A match of the Blues with spectators?
This is the wish expressed by Noël Le Graët.
This Tuesday, the president of the French Football Federation, in the midst of the campaign for his re-election, indicated that he would "like to put 30% of spectators" at the Stade de France, with a capacity of 80,000 seats, during the next match of the Blues on Wednesday March 24 against Ukraine, on an “experimental basis”.
If this were the case, there will be 24,000 spectators present in the stands to follow a meeting of the Tricolores.
A popular measure that would go straight to the hearts of spectators deprived of stands for some for a year, but which comes up against health restrictions and the reality of the Covid-19 epidemic in France.
The Blues, whose last match dates back to November 17 against Sweden at the Stade de France (4-2), must meet Ukraine on March 24 (8.45 p.m.), again in Saint-Denis, for a meeting counting for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
No gauge or timetable established
The experimentation of a partial return of the public to sports grounds was on the menu Tuesday of an interministerial meeting in Matignon.
Neither gauge nor schedule have been established, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said on Saturday after a meeting with the presidents of Olympique Lyonnais (football) Jean-Michel Aulas, of Asvel (basketball) ) Gaëtan Muller and LOU (rugby) Yann Roubert, clubs which could host “test matches” with the public.
The possible return of the public in a partial way also depends on the evolution of the health situation in France.
Besides Noël Le Graët, boss of the FFF since 2011 (3rd term), Frédéric Thiriez, former president of the Professional Football League, and Michel Moulin, entrepreneur and former club advisor, are running for the post of president.
