Baptiste Malherbe, president of AJ Auxerre: “Unity around the club earns points”

Against the backdrop of a TV rights disaster , which is close to zero at the end of the coming season for Ligue 1 clubs, AJ Auxerre and its president, Baptiste Malherbe (43 years old), who is also a member of the Executive Committee of the French Football Federation, published an impact study on the economic weight of the club from Yonne in June. Before the start of the championship which will see the Burgundians, eleventh in L1 in May and with a (small) budget of around forty million euros for the coming season, host FC Lorient on Sunday, August 17, the manager spoke about the place of a professional club like AJA in its territory, the positioning in terms of brand and, ultimately, how to balance a budget in the context.

Why did you launch an impact study?

Good question (smile). In football, the most beautiful things cannot be measured. I'm talking about the emotions, the pride we bring to people.

(He cuts in) We wanted to quantify what AJ Auxerre brings to the region. AJA, and a professional club in general, is an opportunity for the economy and the dynamism of a region.