The European Championship Padel lives complicated days: The International Federation Padel awarded the European Championships to Rome from November 3-9. The European association of Padel   also announced its European Championships padel  in Portugal on the same dates. 

Since then, there have been a lot of misunderstandings. Among fans, players and clubs of padel. Nations do not necessarily know how to deal with this dilemma. The padel does not come out of this unfortunate opposition between the EPA and the FIP.

And yet EPA and FIP have much more in common than differences.

Let's try to clarify this.

FIP and EPA: Who are the actors?

The International Federation of Padel has been chaired since the beginning of the year by Luigi Carraro. He is italian. And he managed with his team to unify the world ranking (World Padel Tour and FIP). FIP launched the FIP Tour by dividing the different tests of padel by category. In addition, FIP is actively working to integrate the padel within the Olympic family. Since the beginning of the year, the FIP has won some great battles.

And the work is far from over, this is just the beginning with a lot of ambitions and projects.

explains Luigi Carraro.

International Federations Padel : Statutes and information

The European Association of Padel (EPA) was created at the start of the year. Philippe Cerfont is the president of the EPA. He's belgian. If the EPA was set up little by little at the end of 2018, the EPA entered the European deep end in January 2019.

EPA had to work "under the aegis of FIP". Philippe Cerfon had indeed explained it to us:

In Football, there is FIFA (International Federation of Football Association) and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), the body that brings together the European football federations.

Why the padel should work otherwise?

In particular, the EPA has put in place EuroAmerica Padel Cup. And is currently preparing other events. It brings together all the European nations of padel, except Italy and France for now.

Why is it stuck?

Difficult to answer. Because in our opinion, the two organizations are competent. And the two entities have shown great things to develop the padel. Joining forces to speak with one voice seems to us and perhaps naively the best option.

But let's go back to the facts.

World of padel in Paraguay, Luigi Carraro, officially becomes the future president of the FIP (taking office on January 1, 2019).

Luigi Carraro: The new president of FIP

At the time, it was thought that the chances of seeing Ricardo da Silva Oliveira, the President of the Portuguese Federation, at the head of the FIP more likely. Portugal had been particularly active in recent years having successfully organized the last European Championships of Padel and the world of padel. It is a great nation of padel with more and more players, clubs and the passage of Portuguese players who shine in World Padel Tour, the professional circuit of padel.

Finally, Daniel Patty, the former president of FIP, was also Italian. We could therefore estimate, we the first, that another Italian at the head of the FIP was less likely than a Portuguese for example.

But, the world of padel got it wrong as it can happen to him. Ricardo da Silva Oliveira will not get the post of President of the FIP. The votes have spoken: In November 2018, the candidate Luigi Carraro, whom we had not necessarily seen coming, will find allies to become the new President of the FIP. He won 78 votes to 57. We know that France supported Italy's candidacy. Normal in view of the historical links between these two nations.

EPA, the fruit of revenge?

This defeat for the Portuguese sign the beginning of the EPA adventure? Is the EPA the result of revenge?

We do not think so. For several reasons.

First, the idea of ​​the EPA sprouted as early as May 2018. The construction of the EPA is not necessarily a reaction related to the defeat of Portuguese.

Then, the EPA brings together 18 nations. If it was a real reaction to Luigi Carrero's election, we know that countries close to FIP would not have supported the EPA.

Like for example the Belgian Federation, whose president is Alexandre Pavy, member of the board of the FIP. More generally, the links between the EPA and the FIP are very numerous, with the nations of the padel ready to follow EPA and FIP.

If the Portuguese president has shown good things for years in the middle of the padel, we must also salute the work carried out by the FIP and its president. So is it not possible to come together?

Clumsiness?

There have certainly been clumsiness (wanted or not ...) in both camps.

For example, Portugal and Spain will not participate in the extraordinary meeting held in Sao Paulo le thursday 21 last march for the election of the FIP board. We noted at the time the absence of Spain and Portugal ...

Today, perhaps that absence was actually wanted. But the question that arose at the time too: Why make an election on a Thursday in Sao Paulo (Brazil)? Why not have an electronic voting system or simply a delegation system, as it can be done? Maybe the FIP was clumsy on that as well.

These awkwardnesses, if we feel that they are, seem derisory compared to the image that we are showing.

Because we have the feeling that the majority would prefer an association between FIP and EPA.

The EPA recognized by many nations, enough?

What makes the strength of the EPA is that it is today supported by many European countries starting with the largest nation in the padel worldwide: Spain. It recognizes the FIP, in particular in the organization of the world padel, as it recognizes the EPA for organizing the European Championships of Padel. Recall that it is Padel Wall, our Portuguese colleague who will get this important information.

The EPA had already said several times that it would work under the aegis of the FIP. Last March, the two institutions seemed to link up and ready to work together. At that time, moreover, the EPA and the FIP had to collaborate together within the framework of a European championship of padel common in Rome.

Philippe Cerfont: “The EPA, A step forward for padel European"

Yet a few weeks later, it's breaking up.

It is true that the EPA must recognize the statutes of the FIP and wait 3 years before being able to be the official European body… In front of our colleagues from Padel Spain, Luigi Carraro seemed ready to accept a negotiation on the regulatory part of the FIP. “The concern is that there are members in FIP, and I have to protect the interests of everyone, including those of Portugal and Spain". Gordian knot? To see more closely, we feel that the organs can nevertheless get along.

Can we not change or adapt certain points of the regulation if all the European nations are ready to create this bridge between the two institutions?

An extraordinary meeting between all European nations to unblock the situation, is it possible? October seems the date all found.

Maybe no, because November is tomorrow. And time is running out.

EPA and FIP: UNITED, possible?

The FIP and the EPA have the same objectives: To develop the padel.

Whether at FIP ​​or EPA, we can not say that there are only incompetent people. It's wrong. We can objectively tell you that these two institutions are made up of competent people who really want to develop our sport.

Is it more about people's problems? What stone blocks this rapprochement which seems to us, in our opinion, the most judicious?

We still want to believe that there is an alternative to all this and to avoid the shame of seeing 2 European Championships of padel the same year. Now, let's not hide it from you, less than 3 months from the events, it seems very complicated unless the EPA and the FIP unite as quickly as possible on a common project.

Because, let's not forget, the padel has today become on all continents a sport that we scrutinize, sometimes very closely ... The International Olympic Committee (IOC) would certainly not look favorably on this confrontation and this double European Championship of Padel… And neither do the fans.

The image of padel and its future are at stake. So yes, we believe in the rapprochement between the FIP and the EPA.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.