“We need to make people want to mentor young people again”

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Anthony, what pushed you to get involved in regional football bodies?

Romain’s (Féret) speech, first of all. He started talking to me about it six or eight months ago. It wasn’t easy for me at first because I have a lot of other obligations, but my passion for football took over. I have been president of clubs for more than 20 years (editor’s note: first in Rots then in Villers-Bocage), I know the difficulties they can encounter. I sometimes had dissatisfaction with the League so I felt that I could contribute something.

Are you a former pro with an amateur spirit?

I never forgot where I came from (smile). I have a large family, who come from the amateur world, I was president of an amateur club at 23 years old. I was lucky enough to be a professional footballer because I had a certain level, I was able to make a living from it but I never disconnected from the amateur environment. I find myself in his values. That’s why I became an amateur player again after my professional career.

“Relieve club constraints”

What will be your role within the League?

I will be a Roman liaison with the field, particularly in Calvados, Orne and Manche. We must be closer to the clubs, to the presidents. I’m going to try to add my touch. I’m not the best in offices, but I have good field experience. There are also a lot of field people in our team.

You spoke of discontent with the League when you were president of Villers-Bocage. What do you think needs to change?

There are too many administrative and financial constraints for clubs. It is partly because of this that I gave up the presidency of the USVB. We need to lighten all that, that’s the priority. Today, if a club does not have two or three full-time employees, it cannot manage all these constraints. Volunteering is no longer enough, people get worn out and end up leaving. On the contrary, we must revalue volunteering, give people the desire to help and in particular to support young people, both sportingly and humanly. These are the values ​​of football.

Clubs are increasingly facing difficulties with parents in the youth categories. What do you plan to do to remedy this?

There is more and more incivility, in fact. With football business, parents think their children will become pros. This is a significant burden for the clubs. Precisely, if there were more volunteers and supervisors for young people, parents would not take up so much space but would simply encourage their children.

“In U9/U11, we learn the basics”

Personally, you are now an educator at the USVB…

When I left the presidency, I wanted to cut back but the club needed an educator for the little ones. I started with the U9s and, for two years, I have been taking care of the U11s. These are the categories that I prefer because that’s where you learn the basics. The children have plenty of room for improvement. In Villers, we are lucky to have eight qualified coaches for 40 children in these categories, but it is more complicated for clubs which have 100 to 200 licensees. We must help them.

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