A title of champion of France, followed by an administrative relegation to the second division, then a repechage to allow him to play in the Final Four of the Champions League. For several months, the ACCS Asnières-Villeneuve has been experiencing an emotional roller coaster. The Ile-de-France club took advantage of the exclusion of Russian clubs from UEFA competitions to climb into the last four and thus become the first French club to reach this stage of the tournament. He faces Sporting Portugal, defending champion, in the semi-finals, Friday April 29, in Riga in Latvia (5 p.m.).
“It’s quite extraordinary. It’s really a feat that seemed impossible a few months ago, as French futsal is so behind compared to neighboring countries”exclaims Sami Sellami, President and Founder of CASC. “It is above all the culmination of a project that began in 2014 in a district of Villeneuve-La-Garenne, which has grown each year to reach this level. Initially, we are an association that wants to accelerate success in the neighborhoods, by proving that it is not a story of money and that one can be ambitious despite the obstacles”rejoices the leader.
In five years, the ACCS Futsal is moved from the fifth division to the highest national level. The club even won its first top flight title last season, in 2021. However, the celebration was short-lived and this meteoric rise was abruptly interrupted with the decision of the National Directorate of Control and Management (DNCG ) to relegate the club to the second division, pointing to an unbalanced budget.
But by keeping their best elements, including the Portuguese Ricardinho, crowned six times best player in the world between 2010 and 2018, and the Frenchman Nelson Lutin, nicknamed the “Mbappé of futsal”, the Lions knocked out the competition in the lower level, with 16 wins in as many matches, for 142 goals scored and 24 conceded.
If the club has been able to keep its stars, it is partly thanks to the assumed ambition to shine on the European scene. An ambition rewarded with a second place in his group and then a repechage after the exclusion of Russian clubs, because of the invasion of Ukraine: “It illustrates rather well what we are and the incredible situation in which we find ourselves. We are the best French club, champion of France, and at the same time we are demoted to D2, we are a poor futsal nation but we figure all the same among the best clubs in Europe. We bring together contradictions”laughs Sami Sellami.
Hello from Riga pic.twitter.com/QwR2FsBNzF
– ACCS FC – ASNIÈRES-VILLENEUVE 92 (@ACCSFutsal) April 27, 2022
The ACCS had indeed finished in second place in its group in the elite round, the qualifying phase for the European Final Four, and took advantage of the exclusion of the first, the Russian club MFK Tyumen, to reach the last four. Circumstances for which the president almost apologizes: “We are both super happy of course, but we also regret that it is happening because there is a war and a people who are suffering. We intend to donate part of the profits that we will make on the sale of collector’s jerseys to the French Red Cross in favor of Ukrainian refugees”.
In the final four, the ACCS will find Sporting Portugal, defending champion, as well as FC Barcelona and Benfica Lisbon, teams that benefit from the structures and resources of professional football clubs. “We don’t fight in the same category”, regrets Sami Sellami, whose club will end the season with a budget of between 500,000 and 600,000 euros, against several million for its competitors in the Champions League. He therefore hopes that the visibility provided by the European Cup will be beneficial for his club: “We are looking for funding and we are in perpetual financial survival. The administrative relegation scared many of our partners. It would be good if the Final Four were a good showcase and that our presence did not go unnoticed”.
Given their national sporting situation, the Lions have no choice but to win the Champions League, the only way to participate next season. And if they present themselves as the outsiders of this Final Four, Sami Sellami’s players do not put pressure on themselves: “The motto this weekend is ‘date with destiny’. With everything that happened to us and the way we qualified for the Final Four, there is a sudden thumb of fate, and maybe our positive energy and our fighting spirit can make the difference in a game”.