Editorial by Mrs Roselyne BACHELOT, Sports and Health Minister
It is a great pleasure for me to come back to this region that I love so much for the organization of a new sports event at international level.
I hope that these European Blind Football Championships that will take place from 27th June to 4th July 2009 in Nantes will be an opportunity, for France, to make us forget the disa.
Apart from sports results, the conviviality spirit that prevails in a competition, the attitudes of the teams and the spectators before, during and after the encounters are all indicators to which I pay attention to assess the success of the organization of a sports competition.
I won’t forget, apart from this high-level event, the work done everyday by the French Disabled Sports Federation to develop sport for most people. It is the other main line of the politicy that I stand up for.
Sports offer to handicaped people must be varied, adapted, all over the national territory. I am aware of the work that is still to be done but I can assure you that, with sports federations, many actions are undertaken to carry on the improvement of the access to practising.
Therefore, I welcome the 10 nations that will visit us during these 8 days of competition, congratulations in advance to all the volunteers that will put a lot of effort behind the scenes so that this competition would take place in the best conditions, and may the best men win!
Editorial by Mr Bernard LAPORTE, Sports Secretary
After French Blind Football team failed to qualify for Beijing Paralympic Games, our players come back in competition for an important sports event that marks this post-paralympic year: the European championships.
Spanish players, with their 4th rank in Paralympic Games, and English players, with their 5th place, will certainly be the favourites of this tournament.
For French team, it is the beginning of a new paralympics period with strong lessons that have been drawn from the high-level encounters that took place in Beijing.
I am confident that the training implemented by Gérard MASSON and its technical staff will carry the French colours high in the sky of this championship. Let’s hope that these efforts would be rewarded by a title of European champions!
I also want to welcome all the delegations attending this championship, keeping in mind the values that are most important to me and must go with any sports organization: rigour, conviviality and respect of sports ethics.
Good European championship to all and enjoy these 8 days of competition!
Editorial by Mr Gérard Masson, President of the French Disabled Sports Federation
New disabled sports discipline recognised by our movement in 1988 that appeared for the first time in Athens Paralympic Games in 2004, blind football is a dynamic and spectacular sport. Benefitting from the popularity of its able counterpart, this discipline (reserved for our blind or visually impaired friends) keeps on developping at national level as well as international level.
Therefore, I would like to thank Julien ZELELA, our Federal Technical Manager of Blind Football for Disabled Sports Federation, for suggesting, with his commission, organizing these 7th European Championships in Nantes with the precious support of Don Bosco Batignolles Association, managed by the copresidents Jean-Luc LESCOUEZEC and Marc LEMAIRE.
The ten nations that will be present in Nantes have been training for this event for several months, like French team that is well prepared with the active support of our friends from UNADEV.
I would also like to thank our Sports and Health Ministry that supported us as well as Pays de Loire Regional Council, Loire Atlantique Regional Council, Nantes town council that is very involved, UEFA directed by Michel PLATINI, economic partners such as EDF, that did not hesitate to lend, among other supports, its whole orchestra for the opening ceremony and all those who, individually or with their structures, have worked for the success of this event.
I am convinced that Nantes audience, as a good expert of football, will appreciate the show and the talent of the players to which I wish a great tournament.