Three Questions to Antoine Béghin, Sponsorship and Sports Integrity Director at the FDJ Group

Sports is at the heart of FDJ’s identity: respect for rules, equal opportunities, and solidarity are values that we share with the sports world. Since 1991, the Group has been committed to supporting high-level sports. Through its sports patronage program “Challenge,” it has supported over 400 athletes who have won 162 Olympic medals. I personally benefited from this program early in my sporting career! In 2019, the “Challenge” program evolved into the “FDJ Sport Factory,” a collective of athletes, 25 of whom are already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, such as Romane Dicko, Kevin Mayer, and Alexandra Saint-Pierre. 

The Group has also been long involved with French cycling, with events taking place across the country. FDJ supports two professional teams: the men’s cycling team Groupama – FDJ since 1997 and the women’s cycling team FDJ – Suez, which we have been the title sponsor of since 2017. This FDJ investment in sports allows us to express and embody the values of the company. It serves both as an image-building tool and as a way to support our sports betting activities. Our long-standing presence in cycling strengthens the image of a company that is popular and close to its 27 million customers nationwide. It also helps develop the visibility and reputation of the Group, as well as strengthen brand loyalty. Additionally, it helps energize our distribution network, the largest in France, with over 29,000 retail partners present in 11,000 municipalities. 

We believe that sports is a major vector of social cohesion and territorial development. This is the objective of our Official Partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: to build a lasting and inclusive legacy for all regions in France. 

In 2016, we were the first company to support Paris’s bid to host the 2024 Games. FDJ aims to unite the French public around the world’s largest sporting event to make the Paris 2024 Games a great popular celebration that resonates across all regions. Our belief is that being a partner of Paris 2024 is also an opportunity for us to contribute to the Games’ legacy and highlight sports for all and gender equality as drivers of societal transformation. 

We have launched the “Gagner du terrain” program, which aims to fund the construction of 50 sports fields across France by the end of the year, in partnership with the Paris 2024 “Terres de Jeux” network. This project revitalizes local sports infrastructure and promotes access to sports for everyone. 

The Group is also committed to encouraging women in their sports practice! This year, we have continued the “Performance pour Elles” call for projects, which was launched in 2018 with the Paris 2024 Games in mind, to promote French women’s high-level sports. This initiative has already contributed 600,000 euros to support approximately thirty projects and 20 different sports federations. 

With the “Héritage 2024” program, the FDJ Foundation is also mobilizing to leave a lasting impact on the territories involved in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The two winners of this major project call will receive support for three years, totaling 3 million euros. The first selected project, “ETRE et devenir,” trains young dropouts in eco-transition jobs. The second, “La récré sportive 100% inclusion,” promotes sports practice for vulnerable children and prevents social exclusion. 

Manipulation of sports competitions related to sports betting can harm the value of sports, the integrity of competitions, and trust in the game and sports betting. As a sports betting operator, the Group is therefore committed to fighting any form of malpractice. 

To this end, we have been cooperating for more than ten years with various stakeholders from the sports world, both public and private. FDJ chairs the Executive Committee of United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS), an association of global lotteries that share their sports betting surveillance data to better combat manipulation attempts. The Group also supports a European program under the auspices of the Council of Europe to implement the “Macolin Convention,” which aims to improve and harmonize international regulations and practices for combating competition manipulation. 

We also focus on prevention, through awareness campaigns aimed at stakeholders in the sports world. With two major events coming in 2024—the UEFA European Football Championship and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games—FDJ is fully committed to ensuring that the values of sports are respected and promoted!