Rugby clubs recruiting players in France
3 clubs in France are recruiting through Rugby Unlocked. None has an open vacancy right now, but clubs post new ones through the season. 2 offer housing, 1 helps with visas and 3 help players find work. Every club below has a public profile you can read before you apply. Applying is free for players.
Playing club rugby in France
- Season
- The FFR's federal competitions run from August 2026 to June 2027. Fédérale 1 has 48 teams in four pools with a 22-match regular phase from early September to April.
- Leagues
- Top 14 and Pro D2 are professional and run by the LNR. Below them the FFR runs Nationale, Nationale 2, Fédérale 1, Fédérale 2 and Fédérale 3, then the Régionale series organised by each regional league.
- Visa and licence
- Non-EU nationals, which since Brexit includes the British, need a long-stay visa for a stay over 90 days; the long-stay visitor visa acts as a residence permit but you must agree not to work. An FFR licence for a non-EU adult needs a valid residence permit and expires with it. A player never before licensed with the FFR must present a clearance letter from their home federation. Work authorisation is required only where a player contract is approved by the Fédérale 1 status commission or the LNR.
- Clearance
- World Rugby Regulation 4: a player leaving one union to play in another cannot be registered or play until the new union has received a Clearance from the old one. Ask your current club and union for it before you travel; it stays valid until replaced by a later one.
France has the deepest amateur pyramid in Europe and, below the professional leagues, clubs that offer real packages, which is why so many British and Irish players head there. Brexit changed the paperwork: the FFR now treats British players as non-EU, so a titre de séjour is needed before the licence is issued, and the licence lapses when the permit does.
The FFR's article on foreign players is the document to read with the club before you sign anything. It sets out which licence category a non-EU player gets and when a club needs work authorisation for you, and it is the club, not you, that files the paperwork.
Read on from FFR, federal competitions 2026/27, FFR, welcoming a foreign player at your club (general regulations), France-Visas, long-stay visitor visa, World Rugby, Regulation 4 (player movement and clearances).