The field hockey nations cup, which starts this Friday in Poland (nine nations are competing, the final is scheduled for June 9), is a great rehearsal for the French men’s team, at just under two months before the start of the Olympic tournament.
To date, this French team has no podium at the international level and it is only ninth in the international field hockey federation rankings. But the prospect of the Olympic Games in France gives wings to French leaders. “ Everyone dreams of an Olympic medal, we’re all going for that.” explains Frédéric Sé, coach of the blues since 2021 and also director of performance for the French Hockey Federation, to François Sauvestre of France bleu Picardie. “We were 13th nation in the world three years ago, today we are 9th, we have really established ourselves in this top 10. Our first objective is to reach the quarter-finals, that would already be an achievement We know that we have a task that will be very difficult.”.
The French have not participated in the Games, in field hockey, since 1972!
Field hockey has been an Olympic sport since 1908. And if the French women’s team will participate in its first Olympics, it will already be the tenth for the men, knowing that the last participation dates back to the Munich games in 1972! This participation in the Paris Olympics is a good way to further promote field hockey in France, to give momentum to this sport. “The idea is to make yourself known, outside of the purely sporting aspect”adds Frédéric Sé. “We hope to take advantage of these Games to try to bring as many people as possible, as many young people as possible. It has to be the big celebration of field hockey and that in September, we can have a maximum of licensed in our clubs.”
France today has 120 clubs and just over 11,000 licensees. In the French group at the Paris Games, there will be, in chronological order, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain and South Africa. See you on July 27 for the first match of the blues in this Olympic tournament.
