Ambitions, budget, extensions, projects... The confidences of Pascal Bacchi, president of Saint-Raphaël Var handball before the resumption of the championship

Saint-Raphaël Var handball president Pascal Bacchi has acquired a taste for the top of the rankings. His goal? ^Fifth place, like last year, to be back in Europe at the end of the season. "Even fourth to show that it wasn't an accident ," he aims. "I tend to say that apart from the top three who are fighting it out, five or six teams can be within one or two points of each other, as we saw last year. We're at a roughly equal level (with Toulouse, Limoges, Tremblay, Chambéry) . It's going to come down to details. We were a team to watch, we're going to be a team to beat."

No big names but a team

The club is competing at the top of the table while SRVHB only has the 10th ^- largest budget ⁽¹⁾ with 4.4 million euros. "It's an achievement. It won't increase," he announced. "We have an economic structure that means we don't have the same resources as Limoges or Toulouse. That's why we're expanding the training center. Our players are cheaper to begin with. My policy isn't to have big names. I want a team." The arrival of three young players during the off-season goes in this direction.

Despite the group's youth, he doesn't hold back from being ambitious. "I think we have a stronger team than in previous years because the core group knows each other even better. We're going to hit the ground running. If all goes well with injuries, we have two squads of equal value."

"To get results, you need stability."

Since taking over the club, his watchword has been stability. A leitmotif that translates within the squad: "To get results, you need stability. The coaches are entering their fourth season. We're trying to keep our squad as long as possible. We're going to re-sign some important players for us."

In this year of European campaign, the JFK sports hall is also putting on its best: "We redesigned the stands this summer to make them easier to find their way around. Last week, I signed the permit to redo the box with our partners, to have in Saint-Raphaël what we find in the big championship halls."

1. Source LNH, referring to the “Sports group budget”.