| Sport | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | France |
| Abbreviation | FCAF |
| Founded | 27 March 1907 |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| Replaced | |
| Closure date | 1919; 106 years ago (1919) |
TheFrench Interfederal Committee (French:Comité français interfédéral, CFI) is the direct ancestor of theFrench Football Federation (FFF), founded in 1919 by the transformation of the said committee.[1]
The first governing body of football in France was theUSFSA, which was the country'ssports governing body, founded in November 1890.[1] The USFSA only managed amateur sports, so notboxing orcycling, which had theUnion Vélocipédique de France (UVF).[1] However, some UVF clubs founded sports sections other than cycling, and as a result, they left this federation and founded theFrench Amateur Cycling Federation (FCAF) in 1905, which had a football department.[1] As for the professionals, there was theFederation of Athletic Societies of France, which changed its name toFederation of Professional Athletic Societies of France (FSAPF) in 1906.[1] Furthermore, a myriad of federations appeared in regions that did not want to depend on Paris, which was so far away, such as FASO in the South-West.[1] This disorder did not bother anyone because it was freedom in diversity, but thenFIFA was founded and it stipulated that only one federation is recognized per country, so the USFSA joins FIFA and declares war on patronage.[1]
In response,Charles Simon, general secretary of theGymnastic and Sports Federation of French Patronages (FGSPF), founds the French Interfederal Committee (CFI) on 23 March 1907.[2] The excluded federations regroup under the banner of the CFI, which was able to bring together, without making them disappear, all the federations managing football in France, except for theUSFSA and theFSAPF, thus becoming a superstructure grouping FGSPF, FCAF, and theLFA,[1][2] plus other regional federations, such as theLyon and South-East Cycling and Athletics Federation (FCALSE), exceeding 400 members.[2] The CFI was then seen as a rival organization to the USFSA due to the organization's constantly disagreeing with each other, mainly due to the latter's opposition toprofessionalism in sport. However, it was the USFSA who was on the right track, but then made a huge mistake: it slammed the door on FIFA in 1908.[1] The CFI, on the lookout, rushed to take the vacated place, thus becoming France's sole federation recognized by FIFA.[1][3] In 1912, the CFI made the strategic decision to focus exclusively on association football.[4] The headquarters of the CFI remained at the same location as the FGSPF: 5 Place Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin in Paris.[5]
In 1907, the CFI organized its inaugural championship, the so-calledTrophée de France, which featured a trophy donated byPierre de Coubertin himself.[6] Followingthe debacle at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in which France sent two teams, one controlled by the USFSA and another by FIFA, the CFI ruled that FIFA would now be responsible for the club's appearances in forthcomingOlympic Games and not the USFSA. Being a founding member of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC), the USFSA disagreed with the ruling and, despite having three years to reach an agreement, the CFI and the USFSA failed to, which led to France not sending a football team to the1912 Summer Olympics. The USFSA later developed friction with FIFA and the IOC, which led to disorganization, and in 1913, it was forced to take the humiliating step of applying for admission to the CFI, becoming semi-affiliated with it.[1] All the federations making up the CFI kept their autonomy, so each of them had three selectors for a total of 12 selectors for theFrench national team.[1]
The CFI gradually received the support of all football defenders and particularly that ofJules Rimet of Red Star, founder of the LFA (1910), who had joined the CFI in 1912. On 15 June 1915, Charles Simon passed away while on duty, andHenri Delaunay took over his responsibilities at the FGSPF and the CFI. The Trophée de France stopped that year but a similar competition was organized in 1916, under the name ofCoupe de France, which was itself replaced by the1917–18 Charles Simon Cup, created by the CFI in honor of the fallen hero.[7][8] The CFI was officially renamed theFrench Football Federation (FFF)[9] on 7 April 1919, with Jules Rimet as president and Henri Delaunay as general secretary.[8][10] The agreement between CFI, USFSA, FCAF, and LFA was made because each federation had "recognized that the sport of football had nothing to gain from seeing its efforts dispersed among four federations that were tearing each other apart".[11]
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