The French Badminton Federation, in partnership with the National Sport Agency, asserts its ambitions with the recruitment of Thierry Soler as Performance Director and Fernando Rivas as Senior Manager.
Two years before the Olympics and Paralympics and three years before the World championships in Pairs, the FFBaD has decided to support its high-level strategy with an ambitious approach of the top performers. The choice has been made to work with the new duo to get ready for the great challenges to come.
Thierry Soler (54 yo), former National Technical Director for American football (January 2004 – June 2013) and Ice sports (January 2015 – September 2016), was until now in charge of the INSEP performance department. He will bring his experience and a fresh perspective. By choosing to compile with this recruitment a world-renowned expert, the FFBaD wishes to benefit from a working method that has been experienced at the top level.
The Spaniard Fernando Rivas (44 yo) is known in the badminton world to have achieved top results with Carolina Marin, Olympic champion in Rio and 3-times World champion (2014, 2015 and 2018) in a sport dominated by Asian players. He will keep managing Carolina in Madrid and will be in France every other week, in particular at the INSEP badminton division.
With an individual approach, where innovation on a science-based approach is crucial, Fernando Rivas, who graduated from the Paris Sud University in 2002, is perfectly in sync with the French culture. In direct line with Thierry Soler, the two men share the same ambition: bring the French badminton to the top, together with the current staff.
This new tandem has started to work with the FFBaD since March 1st for Thierry Soler and March 7th for Fernando Rivas. The scope of the tasks will rely on the definition of the training, planning and on-tournament management strategies.
Yohan Penel, president: “This strong choice of the FFBaD confirms a real ambition in matter or sports performance at the top international level. The high-performance is based on various points that the new team will develop. The performance culture associated with the badminton culture will allow us to accomplish the next steps. These recruitments come with a strong financial investment of the federation to have an impact on the whole chain and give us the best possible odds.”
Jérôme Careil, National Technical Director: “It appeared important to bring an outside look on our high performance in order to pass on elite level top results to the youth level. We will rely on their high-level experience to evolve in our strategy and our structure and be competitive at the Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.”
Thierry Soler, Performance Director: “I am joining a beautiful federation with my fresh perspective on this sport. My role will consist in making the system even more competitive, based on qualified men and women. The Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics are a great opportunity to be in the light.”
Fernando Rivas, Senior Manager: “I am very happy to join the FFBaD which is a reference in Europe with a true development strategy. The pool of very good players in France is very interesting. I am coming with my top-level experience. I will bring a framework with a method that has already proved itself.