Doubts have been hovering for a week, but today they are no longer permitted: Lille Métropole Basket will no longer be involved in Pro B next season. The club announced in a press release: do not appeal ” of the decision of the National Directorate of Management Control and Consulting (DNCCG) not to keep it in Pro B. Last week, the directors announced that they would meet this Monday to decide on the direction to take. As mentioned in the press release, the club will ” apply in National 1 “To do this, he must submit a file before July 3 for a hearing between July 5 and 8. A solution which, according to the club, ” would guarantee the stability of the structure and the credibility of the project while [leur] allowing to sanitize [leurs] finances in a more serene manner ».
As a reminder, despite a strong mobilization that allowed Lille Métropole Basket to reach 80% of the financial objective hoped for next year and the support of many partners, the DNCCG had prohibited them from accessing Pro B due to a budget deficit that was too large. Despite the passion and ambition of the leaders, they could only bow to these difficulties and think of a fallback solution that would allow them to continue to keep the club alive.
Rebuild
With this decision, the LMB therefore ends 15 years of presence in Pro B, punctuated by numerous matches at the Palais Saint-Sauveur. Since 2009, the club from the metropolis had reached the quarter-finals of the playoffs three times (2010, 2017 and 2023), also finishing 3rd in the championship in 2010 and 2017. In 2018, under the leadership of Jean-Marc Dupraz, the Red Giants had even reached the semi-finals against Roanne.
Next year, the club will have to rebuild itself in N1, if its application is accepted. It will also be necessary to think about a new coach, Maxime Bézin having taken another path, and other players, some stars of the team, like Shekinah Munanga (Antibes), Gaetan Meyniel (Le Portel), Lucas Bourhis (Fos-sur-Mer), Marc-Olivier Lasserre (Denain) or Marcus Santos-Silva (Saint-Quentin) having announced their departure for other clubs.
