It’s confirmed: no NF1 for Tarbes Gespe Bigorre, heading to regional championship

The Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (TGB) will not play in NF1. The Appeals Chamber of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) has confirmed the club’s registration refusal for the 2025-2026 season. TGB will now have to play in the regional championship, a dramatic fall for an institution of French women’s basketball.

Confirmation of refusal, end of hope

The hope of seeing Tarbes play in National 1 Women’s has definitively faded. After reviewing the club’s appeal, the FFBB Appeals Chamber confirmed the Management Control Commission’s decision: TGB is not authorized to participate in the 2025-2026 NF1 championship.

In its statement, the Federation emphasized « the urgency related to the resumption of the NF1 championship », which led to immediate notification of the refusal. The club has fifteen days to appeal to the CNOSF, then possibly the Administrative Court, but chances of reversing the decision appear minimal.

A decimated team and serial departures

This decision ends several months of administrative standoff and great sporting uncertainty. Since summer, TGB has seen its roster crumble week after week. In early September, only four players (Célia Rodriguez, Masa Jovanovic, Mathilde Peyreigne and Carla Dako, who has since left) were still training at Quai de l’Adour.

The wave of departures affected both young players and staff, while delegate president Laurent Cochain resigned again, leaving Jeannie Cointre, the president, almost alone at the helm.

The specter of Regional 2

The only way out now seems to be at the regional level. Pool C of Regional 2 could host TGB this season, provided the club manages to urgently build a sufficient roster. But the task ahead is immense.

At a press conference, Tarbes Mayor Gérard Trémège recalled in La Nouvelle République des Pyrénées the extent of the uncertainty still surrounding the situation: « We know nothing precise, everything I learn, I learn from the press. Our great concern is that we have no serious and credible information assuring us that our club still has a future. »

A symbol of women’s basketball in peril

Long a reference in French women’s basketball and 2025 playoff finalist, TGB sees its history turning towards the unknown. The FFBB’s hammer blow makes official what had been taking shape for several weeks: Tarbes is no longer part of national championships.

The club must now rebuild in the regional divisions, in an extremely fragile economic and human context. It remains to be seen whether this rebound will allow TGB to be reborn or if this refusal marks the end of an era, or even an adventure.