Catalans plan to take Super League game on road to Marseille

Catalans Dragons are planning on taking a Super League game on the road to the home of football giants Olympique Marseille next season.

The French club are hoping to build on a successful season in 2021. Steve McNamara’s side won the League Leaders’ Shield and reached their first ever Grand Final. The Dragons fell short to a 12-10 defeat to St Helens at Old Trafford.

Catalans took a game on the road to Nou Camp, the home of FC Barcelona, in 2019 following their Challenge Cup success at Wembley in 2018.

On that occasion, the Dragons drew a crowd of 31,555 to the Nou Camp for the visit of then Super League champions Wigan. The attendance set a new record for a regular game in the Super League season.

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Now, the Dragons are hoping to play at the 67,394-capacity Orange Velodrome in Marseille. It was a venue for the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup and the Euro 2016.

The Catalans club have yet to decide which game to take on the road. However, it won’t be the French derby with Super League newcomers Toulouse.

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Catalans spokesman on Marseille clash

A Catalans spokesman said: “We are working on taking a game to Marseille but we are at the start of the project.

“The Orange Velodrome is a superb stadium, close to the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) region which is a strong rugby league area.

“Once all the financial details are resolved, we’ll start thinking about the opposition but it won’t be Toulouse. We will play them in Perpignan.”

The Super League fixtures for 2022 are set to be published on November 25.

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