| UEFA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Short name | FFF, 3F, Triple F |
| Founded | 7 April 1919; 106 years ago (1919-04-07) |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| FIFA affiliation |
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| UEFA affiliation | 1954 |
| President | Philippe Diallo |
| Website | fff |
TheFrench Football Federation (abbr.FFF and3F; orTriple F;[1][2]French:Fédération Française de Football,pronounced[fedeʁɑsjɔ̃fʁɑ̃sɛːzdəfutbol]) is the governing body offootball inFrance.[3] It was formed in 1919 and is based in thecapital,Paris. The FFF is a founding member ofFIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in France, both professional and amateur. The French Football Federation is a founding member ofUEFA and joined FIFA in 1907 after replacing theUSFSA, who were founding members.[4]
Before the FFF was established, football,rugby union and others sports in France were regulated by theUnion des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). Founded in November 1890, the USFSA was initially headquartered in Paris but its membership soon expanded to include sports clubs from throughout France.[5][6][7]
In 1894, the USFSA also organised the first recognisedFrench football championship.[8] The first competition featured just four Paris teams and was organised on a knockout basis.[9]
In1900, the USFSA sent players fromParisianClub Français to representFrance at the 1900 Summer Olympics.[10][11] On 1 May 1904 the USFSA also selected the first officialFrance national football team. The USFSA would be dissolved in 1919 after some disagreements withFIFA.
TheFédération Française de Football was formed on 7 April 1919 following the transformation of theComité Français Interfédéral (CFI) into theFédération Française de Football Association (FFFA). The CFI were seen as a rival organization to theUnion des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) due to the organization's constantly disagreeing with each other, mainly due to the latter's opposition toprofessionalism in sport. 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, became semi-affiliated with the CFI.
On 7 April 1919 the CFI transformed themselves into theFédération Française de Football withJules Rimet being installed as the federation's first president. Its legal status is placed under the FrenchAssociation loi de 1901 jurisdiction (Voluntary association). The FFF has been affiliated to FIFA since 1907, when the CFI succeeded the USFSA as France's representative. Two years later after the CFI's transformation, the USFSA officially merged with the federation.
On 28 June 2010, the federation's current president,Jean-Pierre Escalettes, announced his resignation from his position effective 23 July.[12] On 23 July, Fernand Duchaussoy was installed as the federation's interim president and, on 18 December, the title was removed making him the federation's 11th president in its history.[13] On 18 June 2011, following as election, Nöel Le Graët was named as the federation's 12th president.[14]The FFF announced to file a complaint with FIFA over racist and discriminatory remarks made by Argentina players in post-match chants after theirCopa América win. The incident involvedEnzo Fernández, who posted a video where players appeared to sing about French players of African heritage.Wesley Fofana condemned the video as "uninhibited racism."Philippe Diallo condemned the remarks and planned to contact Argentina's football federation andFIFA.Gianni Infantino had previously committed to a zero tolerance approach to racism.[15]
The French Football Federation describes itself in these four roles:
The FFF sanctions all competitive football matches in France, either directly, beginning with theChampionnat National on down, or indirectly through theLigue de Football Professionnel, who manageLigue 1 andLigue 2, the first and second divisions of France, respectively, as well as theCoupe de la Ligue. The LFP, however, still operate under the authority of the federation. The federation is also responsible for appointing the management of themen's,women's andyouth national football teams. In 2010, the FFF had 2,107,924 licenses, with over 1,800,000 registered players and 18,000 registered clubs.[16] The federation unveiled its new crest (above right) in 2007.
The French Football Federation runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the annualCoupe de France. The Coupe de France is managed under the authority of the Federal Commission of the Coupe de France, which is directly attached to the Federal Council of the FFF. The federation also organizes the championships of thesemi-professional andamateur leagues, such as theChampionnat National, theChampionnat de France amateur andChampionnat de France amateur 2, and the regional and departmental leagues, as well as the latter's cup competitions.
The federation also governs youth leagues, such as theChampionnat National of theunder-19s andunder-17s. The FFF also oversee the organization of theCoupe Gambardella and theCoupe Nationale for the under-15 and under-13 club teams. The federation organizes all three divisions of women's football in France and oversee theChallenge de France, the women's premier cup competition.
The FFF is divided into 20 regional associations, corresponding to the 18regions of France (13 mainland and 5 overseas), plus twooverseas collectivities (Saint Martin andSaint Pierre and Miquelon).[17][18] Another overseas collectivity,Saint Barthélemy, has its ownterritorial committee but is recognized as a district of the Guadeloupe regional association.[19]French Polynesia andNew Caledonia are members ofFIFA in their own right and do not have regional bodies within the FFF.[20][21]Wallis and Futuna is the only inhabited territory of France to not have organized football at any level.
