GENTILLY, France: Boxing, football, bodybuilding and jihad: most of those who have carried out terrorist attacks in France also played organized sport, and clubs, particularly in the Paris region, are worried. The problem might still be rare, but clubs are training their staff to detect radicalisation on the playing fields in a country which has been frequently targeted by jihadists. According to French government figures, of the 8.7 million registered members of sports clubs in France, some 829 individuals had been flagged as radicalized by November, 147 of those in the Ile de France. The proportion might be small, but sports club, led by martial arts, football and bodybuilding are—the government says—the number one place of radicalisation in France, ahead of places of worship. In Lagny-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, the local government banned two coaches suspected of radicalisation at a football club in November.

Source: Manila Times December 23, 2017 06:11 UTC