France Football Federation – Syndication Server

Herve Renard, woso neophyte, takes over as France women’s manager

France is quickly moving past Corinne Diacre

France’s head coaching vacancy wasn’t open for long.

On Thursday — just three weeks after former coach Corinne Diacre was sacked amid a player revolt — the French federation announced that globetrotting coach Hervé Renard is the new manager for the women’s national team. His contract runs through August 2024, essentially through this summer’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

Renard takes the job just 116 days before France will kick off its group F schedule against Jamaica. His first matches in charge are much closer: France will host Colombia in just eight days, and have yet to announce a squad for the match. Per the French federation, Renard will announce his first roster on Friday.

That might be complicated, too, because team captain Wendie Renard (no relation) and star attackers Kadidiato Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto had all previously said they will reject France call-ups until some unspecified changes were made by the federation. While those changes were widely believed to be related to Diacre, her unpopular tenure was hardly the FFF’s only recent problem. It’s unknown if those crucial players are ready to come back yet or not.

Federation board member Jean-Michel Aulas said that the FFF had reached out to at least one other candidate, approaching Thierry Henry only for the legendary forward to withdraw from consideration. French reports said that the federation had also considered experienced Ligue 1 coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, Diacre’s former assistant Eric Blahic, Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor, Paris Saint-Germain manager Gérard Prêcheur, and the team’s all-time record holder for appearances Sandrine Soubeyrand (who currently manages Paris FC).

Renard’s unusual path

Renard, 54, doesn’t necessarily fit the profile for the coach of one of the world’s top women’s teams. After a playing career spent largely in the French lower divisions — save for a brief spell in the top flight at AS Cannes, alongside a then-17-year-old Zinedine Zidane — he began a meandering managerial career in 1999 with lower-level French side SC Draguignan.

From there, amid a spell working for a cleaning service, Renard bounced around: lower-league football in England, a move to Vietnam club soccer, posts with four different men’s national teams in Africa, and top-flight club positions in Algeria and France.

Renard’s longest spell anywhere is the job he just left, a four-year run as the manager of Saudi Arabia’s national team. There he led the team to qualify for the 2022 men’s World Cup and amid discussion of him as the tournament’s hunkiest coach, he notably got a win over Argentina in one of the all-time great upsets in the sport.

Renard has obviously experienced a lot, but he’s also in new territory moving over to the women’s game. France — especially in the midst of so much turmoil off the field — is a different sort of role than he’s used to working in. Outside of one short run with the Ivory Coast men’s team (where, it must be said, they won the 2015 African Cup of Nations), he’s arguably never been given a post with a team that sits among the favorites in their tournament.

Renard has the reputation of being a coach you turn to when you want to punch above your weight, which is sometimes not a transferable skill-set when it comes to running the show with a more highly-touted side. If he can bring the mentality and organization that comes with that sort of approach, and bolster les Bleues‘ confidence, France might finally be ready to fulfill their potential.

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Despite player revolt, France coach Corinne Diacre is very much not stepping down

France coach Corinne Diacre says she will not resign amid a player revolt and a French federation meeting on her fate.

It’s unclear whether Corinne Diacre will coach France much longer, but one thing’s for sure: she’s not going to simply fade into the background.

The under-fire coach, who is widely seen as the cause of a player revolt within the France women’s national team, gave a defiant statement to the AP following speculation that she would step down from her post.

In a statement sent by her lawyer, Diacre lashed out at her critics, complaining that she has “endured, not without great suffering, the display of slander, untruths and ambitions of some and others.”

“My detractors have not hesitated to attack my personal and professional integrity without bothering with the truth,” added Diacre, who accused her accusers of “violence” and “dishonesty.”

“I will not let myself be affected by this destabilization operation, which does not take into account my sporting record, and whose only objective is a personal settling of scores.”

The France player revolt currently involves the team’s long-standing captain Wendie Renard, star winger Kadidiatou Diani, and standout striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who have all said they will not accept any call-ups for France until changes are made within the team. While their statements didn’t specifically call for Diacre’s ouster, RMC Sport has reported that the coach is at the top of the list of things the players want changed.

Veterans of past France squads, like Eugénie Le Sommer — one of numerous big-name players to clash with Diacre over the years — and Sarah Bouhaddi, have voiced support for the trio, as have U.S women’s national team midfielder Lindsey Horan (who plays in France with Lyon), Norway forward Ada Hegerberg, and former Japan international Yuki Nagasato.

Diacre’s position in the balance

Diacre’s term may not be long: Noël Le Graët, a key Diacre supporter, recently resigned as president of the French federation (FFF) amid his own set of scandals. Amid the fallout from that news was a statement from the FFF that they would hold a meeting on Thursday to sort out Diacre’s fate.

