What if the surprise of this 2024-2025 edition came from the Yonne? Auxerre Judo, chaired by Nassar Elassri, arrived in the Judo Pro League last season and have all the hallmarks of a serious outsider. Last year, we narrowly lost in the quarter-finals to ES Blanc-Mesnil Judo, on their home ground, by a score of five to four," explains the man who trained at Auxerre Arts Martiaux under Eugène Domagata, and who has been working as a physical trainer at the AJ Auxerre training center for several years now. This season, we're aiming for the Final Four. Our aim is to take things one step at a time. This is no far-fetched ambition, as the team from Auxerre won their first two matches convincingly: 6-3 against AM Asnières Judo 92 and 8-0 against the Dojo Nantais!

A strong, homogeneous group, whose genesis lies in the training work initiated by the Auxerre club (nearly 270 licenses last season) and... friendship. We trained Nawaliatou Babio and Yann Rigaud," continues Nassar Elassri. As for Adrien Geoffroy, he stayed with the club for four seasons. Thanks to his results, Yann Rigaud moved to Paris and chose Sucy Judo as his elite structure. I went to train there regularly, and the relationship with the staff quickly became a good one. I then asked Franck Party if he was up for the Judo Pro League project. He said yes. As he was also in charge of the JC Pontault-Combault women's team, at the time with Pénélope Bonna, we had a very solid base of fighters, to which we could add Nawaliatou and Yann, who had trained at the club. It was very important!

This season, Auxerre Judo can also count on a heavyweight reinforcement: Toma Nikiforov, Belgian international fighter in the -100kg class, Open world vice-champion in 2017 behind Teddy Riner, double European champion and, among other things, winner of the Paris Grand Slam in 2022. "With my brother Mohamed, we fought for several years with Toma's Brussels club, Judo Royal Crossing Club Schaerbeek. We even took part in the European Club Cup in 2012. For this post-Olympic season, when I asked him if he wanted to join us, he didn't hesitate."

A participation in the Judo Pro League that Nassar and the club couldn't miss. "The format of the event and the promotion of the discipline offered by this new competition immediately convinced us, as did the town and the agglomeration community, which are behind us", Nassar says bluntly. It's a fantastic opportunity to get the word out about Auxerre judo in an environment where soccer crushes everything. Auxerre Judo is not lacking in assets, and even enjoys an excellent reputation. Highly committed to the issue of citizenship, the club received an award last May from the Bourgogne Franche-Comté regional Olympic and sports committee as part of the "Challenge sport citoyen". "Our parents instilled in us the values of the Republic. Now it's our turn, and we're doing it thanks to judo and its wonderful image: visiting the National Assembly, learning first aid, taking part in ceremonies organized by the town, meeting the national police in the neighborhoods where we give classes", says Nassar Elassri. All of which would make judo Auxerre's other sport.