President of the LNV since 2020, Yves Bouget, who was a candidate for re-election on September 26, was outvoted by the 35 professional clubs that make up the National Volleyball League. Jean Azéma, president of Toulouse from 2008 to 2022, was elected by an overwhelming majority, supported by clubs such as Narbonne, Toulouse, Cannes, Saint-Nazaire, etc. Centurions president Bastien Anglade, a supporter of Azéma, joins the board of directors.
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A bolt from the blue in the world of professional volleyball. Opponents of Yves Bouget, former leader of Tours, president of the LNV since 2020 (elected at the time with 74.4% of the vote), managed to elect, hands down, their candidate, Jean Azéma (23 votes out of 25)*, who was for 14 years, until 2022, president of the Toulouse Spacers. At the same time, the president of the Centurions Narbonne Bastien Anglade was elected to the board of directors in the first round of voting.
This election date had been brought forward after the League’s board of directors was dismissed at the end of June, against a backdrop of protests against the current management. In the sights of the rebels: an overly rapid economic change imposed on the 35 professional clubs spread across three divisions (League A, men’s League B and women’s League A) and responsible, each season, for the weakening or disappearance of one or two players. The clubs of Toulouse, Narbonne and Béziers were the spearheads of the protest.
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“We have reached the breaking point. The situation is complicated for the majority of clubs. The LNV wants the professionalization of clubs. That’s very good. But the League is lacking in support and communication. Every year, overall, there is one death. I’m thinking of Nantes-Rezé (bankruptcy), Mende (bankruptcy) and others… In 2022, in 2023, Narbonne almost disappeared…”Bastien Anglade explained recently in our columns.
In the end, his arguments were convincing and Narbonne now has its place within the national volleyball authorities. This Thursday, at the end of the general assembly in Paris, the president of the Centurions Narbonne said “relieved”: “The professional clubs will now be supported. I now know that for the clubs, the danger will no longer come from the League. We will be listened to, heard. Until now we were left to our own devices, that’s over. The League will provide a service to the clubs.”
Next week, the new steering committee of the League will meet to elect an office and representatives as well as committee leaders. No doubt Bastien Anglade will have a role to play.
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