France already on the podium… in the world ranking of countries in elite sport

Since 2022, 3 other rankings relating to sporting merit, the physical condition of populations, and the geopolitical power of sport have been created. A few weeks before the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, these 4 indices make it possible to compare the sports policies of all the countries with National Olympic Committees. They also allow us to see France’s true place in international sport.

With 10 years of research work within the NDU – Notre-Dame-de-Louaizé University in Lebanon, Nadim Nassif created the International Center for Sports Policy and Governance (ICSPG), a think tank affiliated with the World Sports Rankings (WSR) company. The 4 published indices are intended to serve as a comparison for a wide range of stakeholders: National Olympic Committees, national sports governing bodies, international sports federations and governments.

Europe (of sport), still the world reference

Since 2014, the World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sports (WRCES) has been a “raw” assessment of the performance of the 206 countries in all sports officially recognized by SportAccord, as well as other sports, not yet recognized, but benefiting of great media popularity. The specificity of the approach is to take into account the results of 114 sports in calculations that go beyond the podiums. The WRCES awards points to all participating countries in a sport, ensuring a more nuanced, accurate and inclusive ranking.

Without real surprise, the United States retains 1^e place in 2023, ahead of Great Britain going down to the wire, France. Note that with Spain (4), Germany (8) and Italy (9), Europe remains the pivotal continent of sport.

Cross-referencing this ranking in relation to GDP allows us to recognize those who excel in international sports despite their limited economic resources. Here again, Europe places 5 nations in the Top 10 of the WRCES Merit Ranking: Montenegro (2), Serbia (4), Georgia (6), Moldova (9), and Slovenia (10).

By integrating the obesity rate, the prevalence of undernutrition (PoU), the WRCES and the WRCES Merit Ranking, the ICSPG offers a measure of the level of physical fitness of populations in all countries: the WFCR, an index recognized by the International Federation of Physical Education and Sport (FIEPS), an international organization bringing together 142 countries, and recognized by the IOC and UNESCO. With France (4), Spain (5), Italy (6), Montenegro (7), Great Britain (8), and Germany (9), the European Union is demonstrating its virtuous model in terms of standard of living… in good health.

Another podium for France!

Yes, even better, the World Sport Power Index (WSPI) 4^th index developed by ICSPG and WSR, allows the evaluation of a country’s abilities to use its sporting successes to strengthen its geopolitical power. Because yes, when implementing national sports policies, one of the main objectives of governments is to invest funds to acquire international prestige. This is obviously the case of Qatar (89^e nation at WRCES, but 39^e at WSPI) or Saudi Arabia (79th nation at WRCES, but 33rd at WSPI). But let’s make no mistake, this was also the objective of the city of Paris (supported by the State) in applying to host the 2024 Olympic Games.

By launching the “French Sport Touch” at the end of 2021, the DIGES (Interministerial Delegation for Major Sporting Events) affirms “the desire of all stakeholders in French sport to come together and unite their forces around a shared ambition for a France which shines on the world sporting scene”. Since the WSPI makes it possible to measure the success of this initiative, the good news is that for the 2^th consecutive year, France is positioned 3^th world rank in this index, behind the United States and Great Britain. It now remains for our champions to confirm these good rankings with a great haul of medals… and Olympic and Paralympic finals!