Bergerac Périgord Purple handball returns to square one, in National 1

After a short season in Division 2, Bergerac Périgord Pourpre handball is back in National 1. It had hoped for a repechage, despite finishing last (tied on points with Rennes) last spring. But, even after an appeal, its financial application was ultimately rejected by the authorities, due to a lack of financial guarantees.

BPPH therefore falls back to N1. And it's not alone, since, in its group alone, Mérignac, Celles-sur-Belle, and Nantes have also left the small professional world. Hence a high density of opponents, both qualitatively and numerically, since Group 1 is the only one with fourteen teams, compared to twelve for the other three.

Nevertheless, Bergerac hopes to return to D2 as soon as possible and has already begun its structuring in this direction. The squad has been significantly reshuffled, with only Manon Engel, Emmy Escribe, and Nedjma Madani being retained. Eleven recruits have been added, most of them arriving from N1. This makes for a squad with an average age of 22.5 years, not including the two players from the national U17s. A young group that Fabien Vedel, now assisted by Laurent Puigségur, will have to help progress.