Frédéric Thiriez is not kind to Noël Le Graët. Francois Bouchon / Le Figaro
The former president of the LPF scratches the now ex-boss of the FFF but believes that his only departure will not solve all the problems of the body.
Frédéric Thiriez goes there with a good heart. Questioned by AFP, the former boss of the Professional Football League (LFP), gives his view after the resignation of Noël Le Graët from his duties as president of the French Football Federation (FFF), the latter having been caught up with accusations of moral and sexual harassment and a series of slippages. “He was a good president of the Professional League (1991-2000). We were quite close at the time because we had the same ideas (…). But I think he was not a good president of the Federation because he was not interested in the core business of the Federation which is amateur football“, he explained.
Despite the notable financial successes of Noël Le Graët, Frédéric Thiriez regretted that the number of licensees, which increased from 1.96 million to 2.13 million during the Breton leader’s mandate (2011-2023), did not “not increased». «It’s good to make money but you have to redistribute it, especially in amateur football and that was not the casehe added. But it’s useless to overwhelm him. He made a difficult decision but now we have to move on.»
It is urgent that the Federation gets back on track by focusing on its fundamentals.
Frederic Thiriez
«This resignation must be the first act of a profound overhaul, not its culminationalso affirmed Mr. Thiriez. Because the departure of a man will not solve all the problems of the FFF, far from it. It is urgent that the Federation gets back on track by focusing on its fundamentals, in particular amateur football which is struggling and by transforming its governance which is neither democratic nor transparent.»
Frédéric Thiriez, who was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the FFF in 2021 against Noël Le Graët, said he wanted to “participate in the refoundation of the Fédé», «one way or another». «I’m not looking for a job, I have a job and a lot of activities“, However, launched the lawyer, who campaigns for “an executive committee elected by the clubs, on a list ballot with a proportional system with majority bonus“and the creation”a football parliament, made up of all district and league presidents, former internationals and football families, which will exercise legislative, financial and executive control.»
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