The Judo Pro League resumes on Tuesday, September 12. Thirteen teams are vying to win the second edition of the competition at a grand Final Four to be held at the Paris Dojo on December 16. With the start of the new season just around the corner, we bring you a complete team review. Discover each day the teams that make up the four groups in the group stages. 

Thursday, September 7 : Presentation of Poule A teams

Friday, September 8 : Presentation of Poule B teams

Saturday, September 9 : Presentation of Poule C teams

Sunday, September 10: Presentation of Poule D teams

Group D

OM Judo

Carrying a name as recognized and popular as that of Olympique de Marseille is "priceless", says Stéphane Mongellas, who initiated the link-up with the soccer club in 2012. All the more so as judo is its only omnisport discipline, renewed each year in the form of a license. As the OMTV channel has disappeared, French championship fights are no longer broadcast, but other tools are still available. And as for images, in recent years champions such as Lucie Decosse and Cyrille Maret have kicked off matches at the legendary Stade Vélodrome. Strong images to support the development of the judo section.

Stéphane Mongellas, who was already practicing, was forced to join PSG Judo due to a lack of facilities in his home town. It was this experience that gave him the idea of approaching OM. "It was no longer possible to supply Parisian clubs," he smiles. Today, most OM Judo members are cadets or juniors. The Pro League team is therefore largely made up of outsiders, two-thirds of whom come from Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis, with only one or two from the club. But the management team hopes to reverse this trend. "The idea is to fill our Pro League team with our youngsters as soon as they're ready," says the head coach, delighted that the OM logo on the judoji is "a hit" and attracting the region's best hopefuls. Who, perhaps one day, will follow in the footsteps of Alexandre Iddir, who went through the Marseille "Pôle Espoir" and then OM Judo before taking part in the Olympic Games in 2016 and 2021 (team gold medallist).

Auxerre Judo

The youngest of the 280 members have already been on the move: to the Senate, the National Assembly, the army corps... "We open their minds to republican values of citizenship through discovery meetings", explains General Secretary Aberahmane Elassri. We open their minds to the republican values of citizenship through discovery encounters", explains General Secretary Aberahmane Elassri, who has organized exchanges with senators, deputies and members of the police force. His young people also attended the national day of tribute to the victims of terrorism on March 11. With one guiding principle: "Learn what courage, investment, honor, commitment, participation and involvement are all about", says the manager.

In the capital of the Yonne region, judo is fighting to find its place, with the complicity of AJ Auxerre footballers, who have promoted the martial art in their Abbe-Deschamps stadium. The General Secretary's brother, Nasser Elassri, made the connection in his capacity as former physical trainer at AJA's training center.

With the Judo Pro League, Auxerre intends to "give a chance to a certain number of athletes who are struggling to make ends meet", and "promote the club and the region", adds Aberahmane Elassri, who would like to see the event hosted in Sens or Avallon, not just in Auxerre. "We need the Pro League to ignite the department and the region," he says, to stand a chance of obtaining the creation of an elite departmental center, "a real structure where kids can do intensive sport and be competitive from a very early age.

Corsica Judo 

Heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Corsican judo intends to take its place among the regional sporting elite, dominated by soccer. "We've gone up to over 2,500 licensees, but we'll be down to 1,900 by 2022," notes regional technical director Yves Camuzet, who is responsible for development in a region that is smaller and less accessible than others. Ajaccio Judo, the biggest club on the Isle of Beauty, has 220 members. On the mainland, it would only be a medium-sized club. Because a conurbation of 60,000 inhabitants can hardly compete with others with up to three times the population. Nevertheless, "it's been the number one club in terms of results for the last ten years", and the host of Judo Pro League matches, even though Porto-Vecchio, in the south of the island, is also involved in training.

Taking this limited pool into account, only half the team is made up of athletes licensed in Corsica. "But we're on the increase," says Yves Camuzet, who is also in charge of the Pôle Espoir. Built around Ajaccio, "simpler because it's at the heart of the organization" and close to numerous hotels and restaurants, Corsican judo nevertheless hopes to "decentralize" in the future, which would be a sign of growth and an extension of the sport to the whole island. In other words, good news.