On average, over two matches, clubs registered 3.34 points in their home pivots compared to 3.26 at other times in the season. At the same time, and again over two matches, clubs averaged 2.07 points during away pivots compared to 2.17 points for the rest of the season.

While it eases the organisational burden of planning a season, this structural development maintains the sporting balance of the competition because each club will still play nine to ten home matches and nine to ten away matches in each half of the season. At a maximum a club could play three away games in a run of five matches. Although no longer symmetrical, the calendar maintains a gap of at least six weeks between fixtures and their reverse fixtures. And, as always, none of these pivots have been scheduled for the first two or last two matches of the season.

Thanks to this new structure, the global rate of response to club's wishes has risen significantly, with a total of 80 per cent of the club's requests being granted. The new calendar also responds to exceptional requests from clubs, like the one received from LOSC Lille Métropole. Due to the EuroBasket 2015 tournament, to be held in France in September, LOSC will have one of their away pivots over Weeks 5 and 6 and also be pitted against a side not competing in Europe for Week 7 - in order to more easily find a date to which they can postpone the match. Thus, Lille's Week 7 clash with Nantes will be pushed back to September 29 or 30.

LOSC-Paris Saint-Germain to kick off the season!
Season 2015-2016 will kick off on Friday, August 7, 2015 at 20:30 with, in keeping with tradition, the reigning Ligue 1 champions getting the season under way. At the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, LOSC Lille - who finished in eight place last season - will take on a Paris Saint-Germain looking to defend their third successive Ligue 1 crown. The match will be shown live in France by all three of Ligue 1 's official broadcasters beIN SPORTS, CANAL+ and ORANGE (on mobiles and tablets).

Week 1 of the new season will continue over Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9 with the following fixtures:
FC Girondins de Bordeaux - Stade de Reims
FC Nantes - En Avant de Guingamp
GFC Ajaccio - ESTAC Troyes
Montpellier Hérault SC - Angers SCO
OGC Nice - AS Monaco
Olympique de Marseille - SM Caen
Olympique Lyonnais - FC Lorient
SC Bastia - Stade Rennais FC
Toulouse FC - AS Saint-Etienne

Canal+ have already made eight selections for their allotment of the Top 10 matches of the season. All to be played on Sunday evenings at 21:00 CET, their choices are the following fixtures:
Week 4 - August 30: AS Monaco - Paris Saint-Germain
Week 6 - September 20: Olympique de Marseille - Olympique Lyonnais
Week 9 - October 4: Paris Saint-Germain - Olympique de Marseille
Week 11 - October 25: Paris Saint-Germain - AS Saint-Etienne
Week 13 - November 8: Olympique Lyonnais - AS Saint-Etienne
Week 15 - November 29: Olympique de Marseille - AS Monaco
Week 18 - December 13: Paris Saint-Germain - Olympique Lyonnais
Week 25 - February 7: Olympique de Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain

In terms of derbies, fans in the west of France will be in the thick of it with the following fixtures set to settle local bragging rights:
Weeks 1 and 21: FC Nantes - En Avant de Guingamp
Weeks 2 and 30: Angers SCO - FC Nantes
Weeks 5 and 29: FC Nantes - Stade Rennais FC
Weeks 11 and 20: FC Lorient - Stade Rennais FC
Weeks 12 and 27: En Avant de Guingamp - FC Lorient
Weeks 19 and 34: En Avant de Guingamp - Stade Rennais FC
Weeks 19 and 26: FC Lorient - FC Nantes

Ligue 1's other big derbies are scheduled for the following dates:
Weeks 1 and 25: OGC Nice - AS Monaco
Weeks 6 and 30: FC Girondins de Bordeaux - Toulouse FC
Weeks 13 and 21: Olympique Lyonnais - AS Saint-Etienne
Weeks 14 and 35: SC Bastia - GFC Ajaccio
Weeks 17 and 34: Stade de Reims - ESTAC Troyes

For a comprehensive listing of all the important dates for the coming season, please download the complete Season 2015-16 Ligue 1 calendar:

Have a great season 2015-16!