“We all started like you!” » Speaking to the children, the new executive president of the Troyes l’Estac club, today in Ligue 2, Edwin Pindi knows what he is talking about. He himself was a player at a relatively high level in various clubs in the north of France, before being attracted to Football club management.
In Troyes, he discovered the long-standing partnership between Troyes Champagne Métropole (TCM) and the flagship club Aube. In exchange for an annual subsidy (419,000 euros for 2024) to the association which manages the training center and the amateur section, the club undertakes to return the ball through local actions for the benefit of the clubs lovers of the territory of the community of communes.
Thanks to a sponsorship policy, youth teams are assigned a professional player who will come to meet them twice during the season. “This is an action that is close to our hearts, because it brings the amateur world closer to the professional world,” underlines David Garnerin, TCM vice-president in charge of sport.
For the 22nd award ceremony, around twenty clubs, represented by educators and some young players from football schools, got to know their sponsors this Tuesday. Among them, Mathis Hamdi, a young defender from Estac, aged 21, who joined the club at the age of 8, and who has not yet experienced this type of meeting. “At the time I watched them from the stands,” remembers, amused, the Trojan left-back.
“When we were little, we would have liked that”
“That’s why when they come, we try to be kind and smiling, because when we were little, we would have liked to do that,” recognizes Mathis Hamdi. On the program, some technical questions to which the players willingly answer. “Like knowing if it’s good to be a goalkeeper,” smiles Trojan goalkeeper Nicolas Lemaitre.
But, as a general rule, for children, it is above all a good time shared with their idols, without stress. “We often talk about the Mbappé project (parents of young players, editor’s note), but on Canal +, he said that we had to stop all that,” underlines Martin Adeline, the Trojan midfielder. “Children must have fun and parents must let them enjoy it. »
Since the start of the operation, Estac estimates that 26,000 young people have benefited. The new beneficiaries enjoyed the first meeting at the Aube stadium and the autograph session that followed. “We were able to get our balls signed and I met all the players, except the injured ones,” rejoices Tom, 10 years old, from the Olympique de Montiéramey club. Noémie, her friend, is impatient to meet the godfather of “OM”, Trojan midfielder Abdoulaye Kanté, “to ask him if the year at Estac is going well and if it’s cool there”.
Educators also appreciate these moments shared with the youngest. “It’s important from the moment the players play the game, come and give a little of their time and supervise the kids, show that they are also there for the children, not just for the adults or the supporters,” argues Ali Aouzal, head of the RCSC La-Chapelle-Saint-Luc football school.
“Amateur clubs, volunteers… we return to the essence of football”
“One of our kids is a professional player, and things are going really well. When they come, we have the impression that they are part of our club,” adds Hassan Hattach, director of the Academy Football Club, another chaplain club. In a context of growing invisibility of French football linked to the TV rights crisis, being present in the territory is more necessary than ever, especially for a club like Estac which suffers from a major image deficit and results since its acquisition by the City Football group in 2020.
“We return to the very essence of football, the amateur clubs, the volunteers… These meetings are good for the professionals and the association, and it remains a sport for sharing, and the flagship club of Aube, it is Estac,” underlines Gaël Sanz, president of the amateur section. Very focused on the education of young people and the importance of schooling within the training center, the former Trojan pro player is one of the new faces appearing in 2024.
New executive president (Edwin Pindi), new sports director (Antoine Sibierski), new coach (Stéphane Dumont), Estac has carried out a big “reset” in recent months to get off on the right foot and rebuild weakened ties with the Aubois. “A club is cyclical, I myself have experienced ups and downs,” recalls Gaël Sanz.
“The Estac association is the link between the professional team and the region and it is very important. Throughout the year, professional players will spend time in amateur clubs and this is how we can reconnect with the trust and closeness that we had lost. Today, the people who run this club are aligned to create a real project with the identity of the club and the territory,” underlines the former captain of the blue and white.
The Aube stadium celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025
As for TCM, the Trojan metropolis, we intend to carry out other actions throughout the year. Like the Estac Tour, when the professional team arrives in a town in the region to meet the public. But also Football Wednesdays, with fun workshops organized by Estac with its ambassador clubs, or even more social actions linked to Estac.
“This year, we allowed 280 young people from the city to participate in internships free of charge, including 80 of them in the Jura for a week,” says David Garnerin. The vice-president of the Trojan agglomeration is now planning new projects in 2025. “We agreed on workshops that I wanted to be participatory, so that the professional world once again turns towards volunteers and team staff. We are still thinking about the content (work on training sessions, nutrition, etc.) but they must allow the amateur world to acquire skills from professionals. »
A local involvement from Estac which will set the tone for the 125 years of Trojan football and the 100 years of the Aube stadium, which are to be celebrated in the first half of 2025 in Troyes.
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