On the 20th, 21st and 22nd April, the Centre for the Law and Economics of Sport (CDES – Centre de Droit et d’Economie du Sport) and the ‘‘Défis du Sport Solidarité’’ association are organising the ‘‘Défis du Sport’’ (The issues facing sport).
Under the patronage of the Minister for Sport, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the National Association of Professional Sports, this first International Sports Forum has the institutional support of the City of Limoges, the Limoges Metropolitan Urban Community and the Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes Region. The event has several components.
Three days of discussion and reflection about sporting issues
Because sport is not just limited to what happens in the field, the ‘‘Défis du Sport’’ will be the occasion to debate and discuss the key issues facing the sector both today and in the coming years. These exchanges of views will be organised around:
Eight debates chaired by journalists from the Equipe Group and France Info who will be facing representatives of the sector on different topics, such as operating sports, venues, the awarding and organising major international sporting events, the means of protecting athletes’ health, the development of women’s sport and even the fundamental issue of vocational retraining for top-level professional athletes. Notably, among the debaters will be: Thierry Braillard (Secretary of State for Sport), Denis Masséglia (President of CNSOF), Pierre Camou (President of the French Rugby Federation – FFR), Brett Gosper (Director-General of World Rugby), Olivier Carrard (member of CAS) and Tatjana Haenni (Head of Women’s Competitions at FIFA).
Nine workshops brought together around three major themes: sports regulation, sport and territories, and sport and business. These workshops will provide an opportunity to discuss and analyse each theme and will be noticeable for the presence of several experts, including: Serge Blanco (FFR Vice President), Jérôme Meary (Consultant for Major League Soccer), Jacques Thouroude (Founder of the National Association of elected representatives in charge of sport), Jean-Michel Brun (Secretary General of CNOSF) and Amel Bouzoura (Head of Corporate and Digital Brand at FDJ – Française des Jeux). Many athletes from the MG Sport Pro Association (which brings together holders of the General Manager of Professional Sports Clubs university degree issued by CDES) will also be present to give their views on these topics.
Sport and athletes placed at the heart of the plan
Sport as a topic for discussion will also be centre-stage in the ‘‘Défis du Sport’’. Certain sporting challenges (futsal and 3×3 basketball, etc.) will therefore be organised in order to allow participants in the Forum to play with the many former prestigious players who will be there: Alain Boghossian, Bruno Cheyrou, Bernard Diomède, Brigitte Henriques and Mickaël Landreau (football); Nathalie Lesdema, Sylvain Maynier and Stéphane Ostrowski (basketball); Jean-Marc Lhermet, Fabien Pelous, Christophe Urios and Pierre Venayre (rugby); Bruno Martini, Benoît Henry and Christian Omeyer (handball); and Philippe Blain, and Yan Lavallez (volleyball), etc.
A supported charitable and solidarity dimension
Lastly, since solidarity is one of strong values that is dear to CDES, a futsal match between the members of Generation 98 and an All-Star Managers Team, is being held at the Palais des Sports in Beaublanc, followed by a Gala evening which will be used to raise funds to support various charitable works (Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque and the Oncology Department of the University Hospital of Limoges) as well as inclusion projects by and for the sport supported by the ‘‘Défis du Sport Solidarité’’ association.
Please note that all the debates and workshops will be conducted in French.
All information and practical arrangements (registrations) can be found on the dedicated website: www.lesdefisdusport.org.
