“In three years, there will be the biggest world event, the Olympic Games, which will take place a few meters from here, just behind us, underlines Assane Thiam, pointing the horizon, behind the towers of the Pablo-Picasso district. , in Nanterre. And the little ones, they don’t know. They only know the World Cup. “
Mbappé, Messi and Ronaldo are rather the idols of the neighborhood. A question of discipline more than of achievements. The round ball is legion. But the president of “The World is Ours” is thinking big. And far away. “I want to take the Games out of the stadium. Let the little ones, and the inhabitants, make them their own, ”smiles Assane Thiam. He will therefore transform the iconic “flat” into a multi-sports field, this Saturday, from 9 am, by organizing with Adidas The Games are ours. A new version of the Games of the City, offered two years ago.
Open to children, from 7 to 18 years old
Hundreds of children, aged 7 to 18, are expected to try their hand at sprinting, do a few judo holds, test themselves at free throws or even succeed a few one against one. Adolescents will be able to learn athletics, judo, basketball and handball for free all day. The lucky ones can even be coached by some masters of these disciplines such as Thierry Omeyer, Audrey Tcheuméo or Sekou Doumbouya. The athletes will distill some advice from the start of the afternoon.
“We can not wait, insists Sabah, educator in the neighborhood who will give a little helping hand on Saturday. The little ones are happy. It allows them to discover new activities. It livens up the neighborhood and brings everyone together. It also shows that there are good things in Nanterre and not just drug stories. “
“We can do it, even coming from a neighborhood”
This positive image, Assane Thiam wants to bring out beyond the borders of the neighborhood. At the same time, a football tournament bringing together the “best teams from Nanterre and Greater Paris: La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis), Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise), Paris XIXth” is also organized. “The event is more than Nanterrien,” continues the young man. The idea is to open up to the outside. The terrain is what brings us together. It blurs some things. Sport conveys great values. Children need to understand that this can also be done. Even coming from a neighborhood. It’s a story of ambition, of will. You have to be patient. Always try to go higher. The event is also a pretext to get these messages across. “
And why not encourage vocations. “At the end of the City Games, we had received messages from some parents telling us that they had registered their children in boxing or other, assures Assane Thiam. I hope that some will discover hidden talents. “That they may be able to exercise thereafter at Monde FC, the club founded by Assane Thiam. New ambition of the president: to diversify. “At the moment, we only offer football,” he explains. But we would like to develop ourselves to become, in the long term, a sports club. “
The Games are ours opened inscriptions for initiations since Monday. However, some slots remain reserved for latecomers of the day. Health restrictions oblige, a gauge of 950 people must not be exceeded. The Games of the City had brought together nearly 2,000 people over two days, specifies Assane Thiam.
The day will end with music, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Rap lovers will appreciate, in the first part, the performances of local artists in the making (Jo, Bourbier, Cacahuète, la Bresombre, Jonio). “Rsko, the rising nugget of French rap” will then ensure the show. And Landy “who no longer needs to be presented” will end “this beautiful day on a high note”.
