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
Contact sport Most contact sports require any male players to wear a Abdominal Guard to protect their male genitalia. The cost of equipment can be an obstacle to participating in many sports. Because of issues involved with any sport that involves rapid contact, many sports governing bodies are changing their rules to decrease the incidence of serious injury. An example of this is the NFL banning concussed players from re-entering the same game in which they were injured in order to decrease further damage. A (full) contact sport is any sport for which significant physical impact force on players, either deliberate or