Founded for the first edition of the Pro League, Judo Nice Métropole was born of the merger between Nice Judo Alliance and Olympic Nice Judo, "two rival clubs that were doing well and didn't like each other very much", agrees Mohamed Otmane, director of the latter for some ten years before taking over the presidency of the newborn. And with good fortune, since his fighters reached the final last December.

For the manager, this new competition is "the advent of a sporting project to ensure that our kids don't leave the region". In Nice, "there's a very strong sense of belonging", embodied by a dialect, Nissart, and a symbol, the eagle. This is evidenced by the fervent encouragement of the young people at the Pôle Espoir. "It's the reward for the daily training work carried out throughout the region," explains Mohamed Otmane, who happily includes the neighboring Monaco Judo Club. Indeed, the father of Luca Otmane (PSG) cites the world medals won by Loïc Piétri, son of Monaco's technical director, among his fondest memories. Just like Sofiane Milous' fifth place at the London Olympics, or Maxime Gobert's gold medal at the European Junior Championships in 2021.

Proud to be "a local club" with a 100% team from Nice, Mohamed Otmane hopes to bring further thrills to the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes, alongside footballers from OGC Nice, volleyball and women's basketball.