WAR BRINGS FOOTBALL TO FRANCE

Football in France has its origins in1870 when the nation was defeated during the Franco-Prussian War. France, it was believed, was beaten by the weakness physically and mentally of the country's people, in contrast to the Germans, who were disciplined by nationalist gymnastics.

So, a French gymnastics movement was established, there was, of course, cycling with the first organised Penny Farthing race in 1869. Sponsorship kicked in and banked velodromes sprung up, notably one at Buffalo in Paris on the site of Buffalo Bill's circus. You may have to do your own research to understand this historic reference.

Just before the First World War, the French already had rugby as a popular activity and Baron de Coubertin, founder of the Olympic movement, believed that the French aristocracy needed sporting strategies for survival and toughening up. Students at prestigious lycées set up Racing Club and Stade Francais in the 1880s and adopted rugby, rowing and track and it was in Aquitaine and Languedoc that rugby was adopted before football. I think this is still the more popular team sport here.

Football or something similar was first played in Le Havre in 1872 by a collection of English, Cambridge and Oxford graduates whose colours, light blue and dark blue, are retained today in the local league club. I was lucky enough to be part of an Oxbridge tour to Le Havre to help the club celebrate its centenary. Le Havre was a French league club and we were undergraduates. We lost 1-3. There was rugby and athletics celebrated too, so the English have a big say in France's sporting excellence. 

Football therefore, became a feature in the north-east of the country and inevitably Paris adopted a number of teams and only in the major ports was there an English influence to make football popular. Whereas in the south west of France no football was played with any vigour until the 1920s.

The First World War was good for French football, spreading the word over the whole of the country as it became unified. Youngsters in the Massif Central learned the game from lycée-educated officers from Lyons and ruffians in the Paris were shown the game by factory workers from Lille. This diffusion of the game was confirmed in 1924 when the Paris Olympics gave France its major stadium, the Stade de Colombes.

As professionalism grew, once peace happened,  it was industrial investment that encouraged the game to spread, with companies like Peugeot creating FC Sochaux in 1929, FC Roubaix developing from the brewing industry and La Cesne grain helping to set up Olympique de Marseille.

Still cannot get any football on our holiday let's TV! So back to the snooker table!!