In the premises of the EDHEC Business School in Nice, on Thursday, February 24, 2011, the official ceremony for the signing of a regional partnership agreement between the French sports movement and the businesses of Var (UPV) and Alpes-Maritimes (UPE06) was held. This agreement is a first at the national level. Nice Premium gives the floor to two key figures in this agreement: Denis Masséglia, president of the CNOSF, and Yvon Grosso, president of UPE06.
Yvon Grosso (President of the Union for Enterprises of 06):
This agreement is an opportunity to introduce the sports world to the business world. In the Alpes-Maritimes, we currently have 250,000 members spread across 4,500 sports associations. We therefore have a sports sector that should not be neglected. The aim of this partnership is, on one hand, to promote “health-sport” and thus engage in preventive measures against cardiovascular risks, for example. On the other hand, it would allow for better integration of former athletes who often struggle to make a living after a highly successful career. Moreover, sport is a communication vector. We truly wish to infuse the values of sport into the working world. An employee should be somewhat like a competitor within their company for it to progress. We also have a project to create a “sport voucher” system. Similar to a meal voucher, it would facilitate sports participation by employees. For instance, the company could partially finance a club membership at a certain percentage. We aim to give a societal approach to the sports domain.
Denis Masséglia (President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee):
This partnership between the economic realm and the sports world of the Côte d’Azur is an example of an agreement that aims to be national. It marks the starting point of dialogue between these two worlds. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the economic value of sports. Sports development (infrastructure, event organization…) inevitably leads to economic development. And why not, if it can increase the number of members in the various sports federations. It’s what we call a win-win partnership.
