Paris (AFP)
Le Coq Sportif won the outfit market for French athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but federations will be able to keep their own equipment supplier for competitions, the Organizing Committee (Cojo) announced on Wednesday.
The symbol symbol of the tricolor sport, majority owned by the Swiss investment fund Airesis, succeeds Lacoste as the only equipment supplier of the French teams, and will dress those of Paris-2024 for the outfits of representation (ceremonies, podiums), during all editions of the Olympic Games from 2021. Or a forecast of 420,000 pieces.
A reunion since the Gallinaceous brand dressed the French Olympic team from 1912 to 1972.
On the other hand, if Le Coq sportif has won the "performance" prize for the 2024 Olympic Games, that is to say 32 sports, "federations wishing to keep their own federal equipment supplier for competitive outfits will have the freedom to do so, subject to the payment of a contribution to a solidarity fund "for the less wealthy federations, announced the Cojo in a press release.
Paris-2024 was considering a single brand, but several federations wanted to keep their equipment supplier, for economic reasons. The exceptions could concern the most important, such as basketball, handball, football or athletics.
- Winning return -
"Le Coq Sportif is a brand that has supported our great sporting epics for over a hundred years and shares a great story with the Olympics", welcomed the boss of the Cojo, Tony Estanguet, also emphasizing his "anchoring territorial in France "and its" strong social and industrial heritage ".
On the other hand, the Cojo postponed the allocation of the prize relating to the outfits of the 50,000 volunteers and 12,000 torchbearers.
Born in 1882, a historic brand in French sport, notably with Yannick Noah and the Greens of Saint-Etienne, Le Coq sportif had gone through a slump in the 90s and had reoriented itself towards sportswear.
After relocating its manufacturing to Asia, the brand repatriated in 2010 part of its production to its historic site in Romilly-sur-Seine (Aube), where it was born in 1882.
The Gallinacé made his return to high-level sport in the 2010s, notably with the Tour de France, then his reunion with Saint-Etienne in football or even the XV of France in rugby, Renaut in F1 and the Olympic champion Tony Yoka.
As of the signing of the contract, in the coming weeks, Le Coq sportif will become second-tier sponsor of Paris-2024. In its invitation to tender, the Cojo specified that it expected, in addition to supplying the outfits, "a financial marketing contribution", as for any sponsor, as well as a license fee.
© 2020 AFP