The “Earvin Ngapeth effect” is already being felt throughout France. Back home, at the Alterna Poitevin Volleyball Stadium, after 13 years spent abroad, the star of the French team, double Olympic champion, unleashes an unprecedented fervor for a championship which is more used to atmospheres felted.
In Chaumont (Haute-Marne), more than 500 km east of Poitiers, the entire city has been preparing for several days for what is only the second day of the Marmara Spikeligue. But the presence of the brilliant number 9 of the Blues, at the end of a historic summer, changes everything.
“All the places for the general public are gone, there are only a few places left in the boxes. The only sellouts we usually have are for the play-offs. We clearly feel the Ngapeth effect, there is enormous enthusiasm,” explains Benjamin Bobée, Chaumont’s communications manager. For the occasion, the club prepared a tifo for its supporters, and also increased the security service of its hall by 1,987 spectators.
“Ngapeth gets people moving”
In addition to the regulars, some are ready to travel a lot of kilometers to see the double Olympic champion from Tokyo and Paris play. “Basically, our catchment area is concentrated in the surrounding 150 km,” continues Benjamin Bobée. There, some people come from more than 250 km away. Ngapeth gets people moving! »
Shortly after the surprising announcement of the return of the child prodigy, on September 19, the Chaumont communications manager had a meeting with the broadcaster beIN Sports to postpone the Poitiers reception to Friday evening. And he already expects “significant economic benefits”.
As many jerseys sold in two days as in two years
His counterpart at the Poitiers club, Mickaël Pichon, has already felt the repercussions of this signing. “I knew a few days before the announcement that something huge was going to happen, but I still didn’t expect this wave,” he says. Like filling your room with 2,498 spectators for a simple friendly match, when only around 300 people usually come. Not to mention the countless media requests and an extraordinary crowd at the club shop.
“In two days, we sold as many jerseys as in two years! We are averaging around 10 jerseys sold per day, we will have largely reached 200 jerseys sold by the match against Chaumont. And all that for Earvin, there are only five or six jerseys sold for other players,” the communications manager can’t believe it.
In Poitiers, as in Chaumont, Earwin Ngapeth attracts crowds. “Usually, spectators come from the five or six neighboring departments. For the first match, there were 22 departments represented, people even came from Brest! », confides Mickaël Pichon. There weren’t even enough bibs for the eleven accredited photographers and videographers, compared to the usual two (including the communications manager). “At the end of the match, he signed a few autographs, before we evacuated him from the room so that he could breathe because there were too many people. He went to take a shower, there were fewer people, and he came back to take photos,” he relates.
“It will create an attraction wherever Poitiers plays”
If some partners had hesitated to join Poitiers again, the return of the receiver-attacker finally convinced them. Mickaël Pichon is now seeing “the opposite effect”, with many companies approaching the club in order to have places for their employees. At the same time, the number of subscribers increased from 195 subscribers last season to 265.
As for the National Volleyball League, too, we can see the blessing of being able to count on a name and a face that transcends the boundaries of volleyball. The Marmara SpikeLigue cannot compete with other European championships like that of Italy, in particular because of taxation, and this boost will do good.
“Everyone wants to see the best player in the world play, especially since it’s been 13 years since he left,” explains the League’s marketing manager, Pierre Herault. The best players are forced to go abroad, there it will create an attraction wherever Poitiers plays. “. Since Ngapeth’s return, the League has been contacted by numerous media “which almost never talk about volleyball”, such as Canal+ or TF1. The broadcaster beIN Sports plans to broadcast two matches per day, compared to one currently.
A victory over an ace
And the athlete in all this? For his first match under his new colors, with the number 86 on his back – that of the Vienne department –, Earvin Ngapeth gave Poitiers victory against Narbonne (3-1), with an ace. “Earvin brings all his experience, his culture of winning, the management of important events, his technical expertise in the game, everything that makes him a double Olympic champion and double MVP of the Olympic Games”, lists the sports director of Poitiers , Cédric Enard, obviously proud of his shot.
Anyone who also encountered him in the French team between 2017 and 2019 (as an assistant) is nevertheless aware that the arrival of a player of such caliber in a squad can be disruptive. “There is a collective that needs to be oiled and honed. There is an adaptation to be made around him, and that requires benchmarks and automatisms for everyone, explains Enard. He is aware of it, it is not neutral to play next to a double Olympic champion, it can be reassuring but also intimidating. »
Fixed-term contract?
Especially since Earvin Ngapeth could only stay a few weeks in Poitiers. The club and the player have agreed that he could leave at the end of December if there is a convincing offer. “Even for a month, I would still have taken it,” says Cédric Enard. It’s a chance to be able to bring him here, with his motivation. Maybe it will be three months, maybe more. It’s accepted by everyone, in the meantime we’re enjoying the moment. » Like Earvin Ngapeth, who relishes a return to a “normal” life, where he can pick up his children from school and play in front of his loved ones. If it can also serve his sport.
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