Le Puy 43 Foot, qualified in the quarterfinals for girls and boys, “a triple surprise” for its president Christophe Gauthier

The president of Puy 43 Foot looked back on the historic qualifications of his women’s and men’s teams in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, as Petits Poucets.

“The boys were jealous of the girls, and then…” It’s the story of a fairy tale, where the Puy Foot 43 women’s team, sixth in group B of the third women’s division, takes out Stade de Reims (D1) in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, before that the men’s team, second in group A of National 2, does the same with Laval (Ligue 2). Two exploits in ten days, Sunday January 28 for the girls, Wednesday February 7 for the boys. And a particular emotion for Christophe Gauthier, president of a club doubly Petit Poucet, who therefore has two prestigious quarter-finals to prepare between now and the end of the month, with the receptions of Paris Saint-Germain for the women (February 14 ) and Stade Rennes for men (February 27 or 28).

Franceinfo: sport: You experienced the Paris Saint-Germain draw with the women’s team, this Thursday it was the boys’ turn. They also absolutely wanted to take PSG?

Christophe Gautier: We were gathered with the players to experience this ultimately… difficult draw. There were three clubs that stood out at 80% among them: Paris, Lyon and Valenciennes. We came across the team in good shape at the moment. You will have to be very strong to be able to pass this round. It is an honor for the life of the region.

We are not going to play at the Massot stadium. It will necessarily be relocated. Currently, we are in a kind of multifaceted reflection. So, we will certainly study that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow [vendredi ou samedi] to make the best possible choice, even if it is a choice that will not suit everyone. In terms of ticketing, it will be more complicated since we have to go and play away. I’m afraid of being asked for places much less than I was yesterday [mercredi] for the Laval reception, where I had more than 6,000 requests.

Is it a surprise for you to see your two teams make it to the quarterfinals?

Today, the draw offered three teams represented in women’s and men’s teams: Paris, Lyon and Le Puy. So two small towns and the big town of Puy-en-Velay. Of course it’s a surprise. This is already unheard of. Whether for women or men. This all happened in the same year. It’s a triple surprise. But it is the result of all the work done over the years.

The women eliminated Stade de Reims, the men eliminated Stade Lavallois on Wednesday. Is there any emulation between the two sections?

Boys, until last night [mercredi], were jealous to see the women qualify for the quarter-finals. Once the draw was over, they were jealous to see that they were going to play against Paris. And today, we are certainly not beating PSG, but we are going to play against a very good team. What is very strong about this club is that 100% of the girls were at the boys’ match on Wednesday evening and 100% of the boys were at the girls’ match on Sunday. [28 janvier]. Even if they don’t train on the same infrastructure, there is really a club spirit.

Do you have the feeling of being the last voice of amateur football in the competition?

Yes. What saddens me the most is that consideration for amateur football no longer exists. When we see that we have been scheduled for the women’s match against PSG on a Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., this demonstrates a lack of respect for amateur football. But I’m not surprised anymore. For boys, there will necessarily be more respect because there will be TV. And that’s a chance. Thanks to that, it will either be at 6:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. And that seems to me to be more consistent times to see football matches.

Despite everything, for the girls, the stadium is almost already full…

Women’s football did not exist in Le Puy twenty years ago and seeing them play against Paris Saint-Germain with a stadium that will be full is satisfying. But again, it’s not respectful to play at 2:30 p.m. Because we should not focus on the occupancy rate of the stadium, but on the people who come regularly and who will not be able to come because they are working, because they have other obligations. But we will respect the choices.

What are your predictions for these two quarter-finals?

For women, the step is very high. But we beat fourth in D1 Arkema in Reims. Honestly, I didn’t believe in the possibility of this performance. And we did it. So what do you want? What happens will happen, but either way, the girls will fight. For the boys, our match will come after a match against AC Milan and another against PSG. Maybe Rennes will have other fish to fry. We will have to rest the troops and hope, why not, for a new miracle.