PARIS (AP) — Hugo Tekedam hopes Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers provides inspiration to French youngsters.

Tekedam plays for the Paris Musketeers and though he’s a star wide receiver, he knows he’s probably past the point of having NFL dreams. But he’s hopeful for the next generation.

“It’s a great opportunity. You’ve got to get the people interested,” the 24-year-old Tekedam said.

American football is barely on the French sports radar, which is dominated by soccer. Other sports like rugby, basketball, cycling and tennis also are popular.

The Saints-Steelers game could nudge the sport forward as well as shine a light on the Musketeers, who bill themselves as France’s first fully professional American football team.

The Musketeers play in the European Football Alliance, which recently completed its inaugural season.

“What we have experienced the last four years, once you get somebody interested, they remain interested,” Musketeers general manager John Booker said. “They really enjoy the sport, they enjoy the atmosphere.

“And obviously the NFL is the best in the world at that, in this sport, the atmosphere and everything that comes with it,” he added. “So I really believe the number one thing that’s going to come out of this is awareness of the sport.”

The French federation of American football has reported growth in recent years, but its number of clubs is in the hundreds. By comparison, France has an estimated 12,000 amateur soccer clubs.

Start playing sooner

Getting introduced to the sport at a younger age — even through flag football, which the NFL has heavily promoted internationally — will lead to more U.S. college prospects, Booker said.

“Athletically, they just start the sport too late,” he said. “So it’s very important that we get guys playing earlier so that they do get those opportunities.”

Booker, a former offensive lineman who played for San Jose State, said Tekedam “definitely would have played college football if he grew up in America.” Tekedam had eight touchdown receptions last season.

Paris native Maceo Beard-Aigret, a safety, is on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad through the league's International Player Pathway program.

French-born offensive lineman Ismaël Camara committed over the summer to play for Texas next year.

The Musketeers, founded in 2022, were coached by former NFL linebacker coach Jack Del Rio for the past two seasons, but his contract has expired.

The EFA, which in late August appointed former NFL player Markus Kuhn as president, is adding a new team — the London Guard — for its 2027 season, which begins next spring.

Each team can have a limited number of Americans — the Musketeers' quarterback last season was Zach Edwards, who played Division III college football in Minnesota.

The imported players receive housing and expenses paid as well as 2,000 euros per month after taxes, Booker said.

Another team, the Paris Lights, plays in a different league: the American Football League Europe.

Soaking up opportunities

What the French players lack in experience they make up for in enthusiasm, Booker said.

“The French players love the sport differently than the Americans do,” he said. “The French guys, it’s like they’ve won the lottery. When they get a really good coach and they’re able to learn more, they’re so excited because they don’t have that in their country.”

Tekedam started playing the sport at age 12, but infrastructure and coaching were limited. Still, he excelled and enrolled at a prep school in Florida in hopes of playing for a U.S. college.

“I had some offers, but they weren’t full rides," he said. “They were partial offers. I couldn’t afford the other part.”

So, he returned home to Paris and joined the Musketeers, who last year struck up a partnership with the Saints in marketing and youth development.

The French players typically have other jobs, too. Tekedam works as a football coach on the side and sees that as a long-term career path.

“A lot of kids have potential and talent,” he said. “I’m trying to work on that, to see where I can help them.”