In the French women’s handball championship, David rarely dominates Goliath. On Wednesday, October 16, it would take a miracle for the team from Plan-de-Cuques, a small town near Marseille, to beat Brest Bretagne Handball (BBH), champion of France in 2021 and second in the last three seasons behind Metz . If tickets are sold out, the match will take place at the modest Ambrosis sports complex in Plan-de-Cuques (950 seats).
This is the case of the Butagaz Energie League, the name of the women’s D1. The contrast is striking between the performances of the national team, current world champion and Olympic runner-up, and the modesty of the national competition, where the majority of clubs remain under association status. Only the “big ones” of the championship have become private companies (Brest, Metz, Paris, Dijon, Toulon), which implies, in particular, that their activity is subject to VAT.
Most matches are played in relative anonymity, far from the passion that surrounds football and rugby. “It is a two-speed competition. To give flavor to the matches, we are thinking of offering a drink to our fans when we win by more than fifteen goals.”, announces, very seriously, Gérard Le Saint, president of the BBH, also owner of the Stade Brestois football team (which is currently shining in the men’s Champions League). The budget of the Breton club (8.65 million euros for the 2024-2025 season) is almost five times higher than that of its rival since Wednesday.
In the France of women’s handball, the BBH is an exception. Its economic model is based on a powerful shareholder, Réseau Le Saint, the second largest distributor of fresh products in France, but also on five hundred associated companies in the region. Ticket revenue amounts to 3.5 million euros per year, in particular thanks to the ten VIP spaces available at the Brest Arena, a modern venue with 4,200 seats. They are complemented by public subsidies that amount to 6.7% of the budget. As in other sports, no D1 club receives television rights, but the BeIN Sports channel broadcasts one poster a day and most championship matches are viewable for free on the League’s Handball TV application.
“Vicious circle”
“We are in a vicious circle: television has little interest in handball, which makes the public not want to follow the championship”continues Le Saint, urging us to take inspiration from rugby’s Top 14 model. “The minimum budget needed should increase from 1 to 2 million euros, and the number of teams from fourteen to ten for a better show. And public subsidies should represent no more than 10 to 15% of a club’s budget. It is not up to local authorities to fund professional sport! »
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