February 10 – Olympique de Marseille became the first Ligue 1 club to launch an amputee football team at their league ties against RC Strasbourg in January.
Last weekend, in their first competitive match, they secured a 5-0 win against FC Annecy at the OM Campus.
“Amputee football is a sport quite developed in countries such as Turkey or Poland, but not yet in France. We are proud to be the first Ligue 1 team to launch an amputee football team. This project is funded by our organisation Treizième Homme (‘Thirteenth Man) which is responsible for Olympique de Marseille’s social and community projects,” said OM communications director Pierre Jouneaux.
“We believe that football should be played by anyone, no matter the gender, the age or physical abilities. That’s why we wanted to launch this team, and we hope to give other clubs and structures ideas for democratising this discipline.”
Many of the OM players were already football fans before suffering an accident that led to their amputation. The team’s captain even played games in the French second division. Seven of OM’s players are member of the French national team.
“This project has a social dimension, but our players are real sportsmen who want to win. They will start their championship this week-end, and the winner in the end of the season will get a ticket for the amputee Champions League,” said Jouneaux.
Before beginning their league campaign the players met OM president Pablo Longoria and club advisor Fabrizio Ravanelli, at the Orange Vélodrome before the game against RC Strasbourg who reiterated their support for the team and its place within the OM team eco-system.
The team is supported by former Marseille player Romain Alessandrini, who also helps with coaching.
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