The leader, who had chaired the "3F" from 1994 to 2005, died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in Nantes, said the Federation.

Established in the local football authorities in Loire-Atlantique and Nantes, he had previously had a career as an amateur footballer as a goalkeeper, at Le Mans and Nantes in particular, where the current coach Didier Deschamps also went.

"With the death of Claude Simonet, French football has lost a leader who marked the history of our sport since he was our President when we had the pleasure of winning the World Cup in 1998 (...) then Euro 2000," Deschamps said in a statement. "He brought the France Team back on the path to success. I will keep strong images of him, of intense happiness."

The interim president of the FFF Philippe Diallo for his part showed his "deep affection" for the former leader, and a "great respect" for his career.

Tribute on March 24

"He is one of the most successful presidents in the history of French football. During his eleven years as president, he has greatly contributed to the development of our football. He took the reins of the Federation when it was going through turbulence and put it back on track," he added.

A tribute will be paid to Mr. Simonet on the occasion of France - Netherlands, on Friday, March 24, at the same time as that granted to Just Fontaine, who died on March 1, 2023.

At the head of the FFF, Claude Simonet had notably launched the creation of the Amateur Football League, in parallel with a reform of governance in 1995. He was also a member of UEFA's executive committee until 2002, when he was replaced by future UEFA president Michel Platini.

His end of mandate was marred by the failure of the World Cup-2002 (elimination of the Blues in the first round) and the so-called Romanée-Conti affair, relating to a bottle of wine from a Burgundy estate at 4,800 euros, consumed during a meal of twenty guests and appearing on a restaurant bill paid by the president after France-Senegal (0-1) in Seoul.

The former leader had also been found guilty of having concealed a deficit of 13.9 million euros to the FFF for the period 2002/2003, leaving only a deficit of 63,000 euros to appear, thanks to the accounting make-up.

© 2023 AFP