The FIP, from the follower car to the lead car: a true vision or a power grab? Padel Magazine

The announcement of the launch of the FIP Academy international training platform marks a new stage in the strategy of the International Federation of PadelThrough this project, the institution states that it wants to to structure, unify and make accessible the training of coaches and referees on a global scale.

In principle, the idea may seem legitimate. In practice, The positioning, the method, and the communication raise questions..

A recently formed federation facing a much more structured sportthat she

Padel was not built from a top-down institutional vision. It developed thanks to clubs, to field coaches, to players, to experienced trainers and national federations, sometimes for several decades.

In this context, the FIP remains a young structurestill in the consolidation phase. However, the language used in its communication suggests that there is now a unique “global vision” of training, supported by the international body itself.

A role reversal then occurs:

It is no longer the FIP that learns from its members,
but its members would be invited to learn from the FIP.

Members often more advanced than the central body

It is important to remember a fundamental point: The members of the FIP are its national federationsThey are the ones who have:

structured the practice,
invested in infrastructure,
builds training programs,
accompanied the professionalization of sport,
absorbed the explosion of padel both financially and in terms of personnel.

In many cases, these federations have maintained the credibility of the FIPdespite international governance often criticized approximateTournament organizers, referees, and coaches have sometimes expressed their discouragement in the face of a lack of consistency and professionalism.

And yet, instead of starting by strengthening its internal operations, the FIP is now choosing to to interfere directly in the training of its own members, as if they lacked expertise.

To implicitly compare a still embryonic structure to established institutions such as the French tennis federation or the “Italian Tennis Federation e Padel“, particularly experienced in training, gives pause for thought.

And, even more surprisingly, many FIP members were caught off guard by this news. They were not consulted, or only marginally so. Given the importance of the subject, there are, on paper, several grounds for objection.

The FIP also owes a great deal to the professional circuits

Another blind spot in this communication: the decisive role of professional circuits in the construction of the current FIP.

The first truly structuring foundation came from World Padel TourIt was thanks to this private circuit that the FIP was able, for the first time, unify the international ranking and to offer a clear hierarchy of world padel.

Then came a major strategic shift. Under very specific circumstances, the FIP chose to turn away from World Padel Tour to support “suddenly” Premier Padel, a project led by Qatar.

Here again, the FIP was not the originator of the project. It has accompanied by a funded, well-thought-out and ambitious structure.

And it's worth remembering: Premier Padel had to learn, and must still today to adjustCalendar, governance, player relations, sporting organization, communication: adjustments are constant. But the circuit is progressing, and much faster than the body meant to regulate it.

The FIP, from the follower wagon to the lead wagon: a true vision or a power grab?

A temptation to rewrite history

The problem stems from that.
The FIP today gives the impression of wanting to take ownership of the collective success :

that of private clubs,
of the investing companies,
of the national federations,
of the independent trainers,
of the professional circuits.

As if, from now on, the history of padel had to be told from a single center of gravity.

By wanting to become the leading carriage of a sport of which she was only a carriage, the FIP seems to be multiplying the institutional gambles, relying on its status more than on his actual expertise.

To train or to unite? The true role of an international federation

It is possible — and desirable — that the FIP Academy it should become a useful, collaborative tool that respects existing expertise. The project needs to be given a chance. But this requires one essential thing: change posture.

The role of an international federation should be to:

to unite existing skills,
to promote local expertise,
harmonize without imposing,
learning as much as teaching.

Padel didn't wait for the FIP to develop.
trainers coaches and national structures no more.

It remains to be seen whether this strategy will be part of a assumed collective vision… or a institutional ego without limitsconvinced that he had always been at the center of history.
Time will tell if this gamble pays off. But one thing is certain: Legitimacy is not decreed, it is built — and shared.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.