“We all gave ourselves a big slap in the face”This is the message from an employee of the Girondins de Bordeaux football club (FCGB), who asked to remain anonymous. On this day in July 2024, the club’s management was to introduce the employees to the two representatives of Fenway Sports Group, an American company with a total or majority stake in Girondins, which is in a catastrophic financial situation. “They had arrived the day before, on Monday night. But on Tuesday morning, at the time of the interview, the management arrived alone. That was when we learned that Fenway was pulling out.remembers this employee. We told ourselves it was the end, while everyone was planning for the future. »
Since then, the iconic Bordeaux club (six-time French champions in 1950, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1999 and 2009), which, in addition to its team, also employs around 100 people for its administrative management, has continued its descent into hell. Unable to present a budget that would allow it to remain in Ligue 2, the club, which appealed in vain to the National Directorate of Management Control, was demoted to Ligue 2 and declared bankrupt. Its first match of the season is due to be played on 31 August against Poitiers, at the Stade Sainte-Germaine in Bouscat, near Bordeaux. Far from its major sporting events organised at the Stade Matmut Atlantique, specially designed in 2015 to host it.
While the fans’ eyes are on the new sports project, hastily launched during the summer, the Girondins employees (excluding players and coaches) are still waiting to hear their fate. A third employment protection plan (PSE) should be put in place for the hundred or so employees who still keep the Girondins company running. Between 90% and 95% of administrative employees could be made redundant, some estimate, estimating that a National 2 club only needs “5 to 10 employees, not 110”.
“There are too many aberrations”
But at the Haillan offices (Bordeaux Métropole), where the club’s operational and sporting centre is located, no one has any information yet. So, in need of an answer, the Comité Social et Économique (CSE) turned to the commercial court in Bordeaux on 26 August. “We are sending this emergency letter because there are too many aberrations that could have consequences on the departure conditions”continues the interviewed employee. We do not denounce, we warn, we ask questions. We will have to move forward, we cannot let things drag on like this.”he laments.
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