Sport in France is recognized by the IOC. . Professional players play the very competitive form of Pétanque which is called Pétanque Sport, under precise rules. The competitive form is played by about 480,000 persons licensed with the "Federation Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal" (FFPJP). The FFPJP is the 4th largest sports federation in France. Orienteering is a reasonably popular sport in France; it is regulated by the Fédération Française de Course d'Orientation (FFCO) Cricket is a developing sport in France. Some reports claim that cricket was invented in France, however, the sport is relatively unknown due to inadequate media coverage. In
Whitewash (sport) Whitewash (sport) In sport, a whitewash is a game or series in which the losing person or team fails to score. A whitewash may be in a single game where the loser fails to score any points or goals, or in a series where the loser fails to win a game. In North America the two are differentiated, with the former called a shutout and the latter a sweep. It is not typically used for games such as football where a failure to score is very common; the winning team's goalkeeper is said to keep a clean sheet if they