In amateur Football, the “Mbappé project” has become a social phenomenon. Behind this expression lies the ambition of certain parents to transform their child into a future football prodigy. In Saint-Étienne and in the Loire, this movement is gaining momentum and arousing as much hope as questions. France Bleu went to meet parents, coaches, children and asked Stéphanois Louis Mouton for his opinion.
The scene is reported by France Bleu: near the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, one Sunday afternoon, two children are training under the instructions of their father. Despite their young age (7 and 9 years old), they alternate dribbling, physical exercises and technical workshops on a field equipped with brand new equipment. This dad, fully invested, justifies his approach in comments reported by France Bleu: “Individually, they progress more than in a club where the time for each child is limited.”
This scenario is not isolated. Many parents no longer hesitate to invest in personalized coaching, sometimes from the age of 4, or to enroll their children in structures like the PSG Academy. For some, it is the opportunity to give their child a chance to follow in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappé. For others, this approach raises concerns: where is the line between ambition and pressure, between pleasure and forced labor?
The “Mbappé project” will never replace talent!
Thierry Delolme, president of the Loire football district, recalls that becoming a professional depends above all on talent: “Just because a parent pushes their child doesn't mean they will become a top player. The detection network is already extremely effective. If there is potential, we will see it.”
-While personalized coaching and structures like the PSG Academy (one of which welcomes around a hundred children a few hundred meters from the Chaudron) are increasingly attractive, these initiatives do not guarantee success, but they question the values that parents want to pass it on to their children.
Louis Mouton: “Pleasure must come first”
Louis Mouton, a midfielder trained in Veauche and now a Ligue 1 player with AS Saint-Étienne, questions this trend. For him, the priority must remain the pleasure of young people:
“It’s above all the pleasure that comes before this ‘Mbappé project’. Pushing the children, I think there are many more negative points than positives to come from it. When I started playing football in Veauche with my parents , it was fun above all: playing football in the evening, with them, with friends, having fun. They just wanted that from the moment we signed up and our parents paid for the license, there, it was necessary give 100%”
Mouton warns against excessive rigor imposed on children: he believes that this approach can erode passion and love for the game. This observation is shared by certain sports educators, such as Idriss, a qualified coach, who sees in this phenomenon a risk: “This project can, in the long term, kill the child's enjoyment. Football is above all a passion that must be cultivated, not an imposed dream.”
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