The crisis that tennis has been experiencing for several years, can it serve the padel in its development and allow the French Tennis Federation not to make the same mistakes as in the past?

It is in any case a question asked openly by clubs of padel at the FFT. While we are living through an unprecedented health crisis, the clubs of padel in particular, fear that the FFT's policy will continue, jeopardizing their structure. They want to take this “break” to talk about club issues.

  • The history of padel does it take the same direction as that of tennis?

Philippe Brossard, the author of "Stop sad tennis" helps us to understand what we should especially not do in the padel to avoid taking the same direction as that which was taken concerning the development of tennis. Indeed, according to this tennis specialist, the operation of the 5000 FFT courts had a terrible impact in the French tennis community: “la desertification of clubs (…) by creating micro-clubs made up of one or two fields with no real reception structure“. (Wikipedia)

However, in the padel, many players and specialists in padel  have been denouncing for some time “this multiplication of small clubs where no souls live" or " this conglomerate of tiny clubs of padel in a restricted area ”.

We also remember the words of the candidate for the presidency of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton who rightly denounced this risk.

To this, the FFT does not remain indifferent and it has already announced that it will propose a conference of clubs of padel private.

Et “Clubs of padel who build 1 or 2 lots of padel in areas already well supplied with padel are in reality victims of the FFT policy ”.

  • Private and municipal clubs: Same fight

We must not believe that these are the private clubs on the one hand and the municipal clubs on the other, we are speaking with one voice. The financial distribution of the FFT must be done with a minimum of coherence and intelligence.

In some regions, such as Île-de-France, you can find 4 or 5 clubs padel in the same area.

This would therefore have 2 direct impacts:

1. Create an over-offer in a geographic area

2. Dilute the players on several structures (and therefore at half mast, economic problems, etc.)

Clubs padel private and municipal authorities sound the alarm:

The FFT must remember its suicidal policy in tennis in the 80s which we still pay the bill today.

the FFT must hear us as soon as possible. The crisis in tennis must serve the padel. We must not make the same mistakes. And at this pace, we're going straight ahead.

The players themselves confess that “multiplying and scattering clubs of padel on very small perimeters, we increase the risk of having clubs without atmosphere ”.

  • “We need people to run a club of padel"

To play padel, you have to be 4. And this sport needs a pool of players:

This is why this policy at all costs to put land padel on every street is a bad idea.

What if the demand followed, but in general, you don't create that many players when you build a padel in a club.

If we should not caricature or generalize, private clubs are most often the suppliers of players for municipal tennis clubs. The players take advantage of the rates and sometimes even of almost free access to the structure padel.

The FFT's investment must be more balanced: the private sector must not be forgotten.

If the FFT cannot help private clubs, it should not do so for municipal clubs because it creates too much competitive distortion and in the end everyone loses.

These words, which come back regularly, should not divide the clubs and the world of padel. “Certainly not, quite the contrary”.

Not subsidizing municipal clubs would be an extreme solution. But today we are in another extreme. What is needed is more balance.

  • Are there solutions?

The French Tennis Federation cannot legally subsidize private clubs. This is what the FFT has made clear to us on several occasions through the elected representative in charge of padel, Hubert Picquier. It invests heavily in padel, but he is actually accused of “misinvest".

Here are some questions that we allow ourselves to ask:

1- Can the sports associations created by private clubs obtain these subsidies but after the creation of the club?

If the clubs of padel private companies meet the specifications or partnerships with the FFT, then the associations of private clubs could obtain financial assistance.

Is this a solution to circumvent a regulation that is difficult to accept for private clubs who consider that there is currently “a difference in treatment”? If the sports associations in the private structures meet the specifications of the FFT, why could they not obtain a subsidy after the creation of the club?

2- And at the same time, can't we find, precisely, less restrictive specifications for the clubs for the FFT PADEL TOUR or during the various championships of padel organized by the FFT? Can't we help them financially, by paying them "the right price”Of a rental of their structure instead of their“ask for very special rates"?

Here too, Hubert Picquier remains listening, since the FFT should organize a conference of clubs of padel private. “But we have to move quickly because if clubs close, the FFT will have its share of responsibility”. Very strong words which again seem to be unanimous among the clubs of padel private.

3- At a minimum, can't the FFT better manage its subsidy policy geographically by targeting in particular areas where there is no padel ?

Coronavirus hurts all structures. And of course, the private clubs are encountering tenfold difficulties. The post-virus will be essential and many clubs expect from the Federation “a financial gesture / a plan to help them regain their health and prepare for the future more serenely".

The future will tell us if they have been heard. The FFT has already said that it would help up to 35 million euros to revive the ecosystem of French tennis and associated disciplines.

Return to the post on the same subject: https://padelmagazine.fr/la-fft-aura-t-elle-sa-part-de-responsabilite-si-certains-clubs-de-padel-ferment

 

Note that we did not mention all the names of the speakers in this post, at their request.

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.

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