Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
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9:48 p.m., December 27, 2022
The Stade Français celebrates its 140th anniversary. A club made legendary thanks to rugby. Philippe Beylier, president of Stade Français, returned to the show Europe 1 Sports on the history of this institution which has “amateur” status.
Rugby “is the best known sport at the Stade Français today”, confirmed Philippe Beylier, but the club offers many other sports such as football, tennis, volleyball, fencing and even judo. The Stade Français offers a total of 20 sports to its members.
Athletics, the star sport of the Stade Français at the time
And even if rugby steals the show from other disciplines, it has not always been the case. “20 years ago, it was not rugby that was best known at the Stade Français, it was athletics with Guy Drut, Jean Galfione, Marie-José Pérec, all Olympic champions”, Philippe proudly explained. Beylier at the microphone ofEurope 1 Sports.
“Stade Français is an amateur club first and foremost which has 11,000 members today, including nearly 5,000 who are under 18,” continued the president of Stade Français.
Originally three students
And it was in 1883 that the idea of creating this association emanated. Indeed, three students and above all friends gathered in a café, decide to found the institution. The idea works since the number of members continues to grow and the original emblems remain.
The association takes “blue and red for colors”, explained Philippe Beylier, two colors which are still those of the club today. The Stade Français is today a benchmark in the sports world, both amateur and professional. A club that still has a bright future ahead of it, like the men’s rugby section, then provisionally second in the Top 14 ranking.