In her statement, Diacre certainly isn’t striking a note of someone who expects that meeting to go poorly.

“In view of the shameful media outburst of the last few days, I nevertheless wish to reaffirm publicly what I told the commission, that I am fully committed to carry out my mission and, above all, to do France proud during the next World Cup,” said Diacre.

The manager, in her sixth year in charge of the France women’s team, also thanked Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas — who is part of the FFF committee that will decide her fate — for what she claims is a willingness to recant public statements backing the players.

Per Diacre, Aulas is “ready to go back on his public remarks by considering the the situation with objectivity and impartiality.” Notably, Aulas has not confirmed this account of his position in any public forum.

A change of coach just months before the World Cup begins will be difficult at best to manage for France. The team has four pre-tournament friendlies before opening their schedule in Group F against Jamaica. While France will be strong favorites to advance out of that group, Diacre has never taken one of the world’s most talented national teams further than the semifinals at a major tournament.

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Scandal-ridden Le Graet resigns as French federation president

Allegations of sexual harassment and a national team revolt were too much for Le Gräet

Noël Le Graët’s troubled tenure as the French soccer federation’s president is over.

Amid looming allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, the 81-year-old resigned Tuesday at a meeting of the federation’s (FFF) executive committee. FFF vice president Philippe Diallo has been appointed interim president until June 10, the date of the federation’s next major assembly.

However, the FFF is not exactly chasing Le Graët out the door, with a public statement lauding the sporting and financial achievements it says took place on Le Graët’s watch.

“The FFF would like to salute the remarkable sporting and economic results of Noël Le Graët,” read the FFF’s announcement. “Since June 18, 2011, the date of his election, the men’s and women’s teams have won 11 titles and played in 6 international tournament finals.”

The FFF statement went on to say that despite the Covid-19 pandemic’s economic impact, the federation has “€56 million in equity,” and that they were able to set a new record by giving over €100 million to aid amateur clubs during this season.

The announcement comes after the French ministry of sports announced its intention to audit the FFF in September 2022 after allegations that Le Gräet had sexually harassed FFF employees emerged. Per Reuters, that audit began in mid-January, with Le Gräet denying any wrongdoing.

The FFF seemed to agree with his position, offering several rebuttals of the investigation while ostensibly announcing Le Gräet’s departure:

Regarding the audit of the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), the FFF notes that this report does not mention any systemic failure, nor any breach of its sovereign missions. The FFF nevertheless notes that this report is based less on objective facts than on assessments which have sometimes led to a disproportionate denigration of the body.

The FFF also regrets the lack of a real adversarial procedure and the failure to take into account the many observations made by the Federation on the subjects which concern it in terms of governance and the fight against gender-based and sexual violence, with supporting figures and examples.

The FFF therefore wishes to reaffirm its strong commitment against gender-based and sexual violence as part of its license protection policy. This commitment was and remains a priority.

The harassment scandal is far from the only issue pertaining to Le Gräet. In light of the fact that his term as FFF president would end in 2024, he was widely criticized for extending Didier Deschamps’ contract as head coach of the men’s national team to 2026.

Le Gräet drew more public ire after saying that he wouldn’t even take a call from Zinedine Zidane when asked if the legendary France playmaker had a chance at coaching the national team. Le Gräet — who was accused of a “lack of respect” by Kylian Mbappé in the ensuing controversy — eventually apologized for what he called “clumsy” remarks.

Most recently, Le Gräet had staunchly backed Corinne Diacre, the under-fire women’s national team coach. That situation reached a turning point over the weekend, when team captain Wendie Renard and attacking stars Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto all said they would not represent France until changes were made.

Amid the fallout from Le Gräet’s resignation, the FFF will reportedly postpone a decision on Diacre’s status until a March 9 meeting.

Defiant Le Gräet still holds power

Le Gräet has indicated that he will pursue the “cancellation” of the sports ministry’s audit and claims through an attorney that he will sue sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra for defamation.

Le Gräet’s lawyer Thierry Marembert asserted to France 5 that the report “violated all the principles of impartiality, of adversarial proceedings,” and claimed that Oudéa-Castéra had manipulated investigators. “She lied and we are going to sue her for defamation,” declared Marembert.

Meanwhile, though Le Gräet may have left the FFF, he will still hold major sway in the soccer world. He remains a member of the FIFA Council, which is the main decision-making group at the world’s governing body in the sport.

In January 2022, Le Gräet was named as the Paris delegate for FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Per an FFF statement announcing Infantino’s choice, FIFA’s office in Paris will coordinate with national associations and provide “the strategic base for football development activities through the FIFA Forward program.” The Paris office is also home to the FIFA Clearing House, which the governing body created as part of an attempt to reform the global transfer system.

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