The 2010–11 season is the 78th season of competitive professional football in France. The league season began on 6 August 2010 for the Championnat National and Ligue 2 and on 7 August for Ligue 1 and the Championnat de France amateur. The season concluded on 26 May 2011 for Ligue 2, 27 May for the Championnat National, and 28 May for Ligue 1 and the Championnat de France amateur. The men's French national team began play on 11 August contesting a friendly match against Norway, while the women continued their quest for qualification to the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup by facing Iceland on 21 August.

On 1 April 2010, the LFP announced that the league had reached a broadcasting agreement with Italian channel Sportitalia. The channel will broadcast Ligue 1 games for the next two seasons beginning with the 2010–11 season. Sportitalia will show one or two live matches a week and will also air a weekly highlights show. A similar deal was reached a week later with Hong Kong telecommunications company PCCW who will broadcast Ligue 1 matches in the country for the next two seasons. On 7 May, the president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Frédéric Thiriez, announced that the organization had reached a two-year deal with Eurosport to broadcast Ligue 2 matches. The deal is worth €10 million a year and guarantees the channel broadcasting rights to the annual Monday night Ligue 2 match.

Football is the most popular sport in France. The Fédération Française de Football is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of association football in the country, both professional and amateur. The federation organizes the Coupe de France and is responsible for appointing the management of the men's, women's and youth national football teams in France. The federation gives responsibility of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to the Ligue de Football Professionnel who oversee, organize, and manage the country's top two leagues. The LFP is also responsible for organizing the Coupe de la Ligue, the country's league cup competition. The French Football Federation also supervises the overseas departments and territories leagues and hosts football club AS Monaco, a club from the independent sovereign state of Monaco. In 2006, the FFF had 2,143,688 licenses, with over 1,850,836 registered players and 18,194 registered clubs.

The first football club was introduced to France in 1863 by British immigrants as described in a newspaper article by The Scotsman, which stated "A number of English gentlemen living in Paris have lately organised a football club... The football contests take place in the Bois de Boulogne, by permission of the authorities and surprise the French amazingly." Modern football was introduced nine years later in 1872 by English sailors playing in Le Havre in 1872.

Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team as a central/right midfielder. He had a loan spell at Coventry City in 2009. He earned his first international cap for England, having previously played for the under-19, under-20 and under-21 teams. Henderson was schooled at Farringdon Community Sports College before joining Sunderland as a youngster.

Henderson played his first league game for Sunderland as a half-time substitute on 1 November 2008, in a 5–0 away defeat to Chelsea. He then made his first Sunderland start and home debut against Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup.

In January 2009, Jordan Henderson joined Championship club Coventry City on a month-long loan deal. He made his Coventry debut in a 2–1 defeat to Derby County. On 23 February 2009, it was announced that Henderson's loan to Coventry would be extended until the end of the season.

"I'm extending my contract here until the end of the season so hopefully we can get that sorted soon", Henderson told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. "I'm over the moon playing first-team football for Coventry City who are flying at the minute" he added. Henderson scored the first senior goal of his career on 28 February 2009, against Norwich City.

Roger Milla (born Albert Roger Mooh Miller, 20 May 1952) is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team.

He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most forward-playing footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup, the most memorable of which came in the match against Colombia when he dispossessed the showboating Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita 35 yards from goal, going on to score in the empty net with Higuita stranded. He helped the Cameroon team reach the quarter-finals.

He is also remembered for his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing a dance. In the years that have followed, he has been recognised as a pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations seen since then. He was named one of the 125 greatest living football players in 2004 by the legendary Brazilian football player Pelé.

Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team. He has amassed 81 caps for England in total, and has been a member of three FIFA World Cup squads.

Ferdinand began his football career playing for various youth teams, finally settling at West Ham United where he progressed through the youth ranks and made his professional Premier League debut in 1996. He became a fan favourite, winning the 'Hammer of the Year award' the following season. He earned his first senior international cap in a match against Cameroon in 1997, setting a record as the youngest defender to play for England at the time. His achievements and footballing potential attracted Leeds United and he transferred to the club for a record-breaking fee of £18 million. He spent two seasons at the club, becoming the team captain in 2001.

He joined Manchester United in July 2002 for around £30 million, breaking the transfer fee record once more. He won the Premier League, his first major club honour, in a successful first season at the club. In September 2003, he missed a drugs test and was banned from competition for eight months from January until September 2004, causing him to miss half a Premier League season, Manchester United's FA Cup triumph, and the Euro 2004 international competition. Upon his return, he established himself in the Manchester United first team and received plaudits for his performances, featuring in the PFA Team of the Year three times in four years. More club success followed with another Premier League win in the 2006–07 season and a Premier League and UEFA Champions League double the following year.