“It’s a triple project: sporting, social and educational”: at the Diomède Academy, training rhymes with education

Emptied by the blazing sun of a June afternoon, the city center of Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) rings hollow. Just a stone's throw away, the corridors of the La Salle Saint-Nicolas School Group are just as silent. Hidden away in the immense complex, the offices of the Diomède Academy are nonetheless well-stocked. While the young people are missing, due to the end of the school year, Bernard Diomède, one of the 1998 World Cup champions and president of the organization, is there, accompanied by his wife, Delphine, the academy's general director.

The couple is completing their sixteenth year at the helm of a project that he is carrying "on his own two feet," which the former winger had in mind since his time at the AJ Auxerre training center. "I did my career there with four friends. But at 18, I signed a professional contract and they didn't. We had just won the Gambardella against Lens (1-0) and it was heartbreaking. They were as good as me. Why didn't they sign? You ask yourself a lot of questions ," he recalls. "And when you find yourself regularly called up to the French team, you meet a lot of other young people who were in training centers with friends who didn't sign." Even before his first minutes as a professional, the idea of ​​creating his own football academy was germinating in Bernard Diomède's mind.

Meeting his future wife, a PE teacher and later an educational advisor, allowed him to bring another dimension to a project that took shape over the course of his career. "Throughout our careers, we observed the school and sports systems in Liverpool, Ajaccio, Créteil..." The duo quickly agreed on the need to make football a means rather than an end. "It's a triple project: sporting, social, and educational ," Delphine insists. The word "academy" is about excellence, not just sporting, with the values ​​behind it: work, rigor, surpassing oneself."

Young people in sports studies and then in training centers only do it to become professional footballers. The idea was to say: the dream is free but reality has a price

Neither sport nor football are mentioned in the association's name. "We wanted to allow young people to be actors in their own projects ," Bernard continues. "Young people in sports studies and then in training centers only do it to become professional footballers. The idea was to say: the dream is free but reality has a price. We have the right to dream, but until what age? At some point, you have to wake up and ask yourself what I can and cannot do."

The world champion hung up his boots at the end of 2007 and began training at the CDES in Limoges. While looking for a place to set up his academy, he heard about Issy-les-Moulineaux during a conversation with basketball coach Sylvain Lautié (who had played at Nancy, Levallois, and Boulazac). "He advised me to meet a school principal in Issy who could help me implement my project." The meeting confirmed his decision, and the idea convinced the mayor, André Santini. "We started in 2008 with 15 students and two volunteers: Delphine and me."

The initiative, which was in its infancy, received essential support from France 98, the world champions' association, which was celebrating the tenth anniversary of the title with an anniversary match that year. "The players had committed to donating funds to project leaders for young people in difficult situations and to support the projects of former players. Delphine and I presented the idea to the association's office to ask for their support." The aid allowed them to start with a 5th grade class. "Then we received support through the gala we organized every year with the presence of the players and financial support," explains the director. The academy benefited from this until 2020.

For twelve years, she grew up within the private school and refined her model. "It allowed us to be like a laboratory. The idea became a project, a program and now a concept," explains Bernard. The award, in 2013, of the "Social and Civic Engagement of the Professional Player" prize at the UNFP trophies, helps attract even more families.

“We are exploring other areas of knowledge: nutrition, sleep, citizenship, digital technology, etc. This is our added value in training the adults of tomorrow.”

The young players, all licensed with the French Football Federation, are selected based on their school reports, their behavior on and off the field, and also following an interview between their parents and an association educator. An educational committee with representatives from the school body validates the identified profiles and their enrollment in the establishment.

Once enrolled, the young people benefit from flexible schedules. After a morning of classes like any other student, they attend an hour of "extra-sport" once a week. "We delve into other areas of knowledge: nutrition, sleep, citizenship, digital technology, etc. This is our added value in training the adults of tomorrow," explains Delphine Diomède. The rest of the afternoon is devoted to training at nearby sports facilities. Two hours of homework help conclude the day for the young people staying on site.

With a 98% success rate for the brevet des collèges and the baccalauréat, the formula has proven itself and caught the eye of the Ministry of National Education, keen to make it available to more young people. In September 2020, the signing of an agreement with Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer marked the beginning of the expansion, built on strict specifications. Certified by the FFF, it requires "sports facilities, a qualified coach, medical monitoring, a boarding school, and flexible hours. We provide the sports component, but without a city that provides facilities and without an institution that supports the academic component, we cannot function."

In addition to its historic site, the academy is now located in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne), Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), Poissy (Yvelines), Noisy-le-Roi (Yvelines) and Bourges. In total, 300 young people attended last year, for an annual membership fee of €290 (€60 for young people from Poissy, whose establishment is located in an educational city).

The association's new size, which includes 14 employees and independent educators, has not changed the spirit of politeness, respect, and education before football. In 17 years, 26 young players have had the opportunity to sign a professional contract with a club, including Allan Saint-Maximin, Jean-Clair Todibo, and El Chadaille Bitshiabu.

But the academy doesn't sell itself on its footballing successes, but rather on its educational principles. "A young person who joins here has to go and see everyone to say hello. Teachers even tell us that they're fed up with young people coming to shake their hands," smiles the president.

The rise in power has been accompanied by a proliferation of programs and events to finance a budget that is now "close to €900,000," says its CEO, and is increasingly difficult to secure. This is not enough to slow down ambitions, particularly a major campus project. "We want to have our own unique site, a living space with our offices, spaces to welcome everyone, organize seminars between employees, and with grounds to accommodate young people on work placements during the holidays," explains Bernard Diomède. Several cities in the Île-de-France region have reportedly expressed interest in hosting it. This will allow both the Diomède Academy and its young people to continue to grow.