Paris (AFP)

The coronavirus crisis has "highlighted the heaviness of governance" of French football, notes in an interview with AFP Nathalie Boy de la Tour. The president of the Professional Football League (LFP) calls for a reform of the authorities to "make them more efficient" and more "agile".

Q: These last few days have made it possible to advance in the field of recourse and finally arrive at a calendar for next season. Are you relieved?

A: "We are happy to have reached official decisions and results. We have had a busy period but we have not stopped working. Today we have to close the streak. We are now looking forward to resuming next season in the best possible conditions. "

Q: What is your assessment of this period marked by a cacophony that you said you regretted?

A: "This crisis was so new, exceptional, unexpected, that we had to find answers to questions that did not arise before. We had to adapt constantly, our role was to find the answer the more responsible at a time when the emotion was very strong. I'm not used to having regrets. We acted in responsibility. Now we are looking forward. "

Q: These past few months have revealed weaknesses in governance, in your opinion?

A: "I have been calling for governance reform since the start of my mandate. The crisis has only brought to light the heaviness of our governance, which includes a multitude of instances. This system does not allow us to "be as agile and efficient as we should be. What I want today is to define with clubs, independents, families, the Federation, governance that is up to the vision and issues that are ours. "

Q: What are your proposals?

A: "It is the governance of professional football which must be reviewed as a whole, not only that of the League. To make the governance of professional football more effective, it is necessary to relaunch the joint dialogue and to merge the unions of professional clubs. Another important point is stability. Today, if I compare the composition of the board of directors to that elected in 2016, there are almost 70% changes. Why not imagine that the clubs vote for representatives who can remain on the Board of Directors even in the event of a rise or relegation? "

Q: Shouldn't we also simplify the proceedings?

A: "There is a division of tasks which is not always very clear between the Bureau and the Board of Directors. It does not work, because the same subjects can be tackled in four or five different places with guidelines and different results. This Board of Directors should once again become the governing body of the League, with a reduction in its members. "

Q: This point seems to offend actors and families (players, coaches, ...), who fear being excluded from the debate ...

A: "The idea is not to reduce in order to reduce. What is important is to maintain a balance in the representativeness of the members. The reduction seems important to me because being fewer means also being more efficient and more stable. It is not at all a question of questioning the role of families, which always let the clubs decide. One of the hard points for the clubs, it is also the weighting of their voices in General Assembly. They want a Ligue 1 which would decide for its representatives, and a League 2 which would do the same for its own. "

Q: Is the lack of incarnation of the League, whose direction you share with Didier Quillot, executive director general, also a problem?

A: "We have to clarify the roles. We need to go back to a president who chooses his general manager. The objective is to give back to the president the most extensive powers to represent the League and provide general management or else entrust it. this to a general manager whom he would designate. "

Q: Will there be League elections before November?

A: "Our statutes are clear. The term of office of the Board of Directors is four years. Our elections must therefore be held in November 2020."

Q: Some leaders would like an English system, by creating a commercial company grouping the clubs. What do you think ?

A: "It is important to look at what is done well elsewhere in European football. Now, beware: French football is not Italian or English football. We have to do with our history, our culture, but also our regulatory and legislative framework. The process of getting around the table, looking at how to change our governance, is necessary and I welcome it. "

Interview by Antoine MAIGNAN

© 2020 AFP