100 days to go before the start of the Women’s World Cup, which will take place in France from June 7 to July 7, 2019. On this occasion, the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, traveled to Nice, one of the nine host cities, to celebrate the event.
After participating in the Grand Debate on the theme “Democracy, Citizenship, and Sport” at the National Sports Museum, Minister Roxana Maracineanu went to MAMAC to participate in the festivities related to the organization of the World Cup. She did not falter in front of Ettie, the official mascot of the competition; the former Olympic swimmer successfully scored her penalty and kicked off the penalty shootout event in the early evening.
The official delegation, which included, among others, the 1998 World Cup champion and OGC Nice coach Patrick Vieira, Deputy Mayors José Cobos and Gilles Veissière, and tennis player Alizée Cornet, toured the workshops set up for the occasion. All of this took place under the delighted eyes of several dozen children. The male and female football categories of Gym and Cavigal were present. The youth sections of the city’s handball and basketball clubs also participated in the festivities.
Madame Minister took the opportunity to engage extensively with local field actors and emphasize the importance of a new wave of civic engagement in sports. “We need to rethink volunteering because we need new ideas and new skills in our associative environments,” she stated.
At the end of the event, Roxana Maracineanu scored her double by netting the 100th penalty of the evening, which allowed everyone to discover the tournament poster for the city of Nice. As a reminder, the Allianz Riviera will host six matches during the competition, including a group stage match of Les Bleues against Norway on June 12.
Yassine Said Hassane
