What if we combined the skill of the footballer and the precision of the golfer? It’s a successful footgolf bet!

Even if you don’t play football or golf, you are probably familiar with these two disciplines. But do you know footgolf? This hybrid sport, combining skill and precision, is a clever mix of the two, practiced with talent by champion Nicolas Pussini, world number one.

Nicolas Pussini, guest of You are wonderful this Wednesday January 15, 2025, is the world number one in Footgolf. This booming sport, today has 5,000 members, 52 affiliated courses and 33 clubs across France, is represented by the French Footgolf Association (AFFG). Despite its growth, it remains largely unknown to the general public.

As its name suggests, footgolf is a fusion between football and golf! But what are its origins and how does this happy sporting marriage which attracts more and more enthusiasts work?

Born in the Netherlands in 2009, footgolf is now practiced on a global scale, with countries like Switzerland among the first to participate in its development.

A game of Footgolf lasts around an hour to an hour and a half for a 9-hole course and around three hours for an 18-hole course. Rules modeled on golf on a landscaped course and a calm, respectful and good-natured atmosphere which combines golf and football.

“The little white ball is replaced by a soccer ball and the clubs by its foot. We must put the ball in the hole, the goal being to make as few shots as possible.”

The qualities of an experienced footballer or golfer are assets and when you have practiced both like Nicolas Pussini, you gain a few years of experience which still gives you a huge advance and an impressive track record:

The French team, which includes Nicolas Pussini, won the title of world team champions in 2018 in Morocco. They did it again five years later, on June 6, 2023, by retaining their trophy in Orlando (United States), beating Argentina in the final under the leadership of their captain and former international Camel Meriem.

Like all first victories, it is the first in 2018 which will remain the most notable for Nicolas: “A first selection and we became world team champions for the first time with the French team.”

Footgolf fully respects golf courses, and as Nicolas Pussini points out, its practice even fits perfectly into this environment.

Official attire is required: Bermuda shorts, polo shirt and high socks to combine comfort, style and elegance. Nicolas plays with his own ball, “a Jabulani, very well known from the 2010 World Cup, who floated a lot and bothered the goalkeepers. It has the ability to stay quite upright and rolls a lot but the difficulty is to renew it since it is no longer produced. “We can now repair them and keep them for a few years.”

Nicolas Pussini hopes to take on new challenges, break records and win other titles, like the European Championship which escaped them last December.

For those who would like to discover this rapidly developing sport, the Central region has two centers: Touraine Footgolf, and Orléans Footgolf, where it is possible to learn about this exciting discipline.

See you this Wednesday, January 15, 2025 in the show You are wonderful with Nicolas Pussini and the daily good humor of your presenters.

• Monday January 13: Julien Clément from Maison Clément, delicatessen in Tours
• Tuesday January 14: Jérémie Bellot, architect and digital artist
• Thursday December 16: Jessica Degain, Curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours
• Friday December 10: The best moments of the week.

Cuisine, nature, sport, culture, themes represented by guests from our regional territory. “You are wonderful” to watch again, in replay on the france.tv website.