World Cup: Can the Stones Given to the Blues Really Bring Good Luck? What Psychology Says

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During a visit to Clairefontaine before the men's football World Cup, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari presented the French national team with stones said to have "energizing virtues." This decision sparked reactions.

"A symbolic gesture." On June 2, the President of the Republic and the Sports Minister visited Clairefontaine to meet the men's national football team. Marina Ferrari did not come empty-handed, as revealed by Le Canard enchaîné. To wish the players good luck, she decided to give them a small gift: stones. "Blue jasper has energizing properties and gives the strength to achieve one's goals. Rock crystal reduces stress and anxiety, increases self-confidence, and can alleviate muscle pain," she justified. In response to this choice, the players appeared "perplexed," while the president seemed "stunned" and "clearly not happy." However, is it really such a bad idea?

An Effective Placebo Effect

As Science & Vie reminds us, citing a study conducted in 2025 in the journal CNS Spectrums, the stones do not seem to possess any special powers. The experiment revealed that the crystals given to participants, whether real or fake, only affected anxiety levels in those who believed in the effects of crystals.

No difference was observed between the groups regarding the main evaluation criteria, and the improvements did not exceed the magnitude generally associated with placebo responses, the researchers concluded.

It is therefore likely that skeptical footballers do not see much effect on their performance level, even if they place these stones in their socks as recommended by the minister. But is that a reason not to offer them?

"From a psychosomatic perspective and placebo effect, when people believe in it, it works; they can really feel better," acknowledges Jean Claude Boulliard, a researcher at the Institute of Mineralogy, in an interview with AFP and quoted by Sciences et Avenir. While the risks associated with New Age beliefs and the esoteric excesses of lithotherapy may be concerning, in the case of the Blues, this gift should not cause them too much harm.

The Power of Superstitions

Whether it’s stones, a horseshoe, a laminated four-leaf clover, or any talisman, this gift can simply serve as a good luck charm and integrate the superstitions cherished by athletes. Anyone who has been closely or even remotely interested in hockey (among other sports) knows how essential superstitions are to the discipline and seem to determine a team's success or failure. Scientifically, these superstitions have their benefits.

German researcher Lysann Damisch has extensively studied this topic. In her 2010 study published in the journal Psychological Science, she conducted several experiments to verify the influence of superstitions on performance. The results revealed that activating good luck superstitions, through a saying, a common gesture, or a talisman, improves subsequent performance in golf, fine motor skills, memory, and anagram games. Based on the results of some experiments, the researcher concluded that these performance improvements are due to a change in the feeling of personal efficacy. "Activating a superstition boosts participants' confidence in their ability to master upcoming tasks, which in turn enhances their performance," her team writes. These superstitions also increase perseverance. So, if a blue jasper and a rock crystal placed in our players' socks can increase their chances of winning the World Cup… why not take advantage of it?