“Set fire to the stands”: in Frontignan, the Kop des Barges which supports the FTHB has formed an association

Les supporters du Kop des Barges pendant la rencontre avec Caen. Midi Libre

Fort de sa soixantaine de membres, le Kop des Barges qui assure l’ambiance durant les matchs et supporte inlassablement le FTHB s’est constitué en association.

Friday, October 4, the Ferrari hall was at full capacity. Frontignan Thau Handball was playing its 5th match of the season, against Caen (see ML of October 5, 2024). These two undefeated teams were both hungry for victory, but the FTHB had an ace up its sleeve and not just any ace: the Kop des Barges! What is it?? “We are the FTHB supporters club, announces François Rocheblave, the vice-president. Year after year, Frontignan Thau Handball is rising in level and we, the supporters, always support them and sometimes from very far away".

Last June, for example, the Barges travelled to Sélestat in Alsace for the “final four” where the four best Proligue teams of the season faced off. “We travelled and lived together for a weekend. And in the stands we set the place on fire”, replaces the supporter. If the FTHB did not win that evening, its supporters won first prize in terms of enthusiasm and joie de vivre.“Everyone congratulated us on the atmosphere we created in the stands. We loved what we experienced so much that we decided to create the Kop des Barges!"

"Fighting like barges"

Why Barges ? “Last year, the FTHB had the smallest budget in the Proligue and the players fought without any complexes, like barges, explains the vice-president of the kop who specifies: We have our logo which brings together the symbols of the city and the club: a handball piercing a shield, a twisted bottle of muscat, the vine, the palm trees and the beach.” This association under the 1901 law aims to unite FTHB supporters and has around sixty members. It is involved in various solidarity actions such as Pink October. Thus, before the match last Friday, supporters distributed pink ribbons at the entrance to the hall while asking for donations to the League against Cancer.

Creating links between supporters

With great fanfare of drums, fog horns and megaphones, the president of the kop Flavien Riche and all the Barges supported their team until the final victory. Their next trip will be to Sarran (near Orléans). “We are going there because we have already met their supporters, “the gladiators”, with whom we have established friendly relations, says the president. Our goal is also to create links with all the supporters' clubs." And with this in mind, the Barges are preparing to join CASHF, the Collective of French Handball Supporters' Associations, in order to continue to spread the friendly and sporting spirit of the supporters. To finance its travels, the Kop des Barges sells T-shirts but is also looking for patrons and accepts donations from individuals and companies subject to tax exemption.

Kopdesbarges@gmail.com. Facebook: kop des barges. I subscribe to read the rest