Philippe Cerfont, the President of the European Association of Padel (EPA) and the Association francophone de padel in Belgium (AFPADEL) looks back on the launch of this new institutional structure in the landscape of padel European: the EPA. He explains to us his role and his objectives with his 16 member countries.

The European Association of Padel (EPA), its objective?

The EPA has been officially active since January 2019. The first discussions on the creation of a continental structure took place in Estoril at the end of 2017, under the leadership of Ricardo Oliveira and Alfredo Garbizu, respectively presidents of the federations of padel from Portugal and Spain.

We have refined and finalized the 2018 project to officially start our activities this year.

The EPA is first and foremost a team. Today we work a lot with our executive committee, made up of representatives of the following federations: Switzerland (Claudia Bram), Sweden (Novy Karlsson), Spain (Alfredo Garbizu), Portugal (Ricardo Oliveira) and Belgium. Our members also intervene punctually in all areas of the life of our organization. Our head office is located in Zurich and we aim, among other things, to develop the links between the various European federations, to help the smaller federations to organize themselves and to organize the various European competitions, in collaboration with the federation. international.

Are not you afraid we'll say: One more organization?

It is true. Some may call themselves an even more organ ... You should know that the existence of continental federations is a prerequisite for the Olympic recognition of the padel. Other continental federations are also being created in order to meet this requirement. Of course, EPA and its member countries actively support FIP ​​President Luigi Carraro in his quest for Olympic recognition.

Beyond that, we believe that Europe today has a strong dynamic in our sport and that our continent certainly represents the greatest development potential in the coming years. Note also that the EPA represents the padel institutional and therefore has no commercial vocation.

We want to develop and promote our sport, starting from the bottom of the ladder without necessarily an obligation of immediate profitability. That's why helping our members to, for example, broadcast technical or educational programs is very important to us.

How will you boost the development of padel in Europe ?

We believe that Europe has real know-how in terms of organization so we want to set up quality events that will help popularize our sport to the general public and allow all the players on the continent to compete with the big players. nations of padel European in good conditions.

It will also eventually interest the major media, the sponsors by creating virtuous circles to advance our sport. We also aim to bring together all the European federations. So there is still a bit of work in this area, 3 new candidates will soon enter the EPA, followed perhaps soon by France itself, who knows.

Note that we have made very cordial contacts with the FFT and that we intend to welcome France quickly in our organization.

EuroAmerica padel cup: The Ryder Cup of padel

What is the relationship between FIP and EPA?

The EPA and the FIP collaborate actively and our 2 organizations share a view quite close to the future of padel. We still have to see some details but we will probably jointly organize the next European Nations Championship in Italy in November with the FIP.

The details of this highly anticipated competition will be officially announced very soon. Beyond that, I personally think that our institutions (FIP & EPA) must be strong and aim for more professionalism while collaborating in an intelligent way. This is what we are busy implementing with Luigi Carraro, with respect and mutual independence. I am very confident in the future of our institutions, I think we are going in the right direction.

EPA events will begin when?

We are fortunate to have in our ranks extremely well-honed countries for quality international event organizations. I am thinking, of course, of Spain and Portugal, which, in addition to having a lot of infrastructure, enjoy a more lenient climate than in the North of the continent and show unreserved dynamism when it comes to our favorite sport.

In the long term, we obviously intend to organize events everywhere in Europe as soon as possible, why not in France where the quality and the number of infrastructures increase with each passing week. The first EPA event of this year will be EuroAmerica padel cup (comparable to the Ryder cup in golf) in early July. This is a meeting between Europe and the Americas where the captains appoint 2 teams of 14 players (3 players max / country, minimum 7 countries). The rules promote diversity of representation therefore will allow players from the new countries of the padel to be present in Portugal for our greatest pleasure.

We will also organize the European Championship of Nations in November, I talked about it as well as the European Championship veterans, Spain in late September. The last veteran world championship in Estepona was a great success and I think that all countries, but especially their players are very motivated for this kind of meeting. The goal for this European Championship is to do even better than last year in terms of organization. The details will also follow quickly.

Then, during the WPT Portugal master's degree, the EPA will organize its annual seminar with its general assembly as well as conferences on important subjects for federations (digital strategy, communication, pedagogy, coaching, etc. padel for juniors, organization of events etc…). This event is more intended for officials and will also welcome technical managers and other interested persons designated by their federations.

There will also be a little later in the year the Champion's Trophy where all the European national champions (boys and girls) will be invited to compete in this prestigious competition. All details will be posted on our FB @ pagepadeleuropeEPA & our site: https://padel-europe.org/

The EPA will also organize this year pre-professional tournaments (EPA tour) with qualitative specifications for players and sponsors to raise the level of the best teams in all European countries. The EPA Tour will, if possible, be pooled with existing FIP tournaments in order to harmonize the rankings and increase the overall quality of international tournaments that will be destined to be the antechamber of the existing professional circuit.

And do the relations with the World Padel Tour evolve?

The EPA has so far had little relationship with the WPT but we believe that coordination and collaboration between the padel institutional and professional circuit is crucial for our sport. I think that the EPA at European level and the FIP in general must train and bring as many people as possible to padel.

Then, our institutions must organize the world and European championships with great care while developing a more accessible but correctly marked circuit for aspiring professional players of padel who may later be able to evolve on the pro circuit.

There is probably a harmonization to do with the WPT to create a real harmonized world ranking taking into account the real merit of players compared to the level of tournaments played.

To give you an example, a WPT challenger, won by global 30 tops, distributes fewer points than a potentially much lower FIP tournament. We want to change that. We have already discussed this with the FIP and we are in general agreement on the subject. I think that a positive evolution will be possible quickly, as long as the WPT is a buyer, of course.

Julien Bondia

Julien Bondia is a teacher of padel in Tenerife (Spain). Columnist and advisor, he helps you play better through his tutorials and tactical/technical articles padel.

On the same subject

Tags