Sport. On the occasion of the wishes presented to its partners Tuesday evening in Chaumont, the Haute-Marne Football District presented an enviable societal report and innovative projects.
The activities and performances of the Haute-Marne football district say much more about the specificities of the territory and its inhabitants than abstruse sociological studies. This is the impression that vaguely gained the minds, Tuesday January 14 in the evening, between the perfectly aligned cars of the Volkswagen dealership in Chaumont, scene of the District “partners” evening.
Patrick Leiritz, president of the District, Jordan Simon, the director, the elected officials and employees of the organization which manages football in Haute-Marne had therefore invited their partners for an evening as friendly as it was rich in lessons.
My small business
The District isn't just about kicking the ball. We cultivate values that have a real societal role: incivility, on violence, on inclusion; what young people learn when they put on crampons goes far beyond learning the offside rules on the pitch. Do we know this when we talk about prevention? Education? The District is already a small company: four employees, 133 volunteers in 20 committees, a budget of €400,000 and above all, to make sense of all this, 8,042 licensees! This is 134 more than last year. It is also the best penetration rate in the Grand Est and one of the fifteen best rates in France! In other words, without a flagship club like in Aube, without going beyond Regional 1 for its most successful teams, Haute-Marne demonstrates that it remains a land of football, in love with football, which entrusts its children to football and its educators. In Haute-Marne, 10% of residents are directly or indirectly involved in amateur football. It would be a mistake to ignore it.
-Another notable fact: Haute-Marne has 1,015 female licenses, or 12.8% of licenses. This is a rate higher than the regional and national averages! For a department whose image does not spontaneously evoke the modernity of societal advances, football puts a big slap in the face to preconceived ideas.
Looking to the future
This District doesn't just show off its results. It looks resolutely towards the future by basing its projects on four societal pillars: inclusion and cohesion, health and well-being, education and training, and even the environment. Among the innovations that will be announced soon, there will be the publication and distribution of a holiday notebook for Petit Haut-Marnais. It will offer children aged 6 to 9 fun exercises, linked to football, in all the subjects they encounter at school. The District is looking for partners to finalize the financing of this wise project. In the shorter term, a tool using artificial intelligence, dedicated to Haut-Marne football, will be launched in a few weeks. A kind of virtual person, named “Victoire” designed to simulate a conversation with a human being. “Victoire” will be able to answer all the questions that managers, players, volunteers may have, on any point of a regulation or on the functioning of football in Haute-Marne. The user, from their smartphone or screen, will have the impression of interacting as if they were chatting with a real person. The Haute-Marne District will be the second in France to embark on the adventure. As for the District partners – after all, this evening was dedicated to them – there were 23 last year and 32 today. We begin to understand why…
