LIVESTREAM French Casque de Diamant: Thonon Black Panthers vs La Courneuve Flash, June 29, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 1 pm EDT)

AFI | American Football | 06/29/2024

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The 2024 Casques de Diamant (Diamon Helmet) will feature a clash of bitter rivals – again – as the reigning champion Thonon Black Panthers will face the 2022 title holders, La Courneuve Flash, at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan, France.

For all those counting, this will be the 10th game between these two teams in the last three years. The Flash have won four of those games including the 2023 Central European Football League title game, while Thonon has won two and the teams have tied three.

The Flash finished the year atop the Northern Conference standings and faced the Rouen Leopards in the semifinals, beating them handily 42-7. Thonon were second place finishers in the same conference and had to face the Nice Dauphins in the Wild Card Round beating them 30-0. In the semifinals, the Black Panthers took on the Marseille Blue Stars, who they defeated in the 2023 title game. This time they downed Marseille 28-7 to set up this matchup with La Courneuve.

Both teams started the 2024 campaign with different quarterbacks than they finished. For the Flash, Badis Grami took over from Leo Cremades after Week 5 while Thonon quarterback K’Hari Lane stepped in for injured José Tabora Jr.

In seven games, Lane threw for 1,493 yards and 19 touchdowns while Grami completed 68 of 114 passes for 975 yards and 10 scores in five games.

Since 1995, La Courneuve has won 12 French titles while the Black Panthers have won four. Still, Thonon enter the game as the defending champions.