We meet once again!
Noël Le Graët (79 years old) and Frédéric Thiriez (68 years old) are fighting this Saturday morning for the chair of president of the French Football Federation (Michel Moulin the third candidate appears irremediably behind).
If they have never faced each other in an election for the presidency of a body, the first two have often clashed on different issues during these twenty or even the last thirty years.
The chronicle of French football at the start of the century is punctuated by clashes between Thiriez, president of the Professional Football League from 2002 to 2016, and Le Graët, president of the FFF since 2011, who is seeking a fourth term there.
The elective federal assembly which meets this morning by videoconference will therefore decide between the outgoing and big favorite which is based, according to his words, on an “indisputable” sporting and “positive” economic record with a budget of the Federation of 234, 7 million euros, and his challenger who advocates change and immediate mobilization to save the amateur world.
“Amateur football is crying for help and we are looking elsewhere.
Nothing or almost nothing has been done for him so far, told us the former boss of the League on January 19.
If I am elected, I put in place an emergency plan to save amateur football of 40 million euros.
But 40 million real financed by a loan guaranteed by the State (PGE).
"
To sell their program and put the odds on their side, the two main candidates beat the campaign and traveled across France to meet with the presidents of the districts and the Leagues.
Classic therefore, even if we did not expect to see Thiriez land in Garges-lès-Gonesse (Val-d'Oise) with Jean-Louis Borloo, the former boss of the UDI, to whom he is close.
The former mayor and president of the Valenciennes club is one of the different supporters of the lawyer as well as Luis Fernandez, Basile Boli, Emmanuel Petit or Olivier Sadran the former president of the TFC.
This list, or rather its composition, was also the main hitch in the campaign of the lawyer at the Council of State when stars like Tony Parker or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were surprised to find themselves defenseless among the support of candidate Thiriez.
Le Graët has little esteem for Thiriez
It earned him taunts from his detractors, and while he officially hasn't commented on anything, his main opponent hasn't shied away from his pleasure.
This strategy was moreover one of the constants of Noël Le Graët during these two months of campaign: never comment on or respond to the attacks or the proposals of his competitor.
This desire not to cross swords with his opponent is symptomatic of the Breton's low esteem for Thiriez.
And starting from there, the illegitimate trial that he raises when it comes to talking about football, whether amateur or professional.
“It's clear: I didn't respond to anything, to any attack.
It is perhaps a bit of experience ”, declared at the beginning of the week the one who presents a list which includes among others Jean-Michel Aulas and Marc Keller, presidents of Lyon and Strasbourg, as well as the newcomer Jamel Sandjak president of the Ile-de-France League.
A catch of war - Sandjak has been one of his opponents for ten years - which shows how Le Graët has lost none of his power.
Still, this height gain by the outgoing president did not prevent the edge fault.
Asked about the problems within the French women's team between the coach Corinne Deacon and some Lyon players, the patriarch of French football had this surprising comment - "They can pull their hair, I don't care" - qualified of “ordinary sexism” by Marlène Schiappa, Minister for Citizenship.
“I still have the impression that I have done a lot for women's football, Le Graët defended himself.
As for amateur football, there was 100 million for them last year, or three quarters of our budget.
“It gets better when we say it when we know that with 63% of the voters, these amateurs that the candidates are snapping up will once again be the kingmakers.
Who will vote for these elections?
218 people will vote for the elections for the presidency of the FFF./LP/Olivier Boitet
The Executive Committee of the FFF consists of 12 members, including 3 women, to which must be added 2 ex officio members: the president of the LFP and the president of the LFA (Amateur Football League).
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If a list obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first round, all the seats are allocated to it.
If not, the first two lists qualify for a second round and the winner is also awarded full seats.
218 people will vote for the elections.
These are the presidents of the 22 leagues, 91 districts, 40 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs, plus the 5 from National who have retained their pro status (Red Star, Bourg-en-Bresse, Quevilly, Orléans and Le Mans).
These 218 voters have a total of 34,460 votes.
Amateur football represents 63% of the vote against only 37% for the pros.
The latter have the same number of votes according to their division (391 for each club in L1 and 209 for L2).
For amateurs, the distribution of votes for the Leagues and districts is calculated according to the number of licensees.
For the Paris-Ile-de-France League, there will be 16 voters (the president, the delegate president, the national club representative, the five League delegates and the 9 District presidents) who have a total of 2,672 votes.
By way of comparison, the Ligue Center Val de Loire has 10 voters (the president, the deputy president, a representative of the national clubs, a delegate of the League and 6 district presidents) for a total of 876 votes.