Euphoria olympique: Football at Paris 2024

Words: Guirec Munier

Images: Guirec Munier

100 years. A century since the Summer Olympics had set foot on the soil of the country that renovated the Olympic Games of the modern era.

The important thing was therefore to take part by attending one of the first football matches of Paris 2024 Olympics, an hour from my home, in Nantes.

When I bought my tickets in July 2023, I didn’t expect to see a clash between France and Brazil but when the two opponents of this match were made official, a wind of exoticism suddenly blew.

My daughters and I were going to see an unusual Egypt v Dominican Republic. Without the Egyptian King running down the wing, that goes without saying.

My youngest daughter, seven years old, being fascinated by Ancient Egypt, her motivation was at its peak. As for my eldest daughter, the awareness of the Olympic Games carried out at school had borne fruit. Their motivation was almost inversely proportional to mine.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Egypt v Dominican Republic. Nantes.

On D-Day, we head to the Beaujoire, the FC Nantes stadium, with the sole objective of experiencing a rare moment. No matter the level of play, no matter the score.

The atmosphere is good-natured. A handful of Egyptian supporters and a pinch of Dominican fans mingle with the French families who have come to taste the spirit of Baron de Coubertin.

A very different audience from the one used to following their team almost every weekend.

The interminable queue to be photographed with the mascot Phryge and the Mexican wave about twenty minutes before kick-off are more reminiscent of the atmosphere of an exhibition game.

At each edition, the question of the legitimacy of football's presence at the Olympic Games arises. Since FIFA doesn’t include the Olympic tournament in its calendar, each country isn’t able to freely select their best players.

As Alfred de Musset wrote in La Coupe et les Lèvres: « Qu’importe le flacon, pourvu qu’on ait l’ivresse ? » which could be translated by the title of an etching on copper by Pablo Picasso "No matter what the euphoria comes from, it's still euphoria...". It doesn't matter if the competition or the match isn’t perfectly to our taste, as long as our love for football is.

Guirec can be found on Instagram: @jeanprouffisonfire

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