the call for support from Béatrice Kaboré, Nîmes Football Féminin

The latter concerns the current conditions of his club, constantly looking for stability, a fixed training ground as well as partners to end the season as best they can.

“We knew we were going to go down to the third division”

Still in the second tier of women's Football during the 2022/2023 season, Nîmes Football Féminin was unable to maintain its position due to the club's situation which was already degraded at this period. Especially since that year, the last 6 of the 12 teams in the two second division groups had to be relegated for the third division to be created by the FFF, a step too high for the players. “The conditions have not changed since then. We would have liked to stay in the second division but given the conditions we were in, we knew that we were going to go down to the third division”deplores Béatrice Kaboré.

“Training grounds that change every week”

The Nîmes town hall says “aware of the problem”. The fact remains that the club has “no fixed stadium and training grounds that change every week”. The women move from stadium to stadium in the city: the Costières annex field, that of Courbiers, the railway workers, or even the Jean-Pierre Adams field. “We have to find slots based on other teams in the city” giving rise to sometimes late sessions which “prevent young players who are at the boarding school from going to certain training sessions”. Béatrice Kaboré continued: “We want our level to be taken into account for access to land.” The club ambassador also regrets “poor quality of land” with “lawns that suffer from the cold and holes that don’t allow us to work properly”, especially since many stadiums do not have changing rooms. “We change at home or in our cars before training”specifies the player.

Call for private partners

The Nîmes sometimes have to practice outside Nîmes, such as the week of their Coupe de France match against Jacou on November 2, two training sessions took place in Calvisson because the Courbiers stadium was impassable. “At 6 p.m. we received information about the training location in Calvisson which was to start at 7 p.m.,” causing numerous delays that evening, reports the number 10 of the team. Despite this, a solution was found for the majority of home matches, at the Jean Bouin stadium made available by Nicolas Rainville (sports assistant to the City of Nîmes). However, in some cases, it is at the Marcel Rouvière stadium that the women play, due to the fact that in Jean Bouin there is also the Nîmes Chemin Bas club.

“We have no salary, we would need €60,000 to finish the season properly”

Subsidies from public authorities in the city of Nîmes, the Department and the Region represent “the majority of the club’s money coming in” but it is “the cessation of financing of Nîmes Métropoles for 2 years which put the club in difficulty”, berates Beatrice. Hence the change of name of the Nîmes Métropole Gard women's football club to Nîmes Football Féminin. “We have no salary because the club does not have the means, only match bonuses which depend on the results” specifies Béatrice Kaboré.

Beyond her status as a player, it is also with private partners that the ambassador's commitment continues. “We would need €60,000 to finish the season properly. Whether we like women's football or not, we need the city's merchants and businesses”. Due to a lack of resources, the entire preparation of matches is disrupted with “the impossibility of leaving the day before the matches because the hotel is too expensive, traveling on the day of the match by minibus rather than renting a bus” too expensive for the club.

“We are not mourners”

Despite a difficult situation and a feeling of inequality which grows stronger with each trip, “there is no pessimism, we are not mourners” describes Béatrice Kaboré, adding to benefit from“a young coach very interested in coaching who offers quality training and this maintains the team”. The important thing for the ambassador is “to continue to fight so that people trust us more”. Having not won since September 29, 2024 in the championship 3 – 1 against Monaco, Nîmes Football Féminin is currently last in the competition with 3 points. Olivier Bonnes' players who will face the Féminines 1 of Olympique de Marseille on December 15, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. at the Jean Bouin Sports Complex in Nîmes for the second day of the Coupe de France.

Article written by Jayson Pauleau, intern journalist at the InfoOccitanie editorial team.