FDJ and sport, a long history

A long-time supporter of French sports

For more than 30 years, FDJ Group has committed to supporting French sports, drawing on the values shared by FDJ and the athletic industry: following the rules, equal opportunities, ethics, solidarity and social ties.

A dedicated cycling sponsor

FDJ has always acted in favour of ethics in cycling, sponsoring a cycling team since 1997, and pioneering efforts to prevent doping and train young cyclists. In accordance with the value placed on responsible sponsorship, FDJ focuses its initiatives on raising awareness and providing cyclists with guidance in ethics and integrity (zero tolerance for doping).

Groupama joined FDJ as a co-partner in 2018, helping the cycling team pursue even greater athletic goals in line with the values established since its inception. The Continentale Groupama-FDJ cycling team, made up of talented young cyclists, was also created to train and prepare them to meet the challenges of qualifying for the World Tour team in the best possible conditions.

FDJ has also expanded its cycling support by becoming an official sponsor of the Tour de France, a partner of French road cycling championships, and a major partner of the FDJ French Cup, a competition consisting of sixteen race courses spanning all of France.

Targeted support for women’s sports

FDJ Group is also committed to promoting women’s sports through its Sport pour Elles programme, encouraging high-level women’s sports, athletic activities for all women, media coverage, and recruitment of women to high level positions in sports since 2016. Sarah Ourahmoune, Olympic silver medallist in boxing, is the programme ambassador.

In the interest of promoting women’s cycling, FDJ has supported the FDJ Suez team since 2017 and, in 2020, stepped up its commitment as a major sponsor for another three years. Thanks to this additional support, the team obtained the Women’s World Tour licence and joined the eight international elite women’s cycling teams in 2020.

Longstanding partner of French sports

FDJ also supports athletic federations (handball and basketball), and has established partnerships with the NBA and football clubs (Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais) under the sports betting brand Parions Sport.

A portion of betting stakes is allocated each year to help finance the ANS (French national sports agency, formerly called CNDS) budget. FDJ contributed €89 million to ANS in 2019 (roughly one-third of its total 2019 budget).

Finally, as a long-term partner of the Olympic Games, at the end of 2019 FDJ announced its partnership with Paris 2024, continuing its deep-rooted support for French sports.

Supporting athletes for 30 years

FDJ has paved the way for athlete support since 1991, when it launched its innovative programme, Challenge, targeted to promising young high-level athletes. In thirty years, the programme has benefited more than 400 athletes, with 162 Olympic and Paralympic medals to their credit.

In preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, FDJ decided to step up its support for French champions by creating a new programme: FDJ Sport Factory.

Selected by a panel of experts, 32 athletes were admitted to the programme aimed at helping them achieve their dreams of becoming Olympic and Paralympic medallists. At the same time, FDJ Sport Factory is continuing to support young talent, with an incubator of 20 athletes.

All FDJ Sport Factory athletes also receive global support aimed at smoothing the transition from their athletic career to their professional career.

FDJ has also been a partner of Fédération Française du Sport Adapté (French federation for athletes with disabilities) since 2018. With our help, the Federation has identified high-level athletes to assist them in their athletic career. In 2021, four licensed athletes will receive financial aid to help them prepare for the Games in 2021 and/or 2024.

A Group committed to sports integrity

Since 2015, FDJ has created a division for sports integrity with the following missions:

Conduct prevention actions 

Actively participate in the monitoring of sports competitions integrity

Cooperate with all stakeholders, public or private, in France as well as at international level, in order to ensure a better protection of sport against the risks of manipulations.

FDJ is a member of the French national platform against the manipulations of sports competitions since its creation in 2016. This membership has been legally confirmed by a decree in October 2019. This platform, operating under the authority of the French Ministry of Sports, allows an operational cooperation of all stakeholders, following the model suggested by the international Convention of Macolin. FDJ also participates in the meetings of the Group of Copenhagen, led by the Council of Europe, that coordinates all existing national platforms to promote the international cooperation against match-fixing.

In this global frame, FDJ is, among other roles, in charge of:

Monitoring sports betting in physical retail shops on the French territory: FDJ monitors atypical betting behaviors in its retail network, thanks to a coordinated action of its Trading team, its department of Security and its directorate for sports integrity;

Contribute to prevention plans towards Sportmovement: FDJ has been conducting for several years awareness-raising actions about the phenomenon of sport manipulation for actors of sport in France. During the past 3 years, more than 1000 people from the French world of sport have been trained by the company. Furthermore, FDJ group includes a clause of action for integrity in all its sport sponsorship contracts.

The FDJ division for sport integrity has also established direct relationships with a variety of international stakeholders of the fight against match-fixing: Council of Europe, Interpol, IOC, FIFA, UEFA, FBI, International Tennis Integrity Agency, NBA… FDJ regularly participates in or organizes international congresses/seminars to contribute to the international cooperation against match-fixing.

Finally, FDJ is one of the founding members and is also member of the Executive Committee of GLMS (Global Lottery Monitoring System), an association (under Swiss law) of 32 lotteries that operate sports betting on 4 continents. GLMS ensures a permanent surveillance of the global sports betting market and allows to detect hundreds of suspicions of manipulations every year. GLMS shares these alerts with all its international partners: sports federations, international public authorities, Law Enforcement Authorities…