Handball: Sylvain Pelegrin assures us, in Frontignan, “the model is no longer sustainable”

Sylvain Pelegrin, fier de son équipe, travaille dur en coulisses pour faire évoluer le projet du FTHB. MIDI LIBRE – Jérôme Belluire

Sylvain Pelegrin, co-president of Frontignan Thau Handball with Jean Garait, discusses the sporting miracle of his team, the possibility of the Starligue but also the sanction of the CNACG.

What is the reason for the success of the FTHB, leader of Proligue at the halfway point? ?

I don't have the answer! Is there a method that would allow us to reproduce such results over and over again with the smallest payroll (Editor's note: €420,722) in the championship ? We can talk about luck, success, alignment of planets… But also profiles that join us because they match us. There is a FTHB spirit with players likely to fit in. In this first phase, I expected every match that we wouldn't get far. But we have a real champion's journey. In Sélestat, we faced the best defense in the championship and we drew with the feeling of having lost. These players fear no one and we have no questions about the management of our coaches Guillaume Crépain and Joris Machard.

Can it last?

There is a superb atmosphere around them, with the Ferrari cauldron. But the model is not sustainable. Players must be paid according to their skills. Fortunately, there is humanity, transparency. And agents appreciate the truth.

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However, the Starligue is not far away…

The manager, as a good father that I am, says to himself that going up would be a “very bad good idea”. But I can’t stop myself from thinking about it. Because everyone starts dreaming about it. Because future partners, like the CNACG, are questioning me. So we have to rebuild our project, which was to settle in Proligue. We said to ourselves that we were there to help players blossom, like we did with Gaillard or Leon, or to revive some like Camara or Lignières. It wouldn’t be respectful of the work of all these guys not to imagine a rise.

What is the challenge ?

We have to, without knowing where we will be, build a team that can stay in Starligue. I know that there is a world of difference between the two divisions, so we have to strengthen the team and this is happening now. We must also be able not to discourage potential partners, despite an unsuitable venue and a budget that is too tight. I believe that the lack of ambition does not correspond to the challenges of a business leader, who is necessarily competitive. The month of January will be important for commitments, the project must be completed in February.

The CNACG sanctioned the club with a five-point deduction, in particular for not recording operations. What happened ?

To put it simply, money was recorded by mistake and we found out too late. The tax authorities are asking us to pay €50,000 in five months, which is in addition to a debt of around €50,000. This forces us to say that the Garait-Pelegrin system no longer works. The communities do not have the means to follow us financially, so we have to work with companies that have their say, in the form of a corporation. We have to open up to the world of private partnership, that is to say with decisions made together.

You have filed an appeal. Where are you today? ?

The news is favourable, we are starting to find solutions, to make contacts. No one at the CNACG doubts the honesty of the FTHB leaders, they are just worried about our ability to resist financially. It is up to us to provide the evidence to reassure them and prove to them that there are still great things to do in Frontignan. If it succeeds, it will be well deserved for all those who work hard, players and administrators alike. Otherwise, we will have the feeling of having reached the end of something beautiful.

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