Read Chapter 23: Promotion

They returned to Saint-Aurèle after midnight.

Hundreds waited in the square.

The team bus could not move for fifteen minutes because people danced in front of it. Someone rang the church bells without authorization. The baker fired blue confetti from a machine normally used at weddings. Thierry cried into a plastic cup of beer.

Marc stood on the bus steps with the trophy.

He could have made the easy speech.

He didn't.

“We won,” he said.

Cheers.

“Whatever happens next, nobody can change that.”

More cheers.

“But if this is only a story about winning, then we learned nothing.”

The square quieted.

Marc saw Lucas at the back with Élodie. Claire stood near the fountain. Jean leaned against the bus, exhausted.

“This club was almost taken from us without anyone stealing the keys. We traded pieces of it because we were afraid to lose the whole thing. We told ourselves every compromise was temporary.”

Nobody moved.

“Tomorrow, we begin paying the real price of owning it again.”

The speech was not repeated as often as the victory photo.

That was fine.

The next morning, the hangover arrived in administrative form.

Promotion to Fédérale 1 required a larger budget, medical standards, travel costs, and facility upgrades. Jean estimated an additional €240,000.

“We don't have it,” he said.

Marc laughed. “Of course we don't.”

The new council would not cover the gap. Sponsors were cautious. The emergency fund had saved the season, not created professional money.

“We could decline promotion,” Jean said.

The sentence felt obscene.

Marc did not reject it.

Instead, the club held an open assembly in the municipal hall.

Supporters, players, parents, sponsors, council members, staff. Nearly four hundred people.

An accountant presented the numbers. Claire moderated questions. Jean explained the risks.

Then Marc said, “Promotion is not a moral reward. If we cannot afford it without rebuilding the same dependency, we should not take it.”

Some supporters booed.

Yannis stood from the front row.

“You told us to earn the game,” he said. “We earned this.”

“Yes.”

“So find a way.”

Marc smiled despite himself.

“That's your solution?”

“I'm a fly-half. I provide problems to forwards.”

The room laughed.

They found a way, but not a glamorous one.

A cooperative sponsorship model. Dozens of small businesses instead of one dominant backer. Membership shares with no sporting control. Published accounts. A cap on any single private sponsor's percentage of revenue. Independent integrity officer. Mandatory betting education for senior and youth players.

The budget remained short by €70,000.

Then former Saint-Aurèle players living across France pledged support. Béziers agreed to a preseason friendly with gate receipts shared. A regional agricultural cooperative signed a three-year sponsorship—modest, boring, clean.

They reached the threshold with nine days to spare.

Jean signed the promotion paperwork.

His hand shook.

“Happy?” Marc asked.

“Terrified.”

“Good.”

Jean looked at him. “You staying?”

Marc had been offered a development coaching role at Béziers.

He had not told anyone.

“I don't know.”

Jean nodded.

“That's fair.”

For once, nobody asked Marc to save anything.

The choice became harder because it was finally his.