Dedication and allegiance to my national team

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

This page you’re seeing now is part of Qatar 2022 Super Fan Competition – My application(s)

Here precisely I would like to show you my dedication and allegiance to my national team, France, what my national team stand 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
– often was on a budget, hence needed a lot of creativity to make it happen, for instance traveling around hitchhiking, getting accommodation by couchsurfing (for free with locals), 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 dedication and allegiance 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 showing how I became a fan leader when it comes to that also

Actually, as said before, I’m a member of not only one but three supporters’ clubs, the one directly managed by the French Football Federation, and 2 independent ones, including the biggest one (I actually became a friend of both presidents before joining, having known them during FIFA World Cups, living football adventures together)
This helps me meet fans during competitions indeed, but we also exchange all year long online, through groups on Facebook, Whatsapp, Discord, etc., sharing information to help us organize ourselves to make the trip to competitions, motivating each other, etc.
Below a card member of one of them (from last year, we’re yet to get the 2022 one) (indeed my last name and member number are blurred for privacy reasons, but I can send it to you in private)

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 Men’s 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
And that adventure starts with the draw, on April 1st, 2022
So, I really feel like I have to be there
Hence this application in which I’ve given it all, as I do for everything I care about, which is what I feel for football in general, FIFA World Cups and my national team  in particular
So, see you?
See you!
David 🙂

PS: I do hope that this page was enough to help you realize I’m an ideal fit for what you’re offering, but in case you needed more, or if you just wanted to get to know me even more before we would meet (my pleasure), as a reminder I’ve actually answered all 3 challenges, and you can find them all linked here