At the stadium (Vélodrome) in Marseille,
The gloomy faces of the staff at the Marseille stadium contrast with all the smiles seen at the various competition sites of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “I feel a pang, even downright sick, to see the Vélodrome like this,” confides an almost dejected agent, despite the 3-0 victory of the French Olympic football team against New Zealand on Tuesday evening.
The symbol of an entire city was far from hollow, however, with 45,000 spectators for the quarter-final qualification, compared to 60,000 for the first match against the USA. Like a sign of running out of steam in a stadium that has 68,000 seats, and we won’t even mention the crowds for the other nations.
“Crazy atmosphere everywhere, except at football”
Well, yes, just to give you a little idea of the scale of the disaster. There were 17,000 people on Sunday for the United States – Germany, two big nations in the women’s game. And only 11,000 on Saturday for the men’s game between New Zealand and the United States. This lack of interest does not only concern the spectators. “Oh, we’re bored, my poor friend, last time there were barely 15 journalists in the press box,” a regular at the venue told us. The majority of stadiums are affected, maybe apart from the Parc des Princes and those where the French teams play. This is what this photographer, in the midst of a depression between Lyon and Marseille, where he covers the games, told us:
” “Honestly, it’s depressing, there’s a crazy atmosphere everywhere, except in football. I’m disgusted because it’s the only sport I do, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to feel it.” »
The final blow when he accosts us once again in the mixed zone: “Oh! Apparently there’s a good atmosphere at the Marina? Actually, it’s only football that sucks.” And yeah, sorry mate, there’s a great atmosphere at the Marina (and we didn’t tell him that we could also go swimming, just to spare him).
An unreadable tournament in the middle of a football orgy
Without any real stars released by their club among the boys, when the presences of Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé were constantly coming to the forefront of the news, it was difficult to attract crowds. Even less so with a Euro played barely a month earlier, and the annual football orgy on TV.
The tournament formats between the men, with players under 23 except for three exceptions, and the women, are not even the same. For the women, there is no age limit and even less retention of players by the clubs, these are FIFA dates.
However, these low attendances are far from raising eyebrows among the organizers, who prefer to congratulate themselves. Yes, yes.
” “On the contrary, we are super happy! We knew that we would not fill the stadiums in the group stages, and these great attendances like those of the Blues are on the contrary a great surprise!” »
The tariff question
The city’s deputy for sport, Sébastien Jibrayel, is much less smiling in front of a Vélodrome stadium that is mostly two-thirds empty. “Pfff, as an elected official for sport, in a city that loves sport, I am not at all happy to see such an empty stadium. It is the image of Marseille, France and the Olympic Games that suffers,” he points out.
So he asked the organizers to review their pricing policy and offer seats at 5 euros when attendance is low. “I’m not imposing anything, I’m proposing! I understand that for Paris 2024 it’s complicated because they sold seats at a higher price. But there is such enthusiasm in our city, when the flame arrives, the Marina is sold out every day, it would allow some people to enjoy the festive spirit of these Olympic Games,” he hopes.
Packs at 60 euros for three matches are indeed offered by the organizers, “but for people who do not know football, one match is enough”, points out the elected official. This question of pricing is however not “a subject” at Paris 2024, which explains that it offers 2,500 places to each of the communities, city hall, metropolis, department and region to benefit people who would not have the means to come to the stadium.
New format?
And why not think about a new format than the one proposed by the Olympic Games? The success of the last Kings League, the indoor seven-a-side football competition created by Gerard Piqué, could give the IOC some ideas. Because to see Rayan Cherki’s fiery dribbles end in a goal kick like on Tuesday night, we already have Ligue 1, right?
This question of the relevance of such a classic format, when rugby is played seven-a-side during the Olympics, nevertheless passes “Straight over my head”for the Bleuets coach, Thierry Henry. And no need to insist. The first scorer against New Zealand on Tuesday, Jean-Philippe Mateta, was not in the mood to wonder either, and the press officer was almost outraged. It is true that the France-Argentina match coming up on Friday evening will once again pique national interest. Then? We are not promising anything.