TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE are building from the ground up with continued development at grassroots level.
The club’s association (its founder amateur organisation) is at the heart of everything and director of sport Cedric Garcia said it is going from strength to strength.
“In France, the base of most sports clubs is a non-profit association,” he explained.
“If you start growing and look to become professional, then French sporting law obliges you to create a sports company separate to the association.
“The professional club cannot exist without the association, which governs all the teams from under seven to Academy and the first team. It is the bedrock of the club.
“It’s clear that one of the main targets of our new Chairman (Olivier Dubois) is to have a very strong Academy, which delivers every year at least a couple of professional contracts.
“They have the open-age team in the French Championship, which is very dynamic, the women’s and the wheelchair teams which are really getting together, and all of these things provide a solid platform for the club.
“The association has now launched a Silver XIII, which is for older people to stay involved with Rugby League.”
