Broadcast live this Wednesday on BeInSport, it was a gala match, which did not count for a championship, for a cup or for a classification. No, the celebrities who came to face the Legends of ESTAC de Troyes did so for two things: to defend gender equality through a mixed match, and to raise money for the association. Solidarity Women Dawn.
The highly contested match was won by the local players with an honorable score of 5/4. But in the end, given everyone’s smiles and the personalities’ physical commitment, the result didn’t really count! Not to be outdone, François Baroin, ex-minister, mayor of Troyes and president of the metropolis had put on his crampons and left all his energy on the ground. Committed to his match, he galvanized his troops, themselves made up of former footballers among others.
Jean-Pierre Papin, considered one of the greatest French players and holder of the Ballon d’Or in 1991 had made the trip, as had Christian Karembeu and Robert Pirès. Arsène Wenger, a former player but above all an immense coach of Arsenal for twenty-two years, also gave of his person and was joined by Wilfrid Mbappé, the father of the Parisian striker, former footballer and coach.
Baptiste Vendroux, commentator and Daniel Van Buyten, former Belgian footballer, also gave of themselves, as did cook Juan Arbelaez and Karl Olive, former sports journalist who became mayor of Poissy, in the Paris region. He had recently received Emmanuel Macron for his first campaign meeting and had also played football last year with the president for the Yellow Pieces. Roméo Elvis and Raphaël Mezrahi (in goal) completed the match.
But the principle of this meeting was to highlight a mixed match, which could promote gender equality. And the female part of the celebrity team was well represented, thanks to comedian Claudia Tagbo, very committed to women’s rights, former footballer Bérangère Sapowicz and ex-tenniswoman Alizé Lim. Companion of Tony Parker for a year, this one had come solo, just like François Baroin. The ex-minister has indeed shared the life of actress Michèle Laroque since 2008, in all discretion. Football lover, he had also recently explained to the magazine Gala that he played there in his youth with the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer. “We took free kicks à la Platini and we did that in the field of a peasant who lived next door and his field was always waterlogged so we ended up black with mud and we couldn’t tell which one was François , which was Jean-Michel“, he remembered, laughing.
At the end of this meeting, 12,000 euros were collected for the association Solidarité Femmes Aube.