In the middle of the week, the FFR organized an auction in Paris whose profits, estimated at 400,000 euros, will be used to finance the largest societal projects currently carried out by French Rugby clubs and personalities.
Wednesday evening, the FFR organized at the Hôtel du Collectionneur, in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, a gala evening intended to promote the “Rugby au Cœur” endowment fund, launched by the holy mother of French rugby in 2024. the facts, “Rugby at the Heart” aims to support actors who work for the common good and the general interest through the practice of rugby. To do this, the endowment fund calls on patrons – companies and individuals – mobilized around societal pillars supported by the clubs and territories: education through sport, professional integration, inclusion, health or even ecological transition…
Through a huge auction hosted voluntarily by journalists Isabelle Ithurburu and Bertrand Guillemin, significant resources were released on Wednesday evening and will ultimately finance several major projects. The “health rugby” pole of the Chatou club (Yvelines), first: there, as in more than seventy other clubs in France, rugby is used as a tool for promoting physical well-being and mental. Open to everyone, including people with chronic illnesses, Chatou's “rugby health” section is considered a real breath of fresh air by the people who are welcomed there. The second project of the evening? It was based around the feminization of the oval ball and embodied by Fanny Horta, a former international who devoted her life to rugby. The third file, this time defended by the territorial executive Pomme Carle, highlighted the “stadium days towards employment”, during which recruiters and candidates find themselves cyclically on a rugby field without knowing who is who: here, no CV or formal interview, just sporting challenges allowing you to discover yourself in a different way.
Finally, the fourth program presented at the Hôtel du Collectionneur was devoted to the Saint-Étienne club, which carries out almost daily actions in favor of young people from priority areas of the city. Florian Grill, the federal boss, explained Wednesday evening: “These funds from sponsorship will allow us to irrigate the clubs, the people and the entities which do good to rugby. The clubs have been doing very good actions for a very long time but until now, we have not put enough emphasis on it. light from this single event, we expect, for example, 400,000 euros in profits, entirely redistributed to the amateur world. In our mind, the approach is simple: public authorities are in a tough situation today and we. will not recover any resources thanks to this lever; however, many companies are ready to help rugby and, in its wake, society as a whole.
A pair of crampons signed by Antoine Dupont
Rue Courcelles, the main patrons of the evening, who paid 10,000 euros for each of the tables represented at the banquet, were Wednesday evening represented by companies such as Pernod-Ricard, Adidas, Sodexo but also institutions such as World Rugby, guardian of the oval ball on the planet. Philippe Beato, president of an SME called Locacuisines (20 million euros turnover) and patron among others of the evening, confided to us: “A few months ago, I heard Florian Grill talk about his desire to help our youth through sport. It touched me and immediately, with my SME means, I decided to start a 3-year sponsorship for the benefit of the FFR and its clubs, to the tune of 60,000 euros. I know that this money will be well used. That's what interests me.
Among the lots snatched by the various buyers during this gala evening, we will cite in bulk a pair of crampons signed by the hand of the French captain Antoine Dupont, a sculpture created by the former third line of the XV of France Jean-Pierre Rives, the jersey of the recent rugby sevens gold medalists or even the right to kick off the next France – New Zealand. It rocks, doesn’t it?
