American football in France
Although in France many kinds of football are played, the best known is soccer. This, as you already kno, is the name given to it in the United States of America with the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry being household names today in France. However, there is another kind of football that was first played way back in 1909 here in France. It is American football and, it has seen little or no development until its formal introduction more than 30 years ago by Laurent Plegelatte.
It was Laurent Plegelatte who formed the first French team, Spartacus, in 1980 for American football in France. Over time, the number of teams would grow to 40 in the year 1989 and, then to more than 200 American football clubs in 2018 with over 22,000 players of this sport in France.
The future of American football in France looks bright, especially recently, as the FFFA (Fédération Française de Football Américain), the top league in France, seeks more exposure for the game locally. Furthermore, the soon-to-be-held European Championship of American football has seen France taking the second and the third place positions in the last two editions held in 2010 and 2014 respectively.