New deal agreed between FFF and Caledonian federation

The FFF and its New Caledonian counterpart signed an agreement on Wednesday 11th December in Paris, which underlines the status of the Oceanian federation and also the relationship between the two bodies.

President of the French Football Federation Philippe Diallo, and Gilles Tavergeux of the Caledonian Football Federation (FCF), signed an agreement on Wednesday 11th December at the FFF headquarters with a view to renewing links between the two sporting bodies. The main change will be the FCF becoming an "associate member of the FFF", subject to the adoption of a necessary statutory amendment by the FFF General Assembly on Saturday 14th December.

A similar agreement had already been signed between the FFF and the Tahitian Football Federation on October 4th. Here again, the change stems from the affiliation of the FCF to FIFA and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the latter also being linked to the FFF by a cooperation agreement. The New Caledonian body had since had a dual status, which allowed it to be under the governance of both FIFA and the FFF.

A consideration that was initiated several years ago was accelerated last summer following an audit commissioned in June 2024 by the Executive Committee of the FFF and lawyer Frédéric Thiriez, concerning the "legal analysis of the governance of overseas entities". As for the FTF, discussions between the two federations resulted in this new agreement, Article 1 of which stipulates that "the FCF, formerly a regional league of the FFF, is now an associate member of the FFF and participates, with an advisory vote, in the general meetings of the FFF".

As with the Polynesian body, relations between the FFF and the FCF will remain close, the agreement provides for the preservation of privileged links taking into account the specificities of New Caledonia and existing modes of collaboration. This is how, for example, the support of the FFF, via its national technical department (DTN), the eligibility of clubs and communities in the archipelago for the Amateur Football Support Fund (FAFA equipment, transport, employment, training), aid relating to objective contracts and also the participation of a New Caledonian club each season in the Coupe de France, will be maintained.

Frédéric Thiriez, Gilles Tavergeux and Philippe Diallo (FFF).