The government wants to restore the image of the French Football Association (FFF). This is what emerges from the interview given by the Minister of Sport Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to the newspaper L’Équipe in which he declares that he has “a very strong need towards the FFF”. For several weeks the body has been in a delicate situation after the revelations of the So Foot magazine that bring a sexist atmosphere to it, taking for example the messages of a sexual nature that the president would have sent to employees. “Noël Le Graët told me that he is not the author of the SMS, emphasizes the minister. I’m not an investigating judge … “
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also takes stock of her interview with the French football boss she received in her office in September. “It was a time of great freedom of speech, where we said things to each other, she says. But it was necessary to deepen them with evidence, interviews, documents, facts and then a team to carry out this work. This is the meaning of diligent inspection. “
An upcoming audit mission
The inspection referred to by the Minister is an audit mission to the FFF which is about to begin. It will focus on two parts: the first on managing and guiding the body and the second on treating sexist and sexual violence. “I want us to look at all this, to understand if the social climate is healthy, peaceful, insists Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. We recall this PSE (Employment Safeguard Plan) which has left a number of traces. The FFF is the flagship of French sport. You have to check that his head is working well, that it can move forward effectively and in cohesion. “
The sports daily also questioned the Minister of Sport on the timing of insertion of this file while the FFF filed a libel complaint against “So Foot”. “I’m not going to interfere with this procedure,” he recalls. But there is a form of loss of confidence, perhaps of a benchmark, in the management of this Federation. However, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that it can move forward in good condition, to do its intended work. “At the moment no date has been set for the presentation of the conclusions of this audit mission while the World Cup in Qatar will start in just under a month and a half.