Covid-19: what the sports world will ask Macron

After the world of culture in early May, it is the turn of the world of sport to meet with the Elysée.

This Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron has an appointment by videoconference with more than twenty representatives of the sports community, including Tony Parker, Bernard Laporte and Martin Fourcade.

From professional clubs to federal structures, including amateurs, theater operators and companies in the sector, all are waiting for answers to the questions they ask themselves.

The letter written on Monday by the basketball (LNB), handball (LNH, LFH), volleyball (LNV) and ice hockey (FFHG) leagues did not arrive by chance.

"Professional indoor sports wish to alert the public authorities to the precariousness of their situations," we read in the introduction.

We have successively accepted increasingly onerous constraints: setting up and monitoring very strict health protocols, reducing the size of our rooms, and finally the closed door.

According to the estimates of these bodies, the revenue generated on match nights represents nearly 2/3 of the clubs' resources, ie a substantial loss of more than 40 million euros in total.

"In six months, it will be too late," said Arnaud Gandais, general manager of Paris Volley.

Many clubs will be gone, especially those with many private sponsors.

The survival of the clubs is now at stake.

We need an emergency financing plan.

"Alain Béral, the president of the Basketball League, expects more guarantees:" We are happy that the president is interested in our problems.

This exchange is important for us because it will only announce finalized decisions, on which we can work.

We want to know if the public will be able to return, and when.

We also want to have a precise idea of ​​the envelope from which the clubs can benefit.

"

A declining number of licensees

The health crisis has given rise to other problems among amateurs, such as the total stoppage of activity, the reduction in subsidies, the drop in the number of licensees… “Partial unemployment is of no use to many clubs which do not have no employees, proclaims Eric Tanguy, the volleyball president of ASPTT Nice and FFVB.

The clubs are ready to play but the halls are closed.

We need to know when to expect a recovery.

If we are told

then we can project ourselves.

The most complicated thing is having no vision.

"

The expectations of the French Football Federation (FFF) are twofold.

The body wants the State to provide exceptional aid for amateur football, knowing that it has already released an emergency plan of 30 million euros for the 15,000 clubs in order to compensate for the loss of licensees ( -3%).

The FFF would also like there to be a real recovery plan for resuming activity in order to support young and old alike to resume a license.

“The first confinement was very hard but we had resumed well in September, says Mohamed Dehimi, from the Pôle Boxe de Melun.

We had a lot of people at the start of the school year with nearly 80 registrations, against half usually.

Today there is no one left.

It is urgent to open.

"An opinion shared by Michel Garel, president of Lagny Handball:" It is vital to maintain the associative side.

And it's good for morale.

"