Manutan and Sport dans la Ville inaugurate the new sports centre in the Saint-Blin district of Gonesse (95500)

Manutan, a B2B e-tailer committed to transforming the sector through a model that combines the strengths of digital technology with human ambition,, is pursuing its CSR strategy in favour of inclusion. Manutan is a partner of Sport dans la Ville (Sport in the City), an association promoting professional integration through sport, and has lent its support to the inauguration of a new sports centre in Gonesse Saint-Blin. 

This inauguration marks the kick-off of its Olympic season in Île-de-France, along with the eight other  companies in the region working on the project alongside the Agence Nationale du Sport (French National Sport Agency) and the Île-de-France Region.

Following the opening of sports centres in the Fauconnière and Marronniers neighbourhoods in 2017, this new centre will enable young people in Gonesse’s third priority neighbourhood under urban policy to receive support from sport to employment. 

Inclusive sport at the heart of Manutan’s commitments 

These are ambitious goals to which Manutan has been contributing as a partner of the association Sport dans la Ville since 2017.
The two entities share a common belief: the values conveyed by sport, such as team spirit and a liking for exertion, contribute to everyone’s success and can help young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods find employment. 

Xavier Guichard, Manutan Group Chairman, says: “We’re delighted to be supporting Sport dans la Ville in the inauguration of a new sports centre in Gonesse. Acting in favour of the region and giving everyone the opportunity to progress is one of our commitments. We’re proud to support these young people in their social and professional integration.”

Sport to help young people succeed socially and professionally

In Gonesse, as in all the priority neighbourhoods under urban policy, sport is a key element of social and territorial cohesion. With a model that has proven its worth for 25 years, Sport dans la Ville is pursuing and supporting this long-term commitment by redeveloping or building sports centres in the Île-de-France region. 

“We’ve been present in Gonesse since 2017. The opening of this third pitch will enable the association to run a sports, educational and integration project in all of Gonesse’s priority neighbourhoods. With a target of welcoming 200 young people every day, we’ll be keen to help connect all the youth and sports initiatives in the area,’ explains Bertrand Chédé, Île-de-France Director of the association Sport dans la Ville.

This new sports centre, located right in the heart of the Saint-Blin district, is a space for local activities and development for young people aged 6 to 25, who will be able to take part in free basketball and football sessions every Wednesday and Saturday, supervised and led by professional sports instructors employed by the association. 

Because the aim is to use sport and its values to support each young person in their personal and professional development, the young people registered at the Gonesse Saint-Blin centre will also have access to the association’s ‘Job dans la Ville’ professional integration programme, as well as the ‘L dans la Ville’ programme aimed at young girls to encourage their emancipation.

An Olympic year featuring a growing commitment to promote sport and the professional integration of young people in the Île-de-France 

Since Paris’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Sport dans la Ville has been involved with the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOPG) to contribute to the #Paris24 Legacy and Impact project with a shared conviction: the Games will not be held without the regions and the people who make them up and bring them to life.

And because #Paris24 is a fantastic opportunity to help more and more young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods achieve successful social and professional integration, the association Sport dans la Ville is committed to accelerating its development by building or renovating ten sports pitches between now and 2024. The inauguration of this new pitch at Gonesse Saint-Blin is part of this Olympic momentum.