Minister for Sport Amélie Oudéa-Castéra is confident about hosting the World Cup: “The social climate has calmed down at the heart of the GIP”
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister for Sport and Games of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, this Friday visited the Stade Toulousain. After lunch with President Didier Lacroix and a visit to the club’s facilities, he signed a charter of 15 commitments to environmental responsibility for the organizers of sporting events with club bosses Rouge et Noir. The charter specifically includes lighting moderation, reducing air conditioning, reducing heating in gymnasiums or training young people in eco-friendly movements.
In between these signatures, the minister returned to news of rugby affairs, and in particular former director general of France’s Public Interest Group (GIP) 2023 Claude Atcher, who is now the subject of a moral abuse probe. Could this odd climate that has long maintained in the GIP jeopardize hosting the next World Cup (8 September – 28 October)?
“No worries, but instead confidence and calm. The team I met recently (at GIP) are working hard, they have experience”
“This event was prepared very well. trust Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. We see the success of the ticket office, we see the partners and companies there, World Rugby oversees the quality of the organization and the GIP team, which is now under the leadership of Julien Colette, successor to Claude Atcher , is developing very well »
“It’s very interesting from a sporting point of view because we have a team that is in top form, with 13 wins in 13 games. continued the Minister. It’s great to be able to tell myself that we have a real chance of winning the World Cup at home. We’re all thinking about the opener against the Blacks on September 8 at the Stade de France. Hence no anxiety, but instead confidence and serenity. I think the social climate has calmed down at the heart of this GIP. The team I met recently are working hard, they have experience. »
The minister will go to Marcoussis
The minister also spoke of consulting clubs from Monday on the matter of appointing Bernard Laporte – a president who was sentenced to two years suspended in prison for corruption (he appealed) and has since withdrawn – Patrick Buisson as club vice president of FFR. are they for? Oppose ? Abstainer?
“We find ourselves in a very complex situation with the need to defend the ethics and best interests of rugby on the one hand, and also respect the presumption of innocence that is rightfully Bernard. Laporte on the other hand, observing the Oudéa-Castéra. We were able to find a way with this Bernard Laporte withdrawal which is a necessary thing for French rugby. We told ourselves we needed to have proper instructions to use to guarantee the effectiveness of this recall, and I had asked for a democratic time so the co-chairmen could benefit from a form of dubbing by the club.
“So this consultation will open next Monday and will last from January 23 to 26. And I will be able to discuss with the entire FFR Steering Committee in the morning of January 27th because I will be going to Marcoussis to be by their side to analyze this consultation. I want to be surrounded by all the guarantees and fairest play, according to sporting values. It will take place under the auspices and oversight of the FFR Ethics Committee. »
What if you don’t win? Should new elections be held? “This question, it is up to the steering committee which will meet on January 27th to answer it, said the minister. Its members will take their responsibilities. What we all have to remember is that this deliberation is not an administrative formality, it is a time of real democracy that binds all the clubs to which the deliberations are invited. It is therefore important to draw conclusions that are in themselves binding. I have no doubt that the Steering Committee will do so responsibly on January 27th, when it will analyze the level of participation, the responses given and the manner in which they were carried out. deliberations will take place. »
