As we approach the biggest day in Europe’s Gaelic Football Calendar – the Pan-European Finals, we got the chance to speak to Nathan Begoc, a key figure in European Gaelic Games, who has been instrumental in growing the sport across France. As both the regional representative for the North-West and the President of the Fédération des Sports Gaéliques en France, he offers unique insights into the sport’s evolution
How did you get involved with GAA in Europe?
Like many other people, I just heard about the game and gave it a shot. I fell in love with Gaelic football and wanted to make it grow so I got involved in my club and then at the Federation level.
Can you tell us about your club?
Gaelic Football Bro Leon is a club that made GAA history overseas. Founded in 2000, it was the 1st ever club to be founded without any Irish person. For the past 25 years, the club has been developing football in the area of Brest. It now has one men’s team (a second should be created next year) and one ladies’ team. We’re gaining new members every season and should cross the 50-member threshold this season with a number of new players coming to training (45 people tried Gaelic football in the last 4 weeks, showcasing the long-term communication work made by the members).
The year 2025 will be historical for us as we’ll celebrate our 25th anniversary by welcoming the French finals for the 1st time.
What do we need to know about the North-West ahead of the biggest weekend of the year?
The Fédération des Sports Gaéliques en France is the governing body of Gaelic games in France. It celebrates its 20th birthday this year and has had a singular development.
France, and Brittany in the first place, was the first area in the world where Gaelic games were developed by native players having no connections with Ireland.
This particularity offers a huge potential for developing Gaelic games in France as we mostly target local players. To date over 90% of our members are French.
From 4 clubs and a few dozen players back in 2004, the federation now welcomes 30 clubs all over the country and nearly 1,200 players. The growth is continuous with a regular 10% increase of members and 2-3 new clubs every year.
See the full list of GAA clubs in France here
Step by step, the federation structures itself. Since 2014, the French national teams have been competing the international competitions (Eurogames winner in 2018 for men and 2022 for ladies, World Games finalist in 2016 and 2023 for men).
Though France is widely dominated by football, hurling/camogie and handball are also developing (a team full of French hurling players did compete in the 2023 WGG and the season 2024/2025 will see the 1st French handball championship).
As the years are running, clubs are getting bigger and bigger and start opening youth sections. With strong work being done in schools as well, the number of youth players is increasing quickly and we’re lucky to have players joining the adult teams after several years of youth practice. The 2024/2025 season will be historical for youth in France with the 1st French youth championships (June 7th in Liffré) and the 1st U18 national team. In the same time, we’re strengthening our connections with institutional partners such as the Irish embassy in France and seeking the official recognition of Gaelic games by the French Ministry of sports.
What has been the biggest achievement in the North-West in 2024?
Showcasing Gaelic games at the Paris 2024 Olympics and welcoming the Tainiste, keep working on the development of the games (especially on the ladies’ side), working on the obtention of the recognition by the sports ministry
What is your best memory with your club, or region?
The 2023 World Gaelic Games in Derry with over 200 players from France. We were the biggest delegation traveling to the competition and showed how much French people love Gaelic games. An amazing memory for all of us and a real pride to see the good results of our teams.
How has your region responded to hosting the largest-ever Pan-European football finals?
It’s a great honor for France, and Lyon to host the biggest European GAA event. It’s the 1st time that it will happen in France and we’re sure that it’s gonna be an amazing event! We hope to see French teams crowned European champions.
What are you most looking forward to in the future of GAA in France?
We’re working on a lot of projects from the recognition by the Ministry of Sports to the development of youth. At the same time, we’re working hard to help our clubs develop and we hope that we’ll be able to secure human and financial resources in the next few years to help our structuration. We’re also waiting for the 2025 Eurogames that will be hosted in Vannes on July 18th-19th 2025. In the future, we’d like to see our teams compete in the Irish competitions for clubs (Paris/Bordeaux did win the European 15-a-side championship) and for counties as well (we hope to enter the French national team to the All Ireland Junior in the next few years).
Final word –
We strongly believe that the future of GAA abroad will be made by local players who embrace the game. We do hope that many Europeans will join the movement.
