Paris Saint-Germain had already faced organizational hurdles during the UEFA Super Cup. Now, the reigning champion has had to reschedule its home game for the start of Ligue 1.
In France’s top flight as well, the reigning champion—a title Paris Saint-Germain has claimed a total of 14 times, including five consecutive times—is set to open the new season. Or so it was supposed to be.
However, because the turf at their home stadium, Parc des Princes, is currently in poor condition, the French Professional Football League (LFP) intervened this Wednesday evening and officially announced a change to the schedule. This is because, in light of the field’s condition, the health of the players is a top priority.
“Player safety cannot be guaranteed”
“The current condition of the field does not allow us to guarantee player safety,” according to the league’s official statement on the matter. “The Competition Commission therefore decided at its meeting on August 19 that the match cannot be played at the Parc des Princes and opted to swap home-field advantage.” The top club itself also stated: Following “successive, exceptional heat waves in the Paris region,” “the most recent heat wave has drastically accelerated the deterioration of the turf.” It is “now severely damaged.”
As a result, PSG will forgo its home game against Stade Rennes at the Parc des Princes—originally scheduled for Sunday evening to kick off the Ligue 1 season—and will instead travel to face its opponent at Roazhon Park. The Parisian delegation will thus travel over 300 kilometers from the capital to Brittany.
Conversely, the return match between the two clubs, scheduled for early March, will be played at PSG’s home stadium—as part of Matchday 23.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first stadium-related incident for PSG in this new 2026–27 season, which has so far seen the reigning Champions League champions play just two Super Cup matches (a 2–1 win over Europa League champion Aston Villa and a 0–1 loss to French Cup champion RC Lens). In the run-up to the UEFA Super Cup, which took place at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Paris had complained that the visitors’ locker room was too small and, as a result, was provided with an additional referee’s booth by the European Football Association.