"The FCG should be the club of every rugby!"

Could you give us an assessment of the progress of work on the formation?

"We have done a tremendous job in recent years on formation that is now bearing fruit. We had 18 players selected in different France national teams last year which was an exceptional year and we had the pleasure this week to learn that three of our players will wear the jersey of France. We are aware that these are statistics that we will not have every year, but this validates our work. An insider working at all levels of the club, but also with all the clubs in the region with whom we have a relationship of exchange and co-construction of our project. Our challenges today are yet to make progress in the construction of our players and improve on a few areas that we have identified but asked for additional resources. But for us the patch is clear, it is drawn, and we know the road that we must take with determination."

How would you define the mission of formation?

"The formation is not only a formation that tends toward the elite of our sport. This is a general formation. Above all men are formed. Rugby is such a unique sport, with so much paradoxes, it necessarily forge characters. Human formation is unavoidable in sports training. We want to have young people who are determined to get to the highest level of their potential, but in parallel will not lie about their abilities."

Formation also has a citizen role player?

"The formation is about one form of rugby, but the FCG should be primarily the club of every rugby. We have a women's section, a disabled sports section has just been created, and we have other considerations including the 7 or 5, which is the "official" form of touch rugby. This latter form has the characteristic of being close to the leisure while being accessible to many people as there is no contact. It is very suitable for companies. We are really thinking to create a 5-rugby section and why not make a challenge between companies. What is important is that the FCG is the locomotive of all rugby."

You are also creating an endowment fund that offers another approach to sponsorship?

"Yes quite. This fund will allow us to fund operations where we open our club to communities that are far away from rugby. I think of what we do with "FCG dans la Ville" and our interventions in so-called problem neighborhoods. It is also a tool that will enable companies and individuals who may have an appetite for all that is to help this societal development while 66% tax exemption (for individuals and 60% for a company) of their investment. This is really a tool carried by the association and the SASP."

It's been 8 years that you have been president of the FCG association, what does it feel today to see young people playing in the first team?

"I am above all happy for them. Happy they access their dream, but I certainly do not forget all those who could not. When I see them evolve at the Stade des Alpes I also see through them all others. I remember the times we spent with them in the locker room, along handrails on improbable fields. The formation is also that, moments that we can not live anywhere else, very different from those that can live with the pros because there is a particular affect. Moments that are only possible with our educators, parents, volunteers, leaders and partners who perform outstanding work for our club, the FCG!"