As sport gradually regains its rights, elections to the federations, which will be spread between October 2020 and April 2021, are often prepared in an atmosphere of extreme tension. Decryption.
The Olympic Games in Paris: an attraction for all
The Games of Tokyo hardly postponed in 2021, Jean-Michel Brun, secretary general of the French Olympic committee (CNOSF) was, in full confinement, hastened to define the modalities on the holding of the elective general assemblies (GA) in the federations . This shows how much the subject worries the leaders of French sport. In particular because the presidents who will be elected, by April 30, 2021, will be in place at the Paris Olympics in 2024, the Holy Grail in terms of sport… and for leaders.
Many of them dream of accreditation, the famous pass that opens the doors of Olympic sites. But the prospect of the Olympic Games in Paris is above all for everyone the opportunity to participate in the transformation of tricolor sport (inevitable since the Covid-19 crisis) and to leave a legacy.
Sport bill postponed: a boon for some
Let us not hide it, the sport bill currently under discussion within the ministry did not only make happy. Mainly because Roxana Maracineanu has decided to tackle governance, the old sea serpent of tricolor sport. Feminization of the authorities (the minister would be ready to go as far as parity), mode of elections, limitation of the number of terms: two of the most taboo subjects are on the table.
Only the Covid-19 crisis created a congestion in the Assembly and a study of the bill before the elections seems almost impossible. Suffice to say that the rejuvenation, feminization of lists and even diversity will be subject to the good will of the candidates, the lines may be complicated to move. The fight against violence (moral, physical and sexual) could however be at the heart of the campaigns, many federations adopting charters since the tsunami caused by the testimony of Sarah Abitbol.
PODCAST. Sexual violence in sport: why Sarah Abitbol breaks the silence
The arrival of champions: a concern for many
We used to see them sit on the Athletes' Commissions, so now the top athletes determined to take responsibility. " Finally! Some will say. Because although they made France shine on the podiums, the leaders do not necessarily leave much room for their stars. Too rarely for athletes still in activity. Not just because they don't have a lot of free time. "But because it is sometimes frowned upon to take sides, so they do not dare," said Stéphane Nomis, presidential candidate in judo.
Once the spotlights are off, the athletes launch out, like Nathalie Péchalat, recently elected president of the federation of ice sports. On the football side, Luis Fernandez, bored by the management of Noël Le Graët, wants former players to take control of the FFF. Olympic champion in Beijing, Olivier Girault seeks the supreme position in handball (GA November 29). He will have to face DTN Philippe Bana and there should even be a third candidate, with Jean-Pierre Feuillan, the current vice-president.
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Brahim Asloum, the hero of the Sydney Olympics, still consults but could do the same in boxing (GA March 13, 2021). Facing him, Sarah Ourahmoune, Olympic vice-champion in Rio, who is not aiming for the presidency, but will appear on the list of Dominique Nato. "It is a desire to give back to sport what it has given us", underline all the sportsmen who are involved. It is also a way to move the lines.
The unrest has also started in multiple federations, where the struggle will be merciless. Just before the confinement, Bruno Gares, former master of arms and former adviser to Laura Flessel at the Ministry of Sports, had announced his wish to contest the fencing federation with Isabelle Lamour (elections on September 26). In athletics, ex-sprinter Marie-Christine Cazier has been campaigning against André Giraud, outgoing president, for the past year.
In some federations, where new candidates will try to shake up well-established leaders, the fight promises to be downright ruthless. Last week in our columns, the ex-international Stéphane Nomis had announced that he was taking the head of a collective (notably with Frédéric de Montfaucon and Frédérique Jossinet) in order to shake things up. In the viewfinder, Jean-Luc Rougé, ex DTN, ex-managing director and candidate for a 5th mandate (November 22).
It gets hot in tennis and rugby
In tennis (December 12), between the outgoing president Bernard Giudicelli, 62, and former player Gilles Moretton, 61, the hatchet has been unearthed for a long time. The Corsican councilor owes moreover indirectly to his rival his sidelining for more than a year from the international federation between 2018 and 2019. Giudicelli had indeed been condemned by French justice for defamation against the former director of the Lyon tournament. President of the League of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Moretton is supported by four other presidents of major leagues, as well as personalities like Arnaud Clément, François Jauffret and Eric Deblicker.
Finally, in rugby (October 3), the little murderous phrases have already been launched. "Florian Grill, no one knows him except his mother, so we don't care," said in June 2019, Bernard Laporte, candidate for his own succession without having yet officially announced it. "Bernard Laporte is on another planet ... He shows blindness in a period which would require clairvoyance", recently considered Florian Grill, leader of the opposition, on RMC. The president of the Ile-de-France League, 54, has among his supporters, former internationals such as Serge Blanco, Fabien Pelous or Abdelatif Benazzi. The confrontation promises to be virile. Will it be correct?
CNOSF: who after Masseglia?
The elections to the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) are scheduled before June 2021 and a new president will lead the tricolor delegation to Tokyo in 2021. Uncertainty about the outcome of the federal elections making, nobody officially acted to succeed Denis Masseglia, reached by the age limit. Michel Vion, patron of French skiing, seems to be the designated candidate and at the same time the favorite.
It benefits (but in the mysteries of French sport the positions sometimes change quickly) from the support of the Olympic federations, determined, 4 years from the Games in Paris, to regain power over the non-Olympic Federations. Or even create a split. Patrice Martin, representative of a non-Olympic federation (water skiing) could get started. Unless Tony Estanguet comes to the rescue of a French Olympic committee in need of strong figures. The President of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games, however, has always refused to do so.