European Gaelic Football Championship

Brest Gaelic Football Club, Gaelic Football Bro Leon, took part in the Continental European County Finals of the European Club Championship, held in La Coruna, Galicia, on 15th and 16th October.

Around twenty teams from all over Europe took part, Brestois’ first participation in this annual European meeting, with the Men’s Vice-Championship, beating the Galician team of Irmandinos 8-6 in the final. . A good result also for the women “Lions”, associated with a team from Paris, which lost 5-1 in the final against Belgium.

Ireland’s most popular sport

“The rules of Gaelic football date back to 1887, an Irish sport at base, which expanded outside of Ireland in the 1990s. Brest was the first club in the world founded by non-Irish people in 2000”, explains Pierre-Louis Lesoul. President of Brest.

There are currently 25 clubs in France, including ten in Brittany. Each year a regional championship is organized in Brittany and, in parallel, a federal championship for the rest of France. At the end of the season, a tournament brings together teams in two championships (women’s and men’s).

A mixture of football, rugby and handball

Played nine-on-nine on a football field, its goals surmounted by rugby-type posts, the object of the game is to score the most points than your opponent (one point for a ball sent between the crossbar and the posts, three football-type goals for one point). Most of the time when carried by hand, the ball can be sent to the feet whether passed or hit. Fast and technical, mixing football, rugby, handball and sometimes even volleyball, it requires endurance and amazes the spectators.

Contact: Gaelic Football Bro Leon gfbroleon@gmail.com

The group

In the photo, top (left to right): Brieuc Henry, Etienne Salon, Maxime Veyssier, Anthony Durand, Hoel Malever, Nicolas Gouin (captain), Pierre-Louis Lesoul (president) and Charles Antoine Josseau. Below, Maël Guenno, Ronan Tielland, Anir Handaine, Brendan Landais and Cédric Esteban.