Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
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10:47 p.m., April 06, 2023
If there is a subject that was close to the heart of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, it is motherhood in sport. Special guest of the show Europe 1 Sports (every evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), the Minister of Sports welcomed the arrival of a baby in Clairefontaine. Lyonnaise Amel Majri returned to Les Bleues with her nine-month-old baby Maryam. A first for a French international. “It is a subject that is particularly dear to me, on which I dedicated a whole morning of work with the actors of French sport on March 6,” explained the former director general of the French Tennis Federation ( TFF).
For several months, the French Football Federation (FFF) had drawn the first outlines of this logistical plan for high-level sports mothers. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra’s mission was to reconcile “motherhood and the life of a champion”. The Minister of Sports has thus undertaken to put in place “a very detailed action plan with parenting aid and with a whole series of adjustments.
“Touched by the words of Hervé Renard”
Already under the Corinne Deacon era, thanked after the revolt of several players from the French women’s team, the project was under study. Goalkeeper Manon Heil had the opportunity to come with her baby last February, after the agreement of the former coach. She had finally decided to come alone to Clairefontaine. But it was with the new coach of Les Bleues Hervé Renard that everything accelerated.
“I was touched by the words of Hervé Renard, in the same way as in the exchange I was able to have with Philippe Diallo (interim president of the FFF) and Jean-Michel Aulas (president of the ‘Olympique Lyonnais) around the development plan for women’s football”, acknowledged the Minister of Sports. At a press conference last Monday, the new coach of France said: “It is essential to give a structure to players who have young children.” An outing hailed by the former tennis champion. I felt a desire to change the framework of the reflection on the status of players, to really take this dimension of motherhood head on, “rejoiced Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
The turn of the internationals?
The Minister of Sports also mentioned the case of high-level athletes. In fairness, the 44-year-old minister revealed that she was working on a plan that would also concern internationals. “In the personalized aid that I have decided that we are boosting, I have planned that they can also benefit young dads”, she admitted, taking the example of tennis where, on several Grand Slams, nurseries and parks are available to players.
A measure that could be quickly implemented in men therefore. And which could even extend to clubs. “We know that this is a subject on which some clubs are working. Amel Majri’s testimony shows it. Fifa itself has driven progress, so I believe that collectively, we are making a lot of progress and I am delighted about this. important theme”, concluded Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.