The French federation (FFJDA) tried to correct the situation this weekend, after being informed by mail on Friday February 26 that its international counterpart (IJF) intended to cancel the Paris Grand Slam, scheduled for May 8 and 9. In vain. This Tuesday evening, the IJF confirmed its choice and the attribution of the qualifying event for the Tokyo Games in Kazan (Russia). ” I’m disappointed. There is frustration because we had done the work ”, sighs Stéphane Nomis, the new president of the FFJDA.
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Before having all the elements in hand, one could have imagined that France sacrificed its fiftieth anniversary tournament (the first edition dates from 1971) to meet its financial difficulties, the recurring deficit of the event (between 700 and 800,000 euros annual). ” Not at all, defends Nomis. This tournament is too important. I fought like hell to get it back. “ Present in Doha in mid-January, for the Grand Slam of Qatar, the elected official met there Marius Vizer, the president of the international body since 2007. “ I told him that we would organize the tournament in Paris. We had just considered doing it in Coubertin if the room was free, says Nomis. I was not allowed to give up, to lose the tournament in Paris. “
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A funny imbroglio
On his return to France, he knocked on all doors, from the PSG, resident club of the Porte de Saint-Cloud stadium, through a renegotiation with the AccorHotels Arena, state aid or the national sports agency. The exorbitant costs of transferring the event to Coubertin had finally dissuaded him from choosing this option. Especially since on February 25, all the actors gave him their support, including 98% of the presidents of leagues and departmental committees that he had gathered that day for a videoconference and who had approved the project. The IJF mail therefore turned out to be a cold shower.
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How did we come to this situation? A funny mess. The reason given would be the contract binding the two bodies, and received last July by France, but which was not signed by the former management team, even though the contract with the AccorHotels Arena was renewed for four years. An aberration when we recall that the former team of the FFJDA was then led by Jean-Luc Rougé, incidentally secretary general of the IJF. This Tuesday evening, Rougé also sent an email to all the presidents of national federations to inform them of the new calendar in which Paris no longer appears.
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In October, a loss of flavor
In the meantime, the French had again written to Marius Vizer to inform him of their desire to keep this date, so essential for the French judokas, but also for the influence of Paris and one of the Olympic venues for the 2024 Games. Judo is one of the very few sports to be performed every Bercy year … Even Tony Estanguet had signed his support for the French organizers. A missive which received an end of inadmissibility, even if the exchange remained courteous and that the IJF apologized for having had to decide quickly because of the current pandemic.
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It therefore proposes to postpone the Paris Grand Slam to October, that is to say after the Tokyo Games. Sacred loss of flavor, since the best, all those who will have shone in Japan, will decline the post-Olympic invitation. On the other hand, the international federation has undertaken to return to Paris its jewel for the next three years (2022, 2023 and 2024), on the traditional dates of February.
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