Football: Impossible is still not Nîmes

Les membres du bureau du collectif comptent bien rester plus qu’actifs. MIDI LIBRE – JERÔME MORIN

Le collectif ''Sauvons le Nîmes Olympique'' a tenu son assemblée générale, samedi 21 septembre.

The collective ‘’Let's Save Nîmes Olympique’ was created in May 2023. Sixteen months later, the association has 1,560 members. On May 4th, at the Costières stadium, CrocoSocios was launched, with 443 contributors today for a sum of 28,010 euros.

A process in order, ''in the short and medium term, to activate a popular shareholding process''', explains Patrick Fustier, secretary elected co-president (with Alain Espeisse) during the AGM, this Saturday morning at the Victor-Hugo bar.

Alain Espeisse : ''Not here to throw Assaf out. Just here to prepare for his departure and be there the day he leaves''

Everything would, of course, be fine in the best of all possible worlds… if the president of Nîmes Olympique Rani Assaf had left the club. Which, to this day, is not yet the case, even though it has been more than a year since the ‘’president’ last set foot in Les Antonins to see his team.
''We were never there to throw Rani Assaf out, specifies Alain Espeisse. We are just there to prepare for his departure and be there the day he leaves. No one ever intended to throw him out, but to prepare his departure as quickly as possible. After that, we don't know when……''

Being an integral part of the club's life

Nîmes one day, Nîmes always for the thirty or so supporters present, this Saturday morning. ''We didn't stop. We heard a lot of things saying that we were listless, which is not the case at all. We continue our meetings, to move'', recalls Espeisse.

At a time when Corentin Carpentier resigned from his position as co-president, at the beginning of the month.
''The goal is for us to be an integral part of the life of the club, notes vice-president Dimitri Pialat, known as ‘’Polak’’. You followed well; there were possible negotiations for a takeover, unfortunately this did not happen. But we are working with elected officials so that we are an integral part of the post-Assaf period. When the City Hall negotiates, it addresses the subject of the collective, pushes in this direction, it is part of the discussions. We really do it in action so that we have an active role in the future.''

Being more influential at the policy level

A future that, for the moment, is still written in dotted lines. ''The objective is to safeguard and promote the interests of all Nîmes supporters and, as a result, of the club itself'', says Fustier.

And Alain Espeisse concludes: ''We should be more proactive at the policy level. It would be good if each member could have two people sign so that we can reach 5,000. The day we are 5,000, we will be much more supportive of politicians, whom we have all met, of course, in the run-up to the elections. And know what each party intends to do with Rani Assaf.

To be continued in the next episode

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