NFL's Paris Premier: Saints RB Alvin Kamara on global reach, sport as catalyst for youth opportunity

That brings us to sports, and we say hello to Selina Sykes. Hi, François. First ever NFL game to be played, regular season game, in the French capital. Officially, it's the New Orleans Saints who are the hosts against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's right. Big moment for the NFL, of course, as its fan base continues to grow across Europe. The sport has an estimated 40 million fans in France, some of whom will be at the Stade de France this Sunday, as the Pittsburgh Steelers will be taking on the New Orleans Saints. And to talk more about that highly anticipated event, I have the pleasure of welcoming on set a Saints running back, Alvin Kamara. Thank you so much for joining us, Alvin, and welcome to Paris. The NFL has been global for a while now. We've seen games in London, in Berlin, in Mexico City even. This is obviously the first time that we're seeing a regular season game here in France. How does it feel to be part of that? It's amazing. I've been to Paris countless times, So being able to be a part of the first NFL game being played in Paris is an opportunity unlike no other. And you told me just beforehand that you aren't jet lagged, but how is it traveling so far just before such a big game? I got a couple of tips and tricks that I do, but I just when I landed, I took a super long nap. I got up around 12 and then went to sleep at three and then I woke back up at nine and I'm good. Well, it's very, very impressive in any case, because obviously you've got a lot going on this week. I understand you probably have some downtime while you're here in Paris. I understand that you're off to see a few sporting events, including one this evening going on at the Parc des Princes. Oh, yeah, just one, just PSG versus Barcelona. Obviously, today is going to be huge. Haven't been to a PSG game, so definitely excited. I think the right thing to do would be to pull for PSG, so that's what I'm going for. I was going to say I hate to put you on the spot, but I was going to ask you. I've got to get you to it. Well, there you go. Also, I understand that the NFL is doing a collab with PSG ahead of this big game. So I think you've probably made the right choice there. You're known for being quite a versatile player. And you've already got some pretty impressive statistics to your name. You're the Saints' all-time rushing leader. You're only the second player in NFL history to have scored six touchdowns in a single game. And you've just joined a very elite club. In your last game, you've become the only sixth player in NFL history to get 5,000 yards in both rushing and receiving. That's quite an achievement. Yeah, it is. It's amazing. You know, playing 10 years and going through all these games and all these memories, records, you don't really think about it until, you know, really after the fact. So this one was incredible. Actually, my mom had to really remind me that I was on the verge of breaking the record. So just amazing to be able to break it. Last game, and to break it the way I did, a lot of support from the fan base, a lot of support from my teammates and coaches. It was just, it was a great opportunity. And obviously, 2028 is a while away of the Olympics. That is LA 2028. Flag football is going to be making its debut at the Games. Obviously, there are differences with American football, but quite a lot of NFL players have already expressed interest and they will be allowed to compete and represent their countries. Is that something you could be interested in? Oh, yeah, I would love to. I actually played in the flag football game in L.A. this past spring. So it was kind of the introduction to the flag football being added to the Olympics. So it's definitely a different game, but great opportunity again to represent our countries and, you know, just give flag football a broader audience. I'm so for sure. I would be happy with that one being a resident American in the studio right now. Flag football. Oh, that's great, because it's kind of like they brought rugby sevens to the to the to the Olympics to have something different. Flag football would be the same. Yes, it's definitely going to be the same, I think, because it actually just gives a opportunity to people. You know, football is easy to pick up a basketball and, you know, shoot a hoop. But football is a little bit harder because of the equipment. You know, you have to have a whole field. Flag football kind of compacts that and gives other people an opportunity to get introduced to the sport. um you know on a on a smaller scale before they get into you know the the large scale which is you know kind of what we do in the NFL and Alvin your your parents were born in Liberia and you've often expressed that it's important for you to give back to the country especially in terms of giving young people the opportunity to practice sport can you tell us a bit more exactly about the work yeah so um definitely just I go to Liberia as frequently as I can um not only to be an ambassador for sport but also for um just economic growth and development um you know i've been there just talking speaking with the kids speaking with the ambassador of sports um being able to you know start some businesses been um me and my uncle uh we we have a import rights into the country uh actually so that's been going well but you know i'm actually planning a trip to go back this coming off season and just speak with the president and the proper people about how we can incorporate football into, you know, get it to the youth and get it to the kids and, you know, just try to find a way to spark their interest because it's growing across Africa. So definitely want to be able to help it grow in Liberia. And in terms of preparation for this Sunday's game, what exactly is on the cards this week? A lot of rest, a lot of hydration. We get back on the field tomorrow for practice on Thursday, so I'll be locked in and ready to play a big game here. Okay, well, I'm wishing you all the best for that one. I don't know if Francois has any other questions to add? Well, just a question. You are the favorites for this game. What's going to be the key on Sunday? Man, just physicality. You know, come out and be physical. Be disciplined. Just focus on Saints football. I think when we focus on playing our style of ball, that's when we're our best. Don't beat ourselves. So just stay the course and be focused. Do you think it will feel like a home game? We'll see. I think it's going to feel like a home game. We'll have to see what the French crowd is like when it comes to American football. I was actually in London last weekend and I saw the NFL fans on the train whilst I was in London. So you can see that it's slowly taking over Europe. So all the best of luck for Sunday's game. Alvin Kamara, thank you so much for joining us and enjoy the game at the Parc des Princes this evening. And yeah, a welcome to Paris. Yes, indeed. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much, Selena Sykes and Alvin Kamara.