• Behavior "at least sexist", a "legitimacy" lost at the top of French football: the provisional report of the audit mission on the French Federation overwhelms Noël Le Graët

  • But not only.

    The Executive Committee (Comex), "a place of findings and consensus" leaving "no room for opposition", also takes it for its rank.

  • Beyond the succession of NLG, there is therefore legitimately that of the overhaul of an instrument of power whose limits weigh on the functioning of the federation

Everything now hangs by a thread.

The preliminary report of the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) commissioned in the fall by the Ministry of Sports and sent to the FFF on Monday, largely overwhelms Noël Le Graët.

This one is “no longer legitimate”.

Not really a surprise, except for the retired president of 3F.

Perched in a world full of certainties, he had not even had the lucidity to fear the arrival of a report on his governance that he imagined to be “positive”.

He had even sworn it on the head of the Comex, just 20 days ago, which, in this institution, amounts to committing his own word.

We live together, we die together, bad boys forever.

Because Nono and his followers are in the same boat.

This is even one of the reproaches addressed to the FFF by the famous report, which evokes "a political strategy which consists in lining up behind the president, head of the list, since the mandates of the members of the executive committee are statutorily linked to that of president.

At the Comex, neither opposition nor debate

All these fine people govern in fact as they have been elected since the States General of 2011. At the time, a reform of the statutes of the federation motivated by the Knysna scandal leads to the voting system that we know and that a wise observer of the affairs of the 3F considers today as "a big bullshit".

“It is a list ballot with a blocked list.

The list that comes first gets all the seats [there are actually two left automatically allocated to the president of the Professional Football League and the president of the Amateur Football League, a very timid counterweight].

You therefore have no opposition or debate within the Comex because only the yes-men of Le Graët sit there.

One could have imagined that the list arriving at the top would take, for example, three quarters of the seats, and that the second would take 25%.

But no, it's a single color listing.

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A thesis that does not seem to contradict the report of the IGESR: "the comex is identified as a place of observations and consensus which is undoubtedly one of the consequences of the closed list ballot which leaves no room for opposition .

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It's a little less true when the boss is cornered.

At 87 boulevard de Grenelle, we are desperately trying to break the chain connected to the Le Graët cannonball, on pain of sinking with it.

Especially since the preliminary report does not reassure anyone within the Comex, starting with Eric Borghini.

“I'm afraid that reading this extremely strong report will encourage the idea of ​​degagism.

But if Noël Le Graët takes his responsibilities and resigns, we have all the tools to go until 2024 under normal conditions.

Relying on the good faith of NLG is an idea that is almost religious.

The last resort of governance to eject Le Graët

However, several levers exist to upset the governance if the old man were to persist, which is never to be excluded:

- The convening by the Comex of an Extraordinary General Assembly, with a view to dismissing the President, is a possibility… But it would lead to new elections and would condemn the Comex as a whole.

-The Federal Assembly can also be convened by a quarter of its members if they so wish, again paving the way for the dismissal of the Comex and the president, or at the request of the High Authority for Football (HAF)… But the latter preferred to temporize, so far.

-Last option, highlighted by the pre-audit report: referral by the Comex to the Federal Disciplinary Commission with a view to initiating disciplinary proceedings against the President.

New sports law for a new life

Beyond relieving its (former) supporters, the "ideal" scenario would allow normal management of the federation until 2024. This option has another advantage compared to hypothetical early elections in 2023: they would be subject to the new law aimed at democratizing sport.

This reshuffles the cards of federated governance and its implementation is scheduled for January 1, 2024. The former LREM deputy, Pierre-Alain Raphan, carried the text.

What will change for some federations is the integration of clubs in the choice of governors.

From 2024, the clubs will have to vote to choose the president or the president of the federation, which was not the case everywhere [the FFF responds to a system of electors].

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“Another point, adds Raphan, the governing bodies of national sports federations will have to respect gender parity.

History could very well have had a different fate if there had been parity from the start on certain subjects.

I think that this point will help to have guarantees and vigilance, in particular on subjects related to violence against women.

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The audit calls for an overhaul of the FFF

MP Céline Calvez, who also carried the project “democratizing Sport in France”, would almost be surprised at its relevance.

“It's pretty crazy to see that the reasons for which we pushed this text are already proving useful.

She adds, to the list of major changes applicable to all federations from 2024, “a limit to three terms.

We have seen it with the skating federation: when you are for 22 years at the head of a federation which has strong powers, it is worse than in other political fields.

On the other hand, the sports law has no influence on the closed list electoral system specific to the 3F.

“We would have liked to be able to go further on this point”, regrets the former deputy.

For lack of anything better, the audit report recommends an overhaul of the FFF, from the statutory revision to the implementation of an action plan on gender-based and sexual violence.

There is no doubt that Amélie Oudéa-Castéra will see to it.

Céline Calvez: “We know that the law is not always enough and that you also have to know how to show determination, which the minister knows how to do.

Noël Le Graët and Bernard Laporte approve of this message.


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