The Judo Pro League is back for a third season. On the program: more suspense and more adrenalin with highlights and spectacular encounters.

This year, 14 franchises will be vying for the title of French mixed-team champion. With just a few days to go before the resumption of France's first mixed professional league on October 8, we take a look at the teams involved. Find out all you need to know about the 3 newcomers to this Judo Pro League: Juniville Marnaval Grand-Est, Flam 91 and JC Chilly Mazarin Morangis.

 

JC Chilly Mazarin Morangis

Successfully associated with FLAM 91 - under the name Paris-Saclay Judo - for the first edition of the Judo Pro League in 2022, the Judo Club Chilly-Mazarin Morangis has decided to line up under its own colors for this third edition of the event. Founded in 1975, this structure with 663 members at the end of last season has had a dual DNA for several decades, as Bruno Morel, club president, reports. " We like the idea of taking young Chiroquois from the white belt to the top level, as was the case with Faiza Mokdar. With this in mind, the end of last season was magnificent, as we became French champions in the cadet and junior men's teams.. "

A deep-rooted commitment to training does not prevent the club from aiming for the very highest level for its practitioners. Here again, last season was remarkable in this respect, with outstanding performances by Joan-Benjamin Gaba, who won a European medal in the spring before reaching the Olympic final in Paris and actively contributing to the French team's defense of the mixed team title. The JCCMM's return to the Judo Pro League is in the same vein. "Taking part in what we consider to be an elite competition, and one that will qualify for the Champions League, seems like a no-brainer, especially as the mixed format offers us the opportunity to take a turning point in our history by developing an even more collective state of mind and an even stronger attachment to the club."
With a team made up exclusively of judokas from the club, the Chiroquois team will be keen to prove the excellence of its project.

 

Flam 91

The Essonne-based club has been a fixture on the French top flight for many years, and is one of the new franchises in this third season. Founded in 1978 under the name "Association du Judo de l'Orge", the club - which became AJ91 Longjumeau Massy in 2008, then FLAM 91 in 2012 - is back in the Judo Pro League after taking part in the first edition, which the club won under the Paris-Saclay Judo banner, a franchise created for the occasion with JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis.

With 938 members in 2023-2024, the structure based in three towns (Longjumeau, Massy and Draveil), and which is aiming for 1,000 members this season, had several good reasons for joining the adventure according to its sporting director, Kilian Le Blouch, starting with the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League in the event of a good showing. " The towns of Longjumeau and Massy are now joining us in this new adventure, continues the 2020 European medallist. What's more, for some of our athletes, this competition offers the opportunity to gain experience and create emulation." A pillar of the association chaired for several years by Simon Soubiran, whose achievements include an Olympic medal, four senior world medals and a Champions League victory, Kilian Le Blouch also talks about what drives the club on a daily basis. "We strive for performance while maintaining the caring, family spirit that is the foundation of the club. Above all, we aim to develop each individual's abilities, and help some of them to achieve high performance."This club, crowned French men's team champion in 2021 and a finalist in the women's category last year, will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

Juniville Marnaval Grand Est 

It's THE new franchise in this #3 edition of the Judo Pro League. The first team from the Grand Est league to take part in the professional league, the squad presided over by Sébastien Lafon symbolizes the culmination of a wisely matured project."The genesis of this ambition began at the end of 2023. Adrien Guilloux, high-level coach at the Juniville club, began to raise the subject within the association and with other clubs in the league, with one watchword: "why not us?", explains the chairman. To give substance to this project, he invited elected representatives from our local authorities to the Final Four 2024. The Grand Est region and the Ardennes and Haute-Marne departmental councils have given their backing and assurances of their support. On the mat, the core of the team will be made up of judokas from Juniville and Marnaval, including Mélanie Clément - European medalist in 2021 and triple French champion in the -48kg category in 2015, 2016 and 2023 - who will be our headliner.. However, other judokas from clubs in the league will also be taking part, as this franchise is first and foremost a territorial project, designed to showcase our discipline and the judokas of our region. While our ambition is logically to do well, it will above all be a question of building our legitimacy in order to perpetuate this project, both athletically and financially, by federating a group of partners around us."

Headed by Adrien Guilloux, the franchise will also promote judo in schools, with a team responsible for highlighting the quality of training in the Grand Est region.