Passion & dedication to the France national football team, #AllezLesBleus

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Hello, David from France here, a football fan in general, of the France national football team in particular

This page you’re seeing now is part of the AllezLesFans section of my website, so, if you want to find out more about me and my football story, feel free to check it out

Here precisely I would like to show you my passion & dedication to my national football team, France, what my national team stands for, how I live up to its values…

So far, I’ve attended 7 major football tournaments, 3 FIFA Men’s World Cup, 1 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and 3 UEFA Men’s Euros… France played 39 games during these, and I’ve been able to attend 37 of them!
And that, even though, for instance:
– for many games I didn’t have tickets beforehand, hence needed a lot of faith to go try my luck
– most of the times I’ve been on a tight budget, hence needed a lot of creativity to make it happen, for instance traveling around hitchhiking, staying with locals (for free, ala couchsurfing with a , networking with fans…
– once I was physically handicapped, to the point that I eventually ended up needing crutches, and hence needed a lot of mental and physical strength to face adversity and keep attending games at the stadium and going to fan fests (where I could not sit as otherwise I wouldn’t see the screen with everyone standing)

Also, I join all the fun around games, such as « Casa Bleue » (gatherings of French fans in a private location, more on that further below), fan walks, etc.

And I’m a member of not only one but three supporters’ clubs, which helps me organize football adventures and share my passion

I’ll share some pictures of mine, that help illustrate what I’ve mentioned and more proofs of my passion & dedication to my national team

But I’ll also share media content that has been made about my adventures, as it can tell my story/stories even better
Note that these will just be examples, along the tournaments I’ve been interviewed plenty of times, in newspapers, for TVs, radios, etc.

Let’s go!

First, to be a great supporter, I believe that you need to dress accordingly
So, when France plays, I like to physically be extra French, even playing with positive stereotypes
Partly because it helps me feel in the mood and be even more behind my team, but also because it’s part of the fun of international games, to represent your country just like players do, and also to have great encounters and memories with rival fans (including visual ones with pictures together, rival hug style, for instance)
Here below you can see my football clothing and accessories for the French national team
Flags, jerseys, shirts, pants, shoes, hats, glasses, moustaches, bow ties, scarfs, wristbands, keyrings,… you name it!
Oui, oui, oui, Allez les Bleus ! 🙂

As said before, so far, I’ve already attended a whooping 37 games of the French national team during FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euros
And always proudly wearing the French colors
Here is a slideshow of 37 pics, with one pic a game
You can pause it by hovering your mouse over a picture, and if you actually click on one you’ll be able to see details if you’re interested (date, city, game, score)

Here is a video in English, for a Russian international TV channel, that very well describe how dedicated I am to football world cups in general, and my national team in particular

Here is one in French, for a French TV channel

Another one in French, this time during a women’s tournament, because no matter it’s the French men’s national team playing or the women’s one, it’s the French team first and foremost

And here one in English/Russian, for a Russian radio station

Also, I’m very involved with other French fans in general, for instance I’ve been to every « Casa Bleue » I’ve heard of, an initiative started by the French Football Federation in 2014, with a location such as a bar or restaurant privatized only for French fans, so we could gather together on our national team match days and warm up before games, start from there fan walks to the stadium, and then come back after the game to celebrate
I’ve joined them in 11 cities already
Below a picture I took in one of them, as an example

I love French fan walks, a great way to get into the game, and here is a video of contributing to the great group atmosphere

I’ve been a member of several supporters’ clubs, starting with the one directly managed by the French Football Federation (Le Club des Supporters), and then with 2 independent ones, the biggest one (Irrésistibles Français) on the occasion of the UEFA Euro 2020, and more recently with the new kid on the block (Les Baroudeurs du Sport), joining them after having had great football adventures together with several of their members, during UEFA Euros and FIFA World Cups

This helps me meet fans of Les Bleus during tournaments (for instance for fan walks, going all together to the stadium), but we also chat all year long online, through groups on Facebook, Whatsapp, Discord, etc., sharing information to help us organize ourselves to make the trip to games & competitions, motivating each other, etc.

I love those encounters with fellow fans of Les Bleus, so many opportunities to fraternize with French & Francophiles from all walks of life. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

Indeed, during games I’m also very enthusiastic, as these action shots show, one being taken by a press photographer when France was coming to the pitch to train, and one being a screenshot of a TV broadcast of a French game

I often shoot videos during the game, and here is one, shot during the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, when France got awarded a penalty kick. It is a 360 video (sorry, video quality is poor, I now own a much better camera so next time I’ll do much better… just bring me back to a FIFA World Cup final with France :D), and shows well how enthusiast I am, even a French fan leader, with a proof here as after shouting for joy like everyone, I start singing and everyone around follows me in doing so (I actually often start singing to get us all support our team)

Rain or shine, always supporting France (even though my phones/cameras aren’t as tough as I am, my phone actually stopped working just after that video)

That being said, even myself I can face some complications, like it happened during my first FIFA World Cup, back in 2006… but I’m both hardy and determined:
I would spend almost all days long standing, touring cities, enjoying live broadcasts and concerts at FIFA Fan Fests, etc… while not wearing the best shoes for such an adventure (flip-flops, yeah, right, youthful mistake)… and I quickly got a medical condition, with my feet doubling size and turning pink-red
As I would not want to miss a game, I would just go to aid stations to help me take the pain away for some time and keep standing, keep going… until one forced me to go to a hospital, a military hospital actually, by calling them so they would take me in!
Lucky me, all went well in the end, and I didn’t miss any French game because of it
But that’s one more example proving my determination and dedication

I’ve also traveled just to go see France train, here making a 200km detour, between Frankfurt and Berlin, to go to Hamelin and get that chance
In the end it was well worth it I must say, as that’s when I got my 1998 French jersey signed by World Cup winners Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry

Even though I don’t always have the budget that a fan is meant to in order follow his team, I can be very creative, for instance backpacking, hitchhiking, couchsurfing, writing and holding signs to help me find last-minute tickets

And because I’ve been so fortunate during my international football adventures, with many people helping me also partly because I was French, I was more than happy to be able to become a volunteer for the UEFA Euro 2016, taking on the most multifaceted job, known as « ace » or « joker », a way to help wherever, whenever
A way for me to give back, to help people feel welcome in my country, and also indirectly another way to support my team actually

And since supporting my national team isn’t just something I do during tournaments, here is a post from the account of the FIFA Museum where I share my story with my signed French national jersey

France having won the last FIFA World Cup, and knowing that I was there in Russia for all of their, I mean, all of « our » 7 games, I feel like I really must be in Qatar to help my team defends its chances of lifting again the most beautiful trophy in the world

So, indeed, I will be in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup 

Will YOU?

If so, looking forward to meet up!

Anyone is welcome to contact me on social media, on any social media, taking into account that Instagram is the one I use the most & by far, and is hence to be favored for a quicker answer

As for media & business inquiries, you can also reach me by email if you prefer

Talk to YOU / See YOU soon,

David 🙂

PS: As a reminder, this is just part of my football story, you can find out more at explorefeelgood.com/allezlesfans/en

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