Jean Azéma, elected president of the National Volleyball League with 64.8%, Thursday September 26, 2024, thus dethroning Yves Bouget (2020-2024), wants to calm the climate of French professional volleyball recently affected by the bankruptcy of Nantes-Rezé in Men’s League A and Mende in League B. He wants the institution to make progress in supporting clubs.
Thanks to a coalition in which there were, among others, several SpikeLigue clubs, including Narbonne, Toulouse, Le Plessis, Nice, Poitiers, Tours and even Saint-Nazaire and Cannes, Jean Azéma, who was president of the Spacer’s of Toulouse for 14 years for 2008 to 2022, after playing there then leading a career as a manager, now chairs the LNV.
Your priority projects?
First, restore serenity within the League. I am in an approach of openness, more constructive than in the past, I wish to maintain peaceful relations with the Federation, the Ministry of Sports, certain local authorities, the referees… I travel to all the rooms, I do not want to let no one on the side of the road. My approach is collaborative. I come up with the idea of breaking verticality to establish horizontality. Our watchwords are participation and inclusion. We also need to disseminate information better to the clubs, we also need to promote these clubs. In short, I am campaigning for more modern management.
In terms of volleyball stricto sensu?
The main focus is the development of professional volleyball. For both girls and boys, we have fewer professional clubs than in handball or basketball. We also have fewer licensees than them. This is a historical reality and not a situational one. Well, we still have to take into consideration the fact that France has just won two Olympics in volleyball in quick succession. Which has the effect of making volleyball attractive, moreover the number of licensees is increasing. We now believe that all the conditions are met for volleyball to be more present throughout France.
We must have more professional clubs
Are there a lack of professional clubs in France?
Certainly, we have to make up a deficit. We have 35 professional clubs when we should have 40 between the Marmara SpikeLigue (men’s A League), the men’s B League and the Saforelle Power 6 (women’s A League).
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How is the LNV institution doing?
She is doing very well. We are rather in a good dynamic. Financial health is very good.
The clubs?
For clubs, it’s a little more complicated. First in the men’s A League, budgets have increased in 10 years. Globally. Well, some clubs are experiencing difficulties but display a level and financial health sufficient to play in League A. However, if we take the first budget and the last, the gap has not progressed that much. We are still on a ratio of 1 to 2 (Nice, €1.15 million, Tours, €2.2 million). In League B, it’s harder for the clubs. More delicate, the partners have lower visibility, fewer outlets. There are one or two clubs likely to go higher, for the others, the ceiling is low. Concerning the women, their situation is comparable to that of their male counterparts in League A.
For me, the bankruptcy of Nantes-Rezé is a little mystery
But there was the bankruptcy of Nantes-Rezé in Ligue A, of Mende in Ligue B…
Obviously. Above all, we must not hide these bankruptcies. There are very difficult times. That being said, the financial policeman of professional sport – the DNACG – is independent and I do not have the elements of these files even if I know the mechanisms. Well, as I have just arrived at the head of the League, I have not yet had the time to look into it in detail. In Mende, there was unfortunately no buyer, it is a small town, a small town, it is difficult to follow in these conditions. Nantes-Rezé, for me, is a little mystery. A deficit of €450,000 is huge! Unfortunately, there are clubs less wise than others… Some choose not to give in to the madness of grandeur and ensure their survival, others do not.
Narbonne almost disappeared at the end of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons…
Certainly, but President Bastien Anglade (member of the LNV steering committee, representative of the first men’s division) took control of the situation which was serious. All clubs experience difficulties at some point in their history because of the attitude of certain managers. In Narbonne, the problem – which is also in some ways an opportunity – is the Arena. The rent is significant, it’s a financial pit. It’s a very nice piece of equipment but it’s expensive. However, I know that Bastien Anglade will find solutions.
You yourself played with Toulouse at the Palais du Travail in Narbonne…
Yes ! When I was young… On this subject, when we return to the Palais, we understand that today for Narbonne, it would be impossible to play at the Palais again. Unimaginable. And if that happened, it would mean that professional volleyball in Narbonne was over. For Bastien Anglade, the burden is heavy to make the Arena profitable because of the costs, but once again, I am sure that he will be able to achieve his goals.
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Volleyball: Narbonne actor in a major change in the League?
“Sporting interest is above all the top of the rankings”
The LNV recently validated that there would be no relegation this season, neither League A nor League B. Would the sporting interest in these championships not be diminished? “The steering committee, under the chairmanship of Yves Bouget, decided last June that the men’s League A should include 14 clubs and League B, 12. In the end, there are 13 in League A following the refusal of the LNV to integrate Ajaccio, and 10 in League B after the refusal to integrate Rennes and Chalons The commitments of the ex-director committee prohibited us from making another decision. Finally, sporting interest is above all. top of the rankings and the battle for the play-offs”, concludes Jean Azéma.
Is television money an avenue for volleyball?
I don’t believe in it much anymore. In football, TV rights have been halved. In basketball, handball, volleyball, there are no fallouts. We must look for other remuneration models. Perhaps we will have to develop a web TV with low production costs?
Ngapeth in Poitiers? The media operation is magnificent
What does the madness surrounding the signing of Ngapeth in Poitiers inspire you?
It’s a great advertisement for our championship. He’s a very good player who also has aura. The media operation is magnificent. I really hope that he stays the whole season and that he does not leave Vienna in January 2025 as I have already heard. Because otherwise, the clubs which did not host Poitiers during the first leg would be harmed…
You were president of Toulouse for 14 years. You know the problems of clubs…
The people who asked me to run for president of the LNV know that I have the experience of those who have put their hands dirty all their lives. We are realistic when we have been president, I can tell you that we understand what the difficulties are. We remain realistic when we have been president for a long time. We don’t really believe in castles in Spain.
