PSG kicked off the third edition of its Club Tour on Monday evening at the Parc des Princes. A moment immortalized by a beautiful family photo taken on the lawn of the Parisian enclosure where the ten clubs selected for this operation were gathered, as well as several leaders of PSG. Launched in 2021, this event will allow nearly a thousand young people playing in training courses in the Paris region to benefit from a total experience designed by the PSG teams.
Between April 24 and May 5, the trainers and educators of the capital club will indeed go to the lucky ones (CS Meaux, ES Sartrouville, COM Bagneux, Soisy-Andilly-Margency, Olympique Noisy-le-Sec, STE Geneviève FC, AC Boulogne-Billancourt, RC Joinville, Salésienne Paris, ES Guyancourt) in order to offer budding footballers (girls and boys from U10 to U13) a unique training session of 2h30. A way to consolidate the links between the flagship club of the Ile-de-France region and the amateur world.
“This is an opportunity to thank the clubs and the region, says Yohan Cabaye, director of the PSG training center. Today, we have to give them this closeness which is very important because we all come from an amateur background. Thanks to this event, we have the opportunity to give dreams to young people and to be close to educators to give them content. It’s up to us to show them all the respect and admiration we have for them because we’re lucky to have an extraordinary breeding ground. »
“Create a lasting relationship with amateur clubs”
For the first time, PSG had launched a call for applications and nearly 200 clubs responded. A major criterion came into play when making a choice: that the candidates have a male and female section. During this day, they will have access to five sports workshops, fun activities and will be given a booklet in which various PSG players give their advice.
“We did not expect such enthusiasm, remarks Maxime Agostini, deputy director of the PSG brand. We are delighted and happy with the result. This shows that the things done in past years have worked. We developed this Club Tour little by little. We bring PSG experience because the exercises are prepared by the technical management of the training center. Many people from the club are working on this project. We have sports team support that is limitless. It’s a way of giving back to them what they give us. The idea is also to bring joy to football and leave memories for the children. »
If this operation aims initially to promote the work of amateur clubs which remain privileged relays of PSG, the idea is also to remain on the lookout for the emergence of several talents while Île-de-France is the second largest pool of footballers in the world. “Is this a way to strengthen the network? Secondly or thirdly, the importance of creating a lasting relationship with amateur clubs is real, confirms Cabaye. It works both ways. We can provide them with content and skills via our coaches and behind that, when a player stands out a bit, we want them to necessarily think of us. »