Philippe Diallo elected as FFF President

Operating in a temporary capacity since January, Philippe Diallo was elected as president of the FFF on Saturday June 10th, during the General Assembly in Paris.

Philippe Diallo was inducted on Saturday morning as president of the French Football Federation until 2024 during the General Assembly of the FFF which was held at the Méridien hotel in Paris. Following the voting of French football delegates, he garnered 91.26% of all votes cast, and was subsequently elected as permanent president of the federation.

Philippe Diallo joined the FFF Executive Committee during the elections that were held in March 2021, where Noel Le Graët obtained 73.02% of votes, and Mr Diallo then held the post of general treasurer. Following the departure of Brigitte Henriques, he became deputy vice president on December 11th 2021, before taking over as interim president in January this year, following the resignation of Noël Le Graët, who left office on February 28th.

“It is with great honour that I take the position as the 13th president of the FFF. It is a responsibility that I greatly appreciate,” said Mr Diallo. “In recent months, we have experienced a number of difficulties and I would like to give credit to all the members of the Executive Committee, a united, supportive and skilled team. During weeks and months of adversity, this team was able to continue to make the federation work, to work on projects and prepare for the future. Your trust gives me a lot of strength. I am ready to commit to what was started with Noël Le Graët in March 2021 and to go beyond to continue the modernization of our federation. We are turning a page and any questions that may have been raised about the legitimacy of our governance are now closed.”

Claude Delforge and Alexandre Gougnard join the FFF Executive Committee

Two other votes relating to the composition of the executive committee in order to fill the vacant seats (*) also took place on Saturday. Claude Delforge, president of the Val d'Oise region, and Alexandre Gougnard, from Gironde, were both elected to the Executive Committee. The former, president of the college of district presidents, collected 77.55% of all votes, with the latter collecting 80.45%.

“It is a sign of the recognition of the work carried out in our territories, the opportunity to impart my knowledge of departmental and regional amateur football, the possibility of relaying the difficulties and questions of the districts,” said Alexandre Gougnard. “It will also allow me to better understand the different facets of the families of French football.“ Claude Delforge, for his part, highlighted the values that guide him: “Respect, investment, commitment, listening and the desire to ensure that our football progresses. To have elite football, you have to have strong grassroots football – the bedrock of the FFF.”

(*) Jamel Sandjak resigned on February 28, 2023.