World Footy News

Football evolves. It is the nature of sports as they tap new markets, respond to opportunities, move to develop stronger fan bases and keep ahead of potential challenges.

Such is the story of France’s newest Australian football team, the Lille Eagles. The city of Lille sits close to the border with Belgium in the far north of France, a little over 200 kilometres north of Paris. With a population of over 200,000 (and an greater urban population of over one million), the city is a prime location to develop the game, particularly with its proximity to the city of Amiens and the nearby memorials of The Somme Battlefields where Australian and French teams play their annual ANZAC Day memorial clash - an area that has already embraced Australian football.

Arnaud Deleurme, president, coach and player for the Lille Eagles founded the now defunct Brittany Griffins team, and is now putting together what he hopes is a new team that can build relatively quickly into a competitive unit in the CNFA. According to Arnaud (translated from French), “today the Brittany Griffins club is stopped. I left the region for professional reasons and I arrived in Lille where I created the Lille Eagles. It is a new club because in the north of France, there is no footy.”

“Plans are to gradually build the club, find common ground, recruit players and create the right structures them. For now, I'm starting from scratch. I have everything to fit into place. The difficulty is that I get to Lille after the start of the sports season which complicates matters for playing fields and facilities and players. [But]I am patient, we'll do things quietly this season.”

“The primary objective is to have some regular players and train on a lighted field for winter. Next, it should be noted that we will rely on the GAA club Lille for joint trainings and build a club atmosphere. GAA & [Australian Rules]Footy together in Lille for future! This is a beautiful project. And it is hoped that some players of Lille Eagles will participate in CNFA championship matches complementing the other competing teams.”

“Finally, we must add that Lille are called the Eagles because it is the West Coast Eagles who were willing to officially sponsor the club by sending us material - jerseys & shorts from the official team.”

It is exciting to see yet another new club emerge on the French footy horizon, especially given the recent developments of new clubs such as the Paris Cockatoos, Blagnac Aviator and ALFA Lions as well as the continued growth of the Perpignan Tigers – all pointing towards a great opportunity for the Lille Eagles to grow and ultimately prosper in an even stronger and bigger league.