2023-12-16 08:53:15
The Olympic Games are already here! Faced with the countless refusal of professional clubs to release their players for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the French Federation intends, this time, to ensure that it fields a competitive team in Paris next summer (from July 26 to August 11). It is unthinkable that the French team could relive the Japanese fiasco. In this sense, Federation President Philippe Diallo brought together the leaders of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs for an exceptional working meeting, this Friday morning, at the FFF headquarters or by videoconference. According to our information, around thirty clubs were there. The discussion lasted more than an hour in a positive atmosphere which brought everyone together and involved the clubs for the first time in anticipation of the big meeting.
Philippe Diallo launched the meeting with a speech before David Lappartient, president of the CNOSF, and Vincent Labrune, president of the Professional Football League took the floor in turn to say how important it is that French football, in as a whole, is mobilized to allow Thierry Henry and his staff to have the best possible team.
Present on site, Tony Estanguet, head of the Games organizing committee, went on to detail the issues. He reminded everyone that football (which has not brought medals to the Olympics since 1984 in Los Angeles) is an important sport for the French delegation. Hubert Fournier, national technical director, was responsible for providing practical information (age categories, group drawing in March, compact calendar, etc.). We know in particular that Thierry Henry, Olympic coach, must announce the list of 18 players (+ 4 reserves) at the end of May for the start of preparation hoped for around June 9, a date which is still subject to change. Two or three preparation matches also remain to be defined.
“There is a kind of sacred union”
The French clubs did not raise any particular objection when the question of player availability arose. “There is a kind of sacred union, the clubs will play the game to send the players. As everyone suspected. The Olympics in France are once a century. It’s good to have the answer,” one meeting participant told us. Another specifies: “We are all behind France and we all want its success in the competition”. The big concern for French clubs will be the already busy competition calendar. On this subject, two presidents spoke this morning: Damien Comolli (Toulouse) and Olivier Létang (Lille).
The president of Lille, concerned about the health of the athletes, called for the greatest vigilance so as not to endanger the physical integrity of the elements selected. His Toulouse counterpart, for his part, put forward the idea of allocating three weeks of rest to the players concerned between the end of the season and the start of Olympic preparation.
Thierry Henry listened religiously, then responded that he would be flexible taking these parameters into account. If the championship ends on May 18, 2023, the final of the Coupe de France is scheduled for May 25 and the European finals on May 22 (Europa League), May 29 (Conference League) and June 1 for the final of the Champions League. An adjustment could therefore be necessary for internationals who would see their calendar lengthen a little further depending on their club’s progress in the second part of the season.
For the moment, no date has been set for a similar reunion but there is no doubt that discussions will now continue behind the scenes. The question of foreign clubs, which will not have the patriotic fiber, will arise a little later but the FFF also plans to tackle it in the weeks to come.
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