At the top of the wall of one of the buildings in Castellane, the mural honoring Zinedine Zidane catches the eye. Below, a little further, the gaze of the “lookout” is masked by sunglasses. The voice is not welcoming, the tone is dry, but the setting is at least inviting: “Go ahead, come in.” In the north of Marseille, in this city of 6,500 inhabitants, there is the image of the former number 10, the weight of the drug trade, and all those who try to do beautiful things amidst it. Like Professor, Crapule 2000, and Muz, the authors of the portrait of “ZZ.”
“Wow, you’re crazy,” Zidane exclaimed to the painter, back in 2022 when the painting was still fresh. “I think you took a lot of risks. Congratulations (…). Well done for what you did.” Four years later, the drawing has not changed. Despite the “Clear Place” operation launched by the Ministry of the Interior at the end of 2023 and the dismantling by the police in April 2025 of “The Empire” of Castellane. Back in June 2013, the “Operation Castle” had led to the incarceration of Nordine Achouri, who was then in charge of the network. When he was finally shot dead in the street, ten years later, the former baron had long been replaced at the foot of the towers.
Nature abhors a vacuum and the drug scene is no exception. Last year, Le Monde reported that this morbid business had reached a turnover of 100,000 euros per day in “The Castle.” Amidst this backdrop, the children continue to play. Less than before according to locals, but enough for a four-on-four game on the synthetic field on a day in mid-March.
At the Jougarelle city stadium, efforts are made to avoid going “goalkeeper,” they call for fouls, and strive to take tacit free kicks. “By Allah, I’ll take it, I’m a lefty,” one of the smallest in the group proudly states. The ball crashes into the fence, and his friends mock him. A few seconds later, the strongest player had already left the free pitch after receiving a blow to the back.
In the midst of this “synthetic” where it takes courage to touch the ball, there is Abdulkader, 16 years old. Slightly taller, a bit lost in thought, he knows his comrades will soon leave for training. So amid two dribbles, he turns to Adda Moegne. “I wanted to ask you: would it be possible to start a U17 team?” he enquires. “That depends,” replies the 25-year-old social center animator with a local football legend’s persona. “If you bring friends, why not. You need to be enough in numbers.” “Go ahead, I’ll ask them on Snap” (Snapchat, a social network popular with teenagers), the young boy responds as he runs off. “The little ones,” that’s how Adda and his friends refer to those they try to take care of.
At FC Castellane, including Djamali Msadie and Naïf Hamidou, they have been working tirelessly since 2019. This year, under the impetus of the Olympique de Marseille foundation and with the support of the local social center, FC La Castellane (FCC) was born. The club succeeded the Nouvelle Vague, an entity created in 1991 in which the Zidane family was heavily involved. The older ones remember AS Foresta, the historical name.
“Farid” (Zidane) “was the club president for fifteen years but unfortunately left us in 2019,” recounts Nassim Khelladi, the director of the social center in Castellane. “He was also part of the board of the center so when we were asked to take over and when OM knocked on our door, we said yes. Today, we have over 250 members, U6 to U15 boys, a female team (U18), over 10 people working at the club. There is a real enthusiasm, we are proud. We try to instill what sports can convey to the residents.”
Between two stacks of files in his office, there is a photo of Zizou at Juventus, signed on the left corner. Nassim says he has always been there, especially when it came to providing the center with a media space. But during an hour of discussion, it’s the “educators who volunteer their time” that he emphasizes. “We must honor them,” he added that day, on the eve of the municipal elections.
The shadow of the National Rally’s rise in his city (Franck Allisio, candidate of the far-right party, obtained 35% of the votes in the first round on March 15, 2026) seemed to make the director nervous. The rest no longer scares him, he has seen too much. “He knows where the budget cuts would take place if the city were to flip,” a resident remarked. “He knows he is the last line of defense.” Benoît Payan, the outgoing mayor leading a left-wing union, finally won on March 22, but the RN obtained 34 seats, which is significant.
Samir, Amine, and Djibrim probably didn’t follow these results closely. Crossed at the social center, not far from the foosball table, these three U15s from FCC eat, sleep, and breathe football. “If we put in the right ingredients, I think we can rise,” says the first, like a professional, referring to a potential promotion to the First District Division. A sacred ball.
When discussing life in the neighborhood and sports, the responses say a little more. “Our generation often prefers phones, but it’s not an activity, you don’t spend any energy, it’s easy,” says Djibrim, a La Castellane sweatshirt on him. “It attracts you more because you don’t have to make an effort,” Amine adds in the same vein. “But football is better. We relax, we let go of the ideas we have in our heads.”
The three adolescents also have something to say: “super coaches.” Last year, it was Djamali who looked after them in the U14s. “Our role is to ensure they don’t think about equipment, difficulties, or the price of the license,” summarizes a coach. Here, it costs 50 euros a year. Further afield, it’s often over 300. No approved field in the neighborhood? No insurmountable problem. The one in Estaque, located nearly three kilometers away, will do.
The club has acquired a vehicle, and sometimes the coaches act as chauffeurs when the teens miss the city bus to get to training. “But which other local structure doesn’t have a designated field?” Nassim Khelladi questions. “We were promised one, we hope it happens.” “The Saint-André stadium, in La Castellane, has a stabilized surface and will soon be renovated,” responds the municipality, stating they have been “committed for six years to offering the best practice conditions for athletes.”
Tonight they are working on pressing. They run for each other, one for the other. Besides the voice of the session leader, coach Mohamed Mdahoma, there is total silence. The contrast to the afternoon football game, far from the structured training session by certified coaches, is striking. “Sport, training with friends, there’s nothing better,” assures Rany, another 21-year-old educator at the social center. “Here, they are supervised, they are comfortable. In six years, the club has achieved a lot. And honestly, we are proud of it.” There is really something to be proud of.
MO Castellane to OM
The children reciprocate. Recently, Wassine joined the U14s at OM. At the request of his former coaches, through Snapchat and an audio message, he sent us a heartfelt message: “My time at FC La Castellane will remain a very important stage. This club has given me a lot, both athletically and personally. I’ve had very good times (…) with my teammates, who have become more than colleagues, almost a family… I won’t forget the laughs, the atmosphere, and all those memories. It’s where I grew up, where I learned values, respect, work, and teamwork.”
In a different vein, Junior, who still plays at FCC, says almost the same thing. There have been some problems at school recently, but the ball has served as a safety net.
“It helps me calm down,” he analyzes today. “Sometimes I make mistakes at school. I have even been excluded. But on the field, I am different. I focus, I give my all, and it allows me to calm down, think about something else, stay on the right path. Despite my missteps, my educators never gave up on me. They were there to push me, and I thank them. Today, I want to continue learning from my mistakes and become a better person thanks to football.”
It’s well on track. Just a trip down to Estaque, for a training session, reveals all the dynamics at play at this age, especially in the northern neighborhoods.
