Paris (AFP)
President since 2011, Noël Le Graët intends to keep the helm of the powerful French Football Federation (FFF) after the March elections for which he stood as a candidate on Thursday, ready at 79 to take up the gauntlet against Frédéric Thiriez and Michel Moulin.
The Breton leader unveiled his intentions in front of the elected members of the executive committee ("Comex") meeting in the morning at the headquarters of the federal body in Paris, before formalizing it in a letter addressed to amateur and professional clubs, leagues and districts, and to other football players (unions, High Authority, etc.).
"After having widely consulted the actors of French football in recent weeks, and the members of the Executive Committee of the FFF this morning, I decided to ask for the renewal of your confidence, by presenting to you my candidacy for the presidency of our Federation" , he wrote in this letter that AFP was able to consult.
The elected representatives of the Comex approved his candidacy "unanimously" during a tour de table concluded with a "strong acclamation", according to sources close to the body.
If the announcement puts an end to a very relative suspense, it marks the real kickoff of the campaign before the close of applications on February 11.
Among the known figures, only the lawyer and former leader of the Professional Football League Frédéric Thiriez, as well as the entrepreneur and club advisor Michel Moulin, had come out of the woods.
The boss of the rich and starred FFF leaves favorite for a new four-year term, ahead of his two main challengers, but the game is not over before the federal assembly of March 13, during which the votes of the world amateurs (63%) will weigh more heavily than those of professional clubs.
- Speech "without demagoguery" -
Will the football of peri-urban cities and the countryside be the key to the election?
Moulin sees him in any case "at the end of his life" and Thiriez, in the process of "being asphyxiated".
The list he intends to present "will hold a true, honest, demagogic, pragmatic but also resolutely constructive and optimistic speech with me for the future of French football," said Le Graët in the letter sent on Thursday.
The candidates announced have less than a month to set their program, obtain the ten necessary sponsorships from the presidents of leagues, districts, professional clubs or members of the High Authority of football, and provide a list of twelve candidates (including three women ) to sit on the future federal Comex, president included.
In his close guard, Thiriez can count on the support of former international Basile Boli, European champion in 1993 with OM.
The 68-year-old senior official, known for his eloquence and recognizable by his long mustache, also hopes to rally Luis Fernandez, another former glory of the France team, to his cause.
At 60, Moulin displays on his CV more or less successful initiatives in the specialized (ParuVendu) and sports (Le 10 Sport) press, as well as a rich but contrasting experience of manager and advisor in several clubs such as the Red Star, Istres, Le Mans or even briefly at Paris SG.
The entrepreneur born in the Gard, self-proclaimed candidate of the "useful break", gathered a motley team ranging from the former judoka and minister David Douillet to the former boss of the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI) Bernard Squarcini , including former footballers Pascal Olmeta and Fabien Barthez.
- Deschamps, first support -
Le Graët knows that he can count on many allies, both among professional clubs and within several leagues and districts, these decentralized bodies that populate the world of amateur football.
The former president of En avant Guingamp (1972-1991 and 2002-2011), weakened by leukemia in 2018, can also take advantage of the strong support of Didier Deschamps, captain at the 1998 Mondial and coach at the 2018 Mondial won by the Blues.
"Look where the FFF was before its arrival and where it is today. We can always do more, but we must also recognize the work done. Through the national teams, amateur football too," pointed out Monday in Le Figaro the technician appointed by Le Graët in 2012, after a failed Euro and two years after the Knysna scandal.
Side selections, it is the blue sky for the current boss of the FFF with his three main teams of France (men, women and Hopes) qualified for the next Euro.
Behind the scenes and in the media, the passing of arms between the coach of the Bleues Corinne Deacon and her captain Amandine Henry has however damaged the image of the Federation a little.
The competitors of "NLG" have already seized this pole.
The campaign is launched.
© 2021 AFP