Regional associations are responsible for organizing all competitions below Level 5 in theFrench league system.[17] The number of regional associations was reduced by nine after the 2016redrawing of regions in France.[22]
| Region | Association[17] |
|---|---|
 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Ligue Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes de football |
 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | Ligue de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté de football |
 Brittany | Ligue de Bretagne de football |
 Centre-Val de Loire | Ligue du Centre-Val de Loire de football |
 Corsica | Ligue Corse de football |
 Grand Est | Ligue du Grand Est de football |
 Hauts-de-France | Ligue de Football des Hauts-de-France |
 Île-de-France | Ligue de Paris Île-de-France de football |
 Normandy | Ligue de football de Normandie |
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Ligue de football Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
 Occitanie | Ligue de football d'Occitanie |
 Pays de la Loire | Ligue de football des Pays de la Loire |
 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Ligue de la Méditerranée de football |
| Member | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Philippe Diallo | President | |
| Brigitte Henriques | Deputy Vice-President | |
| Laura Georges | General secretary | |
| Philippe Diallo | Treasurer | |
| Jean-Michel Aulas | Member | |
| Éric Borghini | Member | |
| Albert Gemmrich | Member | |
| Hélène Schrub | Member | |
| Marc Keller | Member | |
| Philippe Lafrique | Member | |
| Pascal Parent | Member | |
| Jamel Sandjak | Member | |
| Marc Debarbat | President of the Amateur Football League | |
| Vincent Labrune | President of theProfessional Football League |
The French Football Force operates 14élite academies throughout the country of France, the most famous being theINF Clairefontaine, which was created by former FFF presidentFernand Sastre in 1976. Located 50 km southwest of Paris inClairefontaine-en-Yvelines, INF Clairefontaine is arguably the finest football academy in the world. It has a high reputation of producing some of the most gifted French players includingNicolas Anelka,Louis Saha,William Gallas and former national team top scorerThierry Henry.
Players selected to an academy must be at least 13 years of age, haveFrench nationality (rule valid until 2010), and be living and playing within theregion of the academy the player is registering for. Registration for new players at an academy normally begins in October the year before players enroll at the academy when prospective applicants are 12 years of age. Players have until December to register with their club for acceptance into the academy. The first set of trials are carried out by each district within its respective region. Each district selects a set number of players who will travel to the region's academy to attend a tryout, which is usually held over a three-day period. The dates of the tryouts vary depending on the academy. The Clairefontaine academy normally hold its tryouts during theEaster school holidays, however the academy inChâteauroux holds its tryouts in June. After the three days, the academy director and officials will convene to select a maximum of 22 players with three or four of the 22 beinggoalkeepers. The number of players selected also vary depending on the academy.
Players who are selected to attend an academy stay and train at the facilities from Monday through Friday. Players are given the weekend off to go and visit family and, also, to train and play with their parent clubs. They are given school holidays off, as well. Players are also required to meet educational criteria. For example, players age 13–15 training at Clairefontaine attend the Collège Catherine de Vivonne de Rambouilet inRambouillet. After departing Rambouilet, players enroll at the nearbyhigh school Lycée Louis Bascan de Rambouillet with hopes that they will earn theirBaccalauréat. All costs required to attend an academy are borne by the federation and the Ligue Nationale de Football.[23]
| Academy | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CREPS de Aquitaine | Talence | Trains players exclusively brought up inAquitaine. |
| Centre de Préformation de Football | Liévin | Trains players exclusively brought up inNord-Pas-de-Calais. |
| Pôle Espoir de Castelmaurou | Castelmaurou | Trains players exclusively brought up in theMidi-Pyrénées. |
| INF Clairefontaine | Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines | Trains players exclusively brought up inÎle-de-France. |
| IFR Châteauroux | Châteauroux | Trains players exclusively brought up inCentre. |
| Pôle Espoir de Dijon | Dijon | Trains players exclusively brought up inBurgundy. |
| Pôle Espoir de la Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe | Trains players exclusively brought up in theFrench Caribbean |
| Pôle Espoir de Marseille | Marseille | Trains players exclusively brought up in and aroundMéditerranée. |
| PEF Ploufragan | Ploufragan | Trains players exclusively brought up inBrittany. |
| CREPS de Reims | Reims | Trains players exclusively brought up inChampagne-Ardenne. |
| CREPS La Réunion | Réunion | Trains players exclusively brought up inRéunion and nearby territories. |
| PEF Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire | Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire | Trains players exclusively brought up inPays de la Loire. |
| Pôle Espoir de Vichy | Vichy | Trains players exclusively brought up inAuvergne. |
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