A weekend for mixing
On the sidelines of the Tournoi de France and on the eve of the International Women's Rights Day, two events were organised in Lille: the seminar of the 100 Women Leaders Club and the annual gathering of former internationals. A look back at a key event of the year.
Nearly 60 club leaders, league and district board members, club Presidents and Vice-Presidents met from March 6 to 8 in Lille. And they all represented the metropolitan and overseas football family: "I am President of a club with 300 members in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Vice-President of the League," says Ludivine Quédinet. I wanted to get fully involved and be truly involved in decision-making on major issues, such as attracting players or modernising our infrastructure".
Created in 2017, the Club des 100 accompanies women leaders, all selected by their territories. Its aim? To promote women's access to positions of responsibility and strengthen gender diversity at the highest level. "Women have the same management and leadership skills as men," says Françoise Vallet, President of the District of Nièvre. With rising figures for the number of women in practice, the Federation will soon celebrate its 200,000th license holder. For Brigitte Henriques, Deputy Vice-President of the FFF, this is the moment to highlight, in front of participants, the importance of women's representation at all levels: "There are many women in the field. There must be a lot of women in management bodies".
Meetings for the former internationals
At the same time, former internationals celebrated their 8th gathering. "Each year, we look forward to the invitation," says Isabelle Gibassier (3 caps). It's both an opportunity to share experiences and a meet the new generation". This year, the "Ex" had the opportunity to take part in the first edition of the French Tournament and to witness the victory of Les Bleues against Brazil in Valenciennes (1-0, photo below).
If the gathering’s motto is sharing and a return to the world of football for former players, it has been doubly respected. Before the evening match, they were able to meet the Club of 100 women leaders and about twenty members of the Futebol dá Força Collective. Invited for the occasion, the young players and educators took advantage of meeting with the former members of the French team before participating in a football tournament5 at their side. "We were able to talk at length with Laura Georges [current Secretary General of the Federation and former defender of the French team]," said Siham Lamina, 19 years old and goalkeeper at FC Argenteuil. Whether it was about the importance of communication within a team or between license holders and members of the same club in order to break down certain barriers, her speech touched us deeply".
And Ghislaine Souef, a pioneer of women's practice, concludes: "We started with little means and we wanted, above all, to enjoy the field. Today, girls play football everywhere, at any age, in competition or not. They coach and referee. What a long way we've come!"